A critique of the appeal to biology as justification for heterosexual relationship in the Church of England document Issues in Human Sexuality

Evans, Philippa

Abstract

The official position of the Church of England (CofE) regarding human sexuality affirms a heteronormative ideal of human relationship that finds fulfilment in marriage with an orientation towards procreation. Official publications by the CofE justify the male/female partnership in several ways, but it is the recurring appeal to human biology that is of interest in this paper. This paper will critique a natural law approach in which prescriptive statements are derived from biology to justify heterosexual relationships. This paper will pay attention to Issues in Human Sexuality (1991) because of the status afforded to it by the CofE; it was essentially used as an official statement on human sexuality; ordinands have been asked to abide by its theology; and because its theology is explicitly affirmed in subsequent CofE documents. Although Issues has been superseded and the CofE is in a new phase of debate, claims about biology remain.

Citation

Evans, P. (2024). A critique of the appeal to biology as justification for heterosexual relationship in the Church of England document Issues in Human Sexuality. International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 24(2), 253-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/1474225x.2024.2328948

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 5, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 5, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 5, 2024
• Deposit Date: May 28, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 28, 2024
• Journal: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
• Print ISSN: 1474-225X
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-0234
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 253-259
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1474225x.2024.2328948
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2466717