IAM: Three-pronged, Long-term Strategy Lead to Big Win in Landmark Case for LGBTI Clergy

“One cannot answer the question ‘Which drop of water made the hole in the rock?’ as it is the ‘constant dripping’ that eventually cause the rock to crumble. What we as IAM however can say is that for the past years we have been the biggest source of ‘constant dripping’ through which thousands of LGBTI, clergy and ordinary people of faith came to paradigm shifts regarding their attitude and acceptance of LGBTI and PLHIV.”

 

 

IAM’s Social Media Report January to December 2018

• Facebook:  1,421 people like IAM’s Facebook page and 1,396 people follow (12% growth from 2017).
• Twitter:  1671 Tweets, 116 following, 227 followers and 23 likes on the current page (45% growth from 2017).
• Instagram:  249 posts, 305 likes, 307 followers, and 942 following (previous data not available).
• Website: viewed 2297 times, by 1101 users.
• Digital newsletters: 3 sent, reading 1,331 people.
  (Lightspeed Digital Media)

 

The IAM-affiliated network of organizations are mutually linked together with Memorandum of Agreements with IAM as the lead organization. What binds the separate NGO’s together is the common goal of transformation of religious communities to be more Inclusive and affirming of LGBTI people and PLHIV.  IAM and its network seek to fulfill their mission within restrictive cultural environments, where religious rhetoric shapes national and local laws, and many see phobias and destructive behaviors coming from church rhetoric.  They work to cultivate allies and change agents across all denominations – using the dialogue not debate mindset.  IAM represents the “pressure” group across denominations, using their advocacy work to influence change within religious communities, which ultimate leads to change within national contexts.

From 2016 through 2018, IAM Transformation Network has engaged a three-pronged approach to influencing change:

1. Inclusive methodologies Dialogue not Debate and the Wheel of Change
2. Cultivating influence leaders within the faith community, especially young leaders
3. Concerted investment in media presence

 

Inclusive methodologies: In its over 20 years of experience, IAM has crafted the approach of Dialogue not Debate, which is an inclusive strategy that is made possible through the creation of safe and non-judgmental spaces.  Through storytelling from the mouths of those most affected, including LGTBQI persons and PLHIV, along with affected family members, faith leaders are brought outside of the traditional partisan debates about sexuality, and into dialogue about their personal views and experiences.  The safe space is further cultivated through the Wheel of Change methodology, which allows participants to look upon their current believes without judgement, and recognize that the process of changing beliefs is circular and continuous.

Cultivating influence leader: These inclusive methodologies are brought into IAM’s signature Training-of-Trainers.  In 2018 alone IAM conducted 27 workshops, engaging over 1000 individuals in intense dialogue about sexuality in their faith community.  These trainings crosscut denominations and multiple spheres of influence, including parishioners, leaders of congregations, and students at theological colleges and seminaries.  These influence leaders are empowered to be change agents, to influence ISPs within their circles, and especially to engage youth, who represent the largest population within the continent.  Within these trainings, participants learn about new theological developments and alternative methods to biblical interpretation.  IAM’s inclusive methodologies  create a safe space where questions may be asked and true dialogue can occur about LGBTQI persons and PLHIV, whether they be clergy, congregation members, or within the community at large.

Media presence: Parallel to this work, IAM took on an ambitious plan to modernize their communications mechanisms and greatly increase the breadth of their reach.  In 2017 they hired a professional media company to work them through this process, updating their webpage in 2018, and greatly strengthening their presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  In particular, two hashtags created by IAM in collaboration with Stellenbosch University went viral, spreading the word about IAM’s work, and casting a national spotlight on key cases and issues: #LoveIsLove and #WhyDiscriminate.

Landmark case: IAM’s long-term strategic investment in inclusive methodologies, influence leaders, and cutting-edge communications positioned them to be ready to respond agilely when the right opportunity arose.  This opportunity presented itself in the case of a “Group of Eleven” affected clergy against (versus) the General Synod of the Dutch Reform Church in South Africa.  The Dutch Reform Church was sued for reneging on a 2015 decision to endorse same sex marriage.  In 2016 the Church retracted this policy, mandating that ministers were no longer able to solemnize same-sex civil unions, and announced that a gay or lesbian person can only be a minister if he or she is celibate.  The case made its way to the High Court of Pretoria, amongst heavy media attention. The outcome was exceptional when the Court ruled in favor of the “Group of Eleven” (Five past and present IAM staff members were part of the eleven petitioners).

 

Knowing the importance of this ruling, IAM put into action their trained and capable influence leaders, especially calling upon young theologians to activate their existing social networks.  #LoveIsLove and #WhyDiscriminte went viral in social media, and the hashtags made their way onto T-shirts, media campaigns independent of IAM, and even into the mainstream media discourse.  While these two hashtags were created under IAM, they were consumed by the public, including theological students and Dutch Reform defiant groups, and were used to promote news about this High Court case among varied communities.  Through these two hashtags, public outcry was created, and both political and religious leaders were taken to task by the media regarding their opinions to the case.

While it is unknown the importance of public influence on swaying the court’s decision, it can be stated the importance of the ruling itself, and the greater public’s knowledge of the case and its details.  Given such heavy public attention, after the ruling the Dutch Reform Church stated that they need to start open dialogue about the issues of human sexuality in their congregations.  Additionally, broad knowledge of this legislation empowers others in different denominations to confront discrimination in their churches – legal and theological policies within South African churches that exclude LGBTI people and other marginalized groups are now being questioned, with this High Court precedent backing clergy and parishioners’ right to do so.

Lastly, because of the expansive media coverage, IAM is now seen as a though leader in the subject of religious life and human sexuality.  They have been called upon by other faith communities to work with them in dialogue around issues of sexuality.  These include religious schools, the Anglican Church, and the African Independent Association of Schools.  Smaller groups have asked IAM to facilitate conversations within their congregations

The Robert Carr Fund’s investment in core funding for IAM enabled the Secretariat to hire its core staff, providing support and oversight of the training and media efforts, as well as the ability to critically look at communications strategies.  Robert Carr Fund’s investment in programmatic funds contributed to the network of trained influence leaders across South Africa and the continent.  IAM has been able to cultivate leadership talent and bring in highly-skilled facilitators who are able to maneuver delicate conversations and tense situations when in discussion about sexuality in the church.  The support to IAM was critical to having a population that could be mobilized to support such a landmark case, and can be mobilized in the future for other advocacy strategies.