I am not a theologian, and I am not going to speak as a theologian. I am scholar of religion. And my perspective is that of an outside observer. It is the perspective of a person who has been studying contemporary Orthodoxy (in Russia) for many years—with special focus on religious conservatism in its different manifestations.
In the discourse of contemporary Orthodoxy (Russian), one of the most important topics in recent years has been the struggle with what is called in this rhetoric “aggressive liberalism” or “aggressive secularism.” “Aggressive liberalism” is a multidimensional concept, but the most threatening part of it which is often mentioned as an evidence of why liberalism is dangerous is “sexual diversity,” in particular non-traditional sexual relations, same-sex marriages, feminism, etc. It seems that Church’s vision of itself is structured around this confrontation, around this feeling of being attacked by an aggressive ideological enemy imposing some alien values and practices.
My first point: of course, this confrontation is theologically motivated, i.e., it is possible to find theological arguments in support of this harsh opposition to “sexual diversity.” In particular, some of these arguments were outlined in the corresponding official document of the Russian Orthodox Church
“The Russian Orthodox Church’s Basic Teaching on Human Dignity, Freedom and Rights.” However, this opposition is not driven by theology. I would even say that there is a huge resistance to the very idea of making “sexual diversity” a legitimate part of theological reflection. The argument often given here is that of an “Overton window”: we discuss it and therefore automatically start to legitimize it. So I would say that in order for the issues of sexual diversity to receive an adequate theological solution, they must first
become theological, i.e., be accepted as legitimate part of theological debate. But this has yet to happen.
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