Religious groups | Good News for Humankind

Church of Norway issues historic apology to LGBTQ+ community

By Peter Schulte / November 10, 2025 / Good News For Humankind

The Church of Norway has reached a major milestone by issuing a formal apology for its past treatment of LGBTQ+ people. The church acknowledged that its past teachings and institutional practices contributed to the oppression, exclusion, and condemnation of LGBTQ+ members. This historic act of institutional repentance is part of a global wave of reconciliation seen across multiple denominations. This move reinforces the church’s commitment to full inclusivity, serving as an inspirational model for religious bodies worldwide.

Church of the Eagle and the Condor can now drink ayahuasca legally in the U.S.

By Peter Schulte / May 7, 2024 / Good news links

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew traditionally used by Indigenous cultures in the Amazon and Orinoco. It is now often used to help treat depression, PTSD, trauma, and other mental illnesses and to promote spiritual and emotional development. The Church of the Eagle and the Condor is officially the first non-Christian church in the U.S to obtain legal protections to use it as a sacrament.

United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings

By Peter Schulte / May 1, 2024 / Good news links

Delegates overwhelmingly approved the changes, 692 to 51, during the United Methodist Church’s General Conference. Shortly after the vote, spontaneous celebrations erupted on the conference center floor. Hundreds of people began cheering and singing. One of the hymn lyrics distinguishable in the crowd was, “You are a child, you are a child of God.” The UMC is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S., with over five million members and 29,000 churches.

Pope Francis approves blessing same-sex couples in “major step forward”

By Peter Schulte / December 18, 2023 / Good news links

The Rev. James Martin, a prominent American advocate for LGBTQ+ Catholics, hailed the decision. “The Vatican’s new declaration ‘Fiducia supplicans’ is major step forward in the church’s ministry to LGBTQ people and recognizes the deep desire in many Catholic same-sex couples for God’s presence in their loving relationships,” he posted on X.

The Vatican says transgender people can be baptized

By Peter Schulte / November 9, 2023 / Good news links

The Vatican, which leads the Catholic Church, has said that transgender people and people in same-sex relationships can be baptized and serve as witnesses at weddings, and trans people can also be godparents as well.

Pope Francis gives women right to vote in bishops’ meeting for first time

By Peter Schulte / May 2, 2023 / Good news links

Francis approved changes to the norms governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world’s bishops together for periodic meetings, following decades of demands by women to have the right to vote.

Mormon church endorses U.S. federal marriage equality bill

By Peter Schulte / November 16, 2022 / Good news links

The 17-million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now supports a bill that codifies the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in any state by other states and the federal government.

35 faith institutions from seven countries announce multimillion-dollar fossil fuel divestment

By Peter Schulte / July 19, 2022 / Good news links

The group, organized by the World Council of Churches, Operation Noah, Laudato Si’ Movement, Green Anglicans, and GreenFaith, has more than $1.2 billion in combined assets under management.

Christian leaders call for climate action, issue unprecedented joint statement

By Peter Schulte / September 9, 2021 / Good news links

In a statement, the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion appealed to COP26 delegates to take action “for the sake of the earth which God has given us.”

The United Church of Christ becomes the first mainline Protestant denomination in the U.S. to ordain an openly gay clergyperson

By Peter Schulte / May 3, 1972 / Archive of Human Genius

The Rev. Dr. William R. Johnson was the first openly gay person ordained in the United States and perhaps the first worldwide in a mainline Protestant denomination. His ordination took place on June 25, 1972 at the Community UCC in San Carlos, California, authorized by the Golden Gate Association of the Northern California/Nevada Conference UCC.