Adiaphora
The Israel Folau Case, Heterodoxy and ‘Orthodox Sexual Desire’ in Conservative Australian Christianity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.22486%20Keywords:
Israel Folau case, same-sex desire, Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australian Christian Lobby, Michel Foucault, scientia sexualisAbstract
In April 2019, athlete Isileli ‘Israel’ Folau was sacked for posting anti-LGBTQ+ social media messages. The ‘Israel Folau case’ was contentious in Australia and internationally. Although Folau claimed to be expressing genuinely held Christian beliefs, he has previously articulated heterodox anti-Trinitarian ideas. Throughout Christian history, orthodox beliefs concerning the Trinity have been central. Conversely, same-sex desire has been variously tolerated or censured, but has mostly been regarded as adiaphora: a matter of marginal importance. I argue that the support Folau received from two conservative Christian bodies—the Australian Christian Lobby and the Anglican Diocese of Sydney—suggests that in Australian conservative Christianity, ‘orthodox’ sexuality is now regarded as central, with orthodox belief now de facto consigned to adiaphora.
References
ABC News 2019 Rugby Australia and Israel Folau Settle Legal Dispute over Sacking. ABC News, 4 December. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-04/rugby-australia-israel-folau-mediation-settlement/11765866?
pfm=ms&pfmredir=sm&sf225238506=1 (accessed 6 March 2022).
ABC News 2020 Same-sex Marriage Dominates ACL Media Releases. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/interactives/chart/?chart=20160301-christian-issues&nw=0 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Anstey, Matthew 2022 A Leadership of Listening: The Anglican General Synod and the Ongoing Debate over Human Sexuality. ABC Religion & Ethics, 1 June. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/anglican-general-synod-and-debate-over-human-sexuality/13910554 (accessed 22 June 2022).
Armour, Ellen T. 2010 Blinding Me with (Queer) Science: Religion, Sexuality, and (Post?) Modernity. International Journal of the Philosophy of Religion 68: 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-010-9246-5
Australian Christian Lobby 2019 The Media Would Rather You Didn’t See This | Israel Folau—2019 ACL National Conference. Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKaby54vLsA (accessed 6 March 2022).
Bailey, Derrick S. 1955 Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Baker, Jordan 2022a ‘Fundamentally Awry’: Bishops Block Move to Reject Same-sex Marriage. The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fundamentally-awry-bishops-block-move-to-reject-same-sex-marriage-20220510-p5ak3d.html (accessed 22 June 2022).
Baker, Jordan 2022b ‘Goes against our Beliefs’: Parents and Church Clash over School Values. The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/goes-against-our-beliefs-parents-and-church-clash-over-school-values-20220512-p5akso.html (accessed 22 June 2022).
Bayer, Ronald 1981 Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis. New York: Basic Books.
BBC Sport 2018 Israel Folau: Rugby Australia Will Not Punish Full-Back for Anti-Gay Remarks. BBC Sport, 17 April. Online: https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/43793677 (accessed 27 June 2022).
Beardsley, Christina, and Michelle O’Brien (eds) 2017 This Is My Body: Hearing the Theology of Transgender Christians. London: Darton, Longman & Todd.
Blackwood, Fiona 2022 Australia’s Anglican Church Splits over Same-sex Marriage, Conservatives Form New Diocese. ABC News, 18 August. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-17/australia-anglican-church-splits-over-same-sex-marriage/101341078 (accessed 5 September 2022).
Boswell, John 1980 Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Brennan, Patricia 2007 O Sydney, Sydney, Killing the Prophets… Women-Church: An Australian Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 40: 60–65.
Brown, Judith C. 1986 Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brownson, James V. 2013 Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Carnley, Peter 2004 Reflections in Glass: Trends and Tensions in the Contemporary Anglican Church. Sydney: HarperCollins.
Chadwick, Henry 1993 The Early Church. London: Penguin Books.
Condie, Richard 2020 Commitment 2020. Online: http://www.gafconaustralia.org/gafcon/commitment-2020/ (accessed 6 March 2022).
Countryman, William 1988 Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and their Implications for Today. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone (eds) 1974 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press.
Davies, Glenn 2019 My Words were for the Bishops and I Stand by Them. The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/national/my-words-were-for-the-bishops-and-i-stand-by-them-20191018-p5323u.html (accessed 6 March 2022).
Decent, Tom with Harriet Alexander 2019 Charity Watchdog Could Investigate Australian Christian Lobby over Folau Fundraiser. The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/charity-watchdog-could-investigate-australian-christian-lobby-over-folau-fundraiser-20190625-p5217h.html (accessed 6 March 2022).
Douglas, Mary 1966 Purity and Danger. London: Routledge.
Epstein, Steven 1994 A Queer Encounter: Sociology and the Study of Sexuality. Sociological Theory 12(2): 188–202. https://doi.org/10.2307/201864
Foucault, Michel 1972 The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language. New York: Vintage Books.
Foucault, Michel 1978 The History of Sexuality Volume 1: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin Books.
Foucault, Michel 2011 The Gay Science. Critical Inquiry 37(3): 385–403. https://doi.org/10.1086/659351
GAFCON Australia 2020 Commitment 2020. Online: http://www.gafconaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Commitment-2020.pdf (accessed 6 March 2022).
GAFCON Global Anglicans 2008 Jerusalem Declaration—June 2008. Online: https://www.gafcon.org/jerusalem-2018/key-documents/jerusalem-declaration (accessed 6 March 2022).
Giles, Kevin 2002 The Trinity and Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Giles, Kevin 2006 Jesus and the Father: Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
González, Justo L. 1984 The Story of Christianity Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York: HarperCollins.
Grace, Wendy 2009 Faux Amis: Foucault and Deleuze on Sexuality and Desire. Critical Inquiry 36(1): 52–75. https://doi.org/10.1086/606122
The Guardian 2019 Israel Folau’s Treatment ‘Smacks of Ugly Australia’ says Sydney Anglican Leader. The Guardian, 25 June. Online: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/25/israel-folau-australian-christian-lobby-hosts-new-fundraising-effort (accessed 6 March 2022).
Guilliatt, Richard 2019 Folau’s New Best Friend. The Weekend Australian Magazine, 20 July. Online: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/onward-christian-martin-iles-leap-of-faith/news-story/bcda713e076f847b6dcbfd0edf1941c8 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Hilliard, David 1995 Australian Anglicans and Homosexuality: A Tale of Two Cities. St Mark’s Review 163: 12–20.
Jacobs, Amber 2020 Wangaratta Anglican Church Leads Way on Same-sex Blessings. ABC News, 12 November. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-12/same-sex-couples-anglican-church-blessings-wangaratta/12875676 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Jennings, Mark 2019 Why Did the Australian Christian Lobby Throw their Unqualified Support behind the Heterodox Israel Folau? ABC Religion & Ethics, 9 December. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-australian-christian-lobby-and-the-heterodox-israel-folau/11776738 (accessed 22 June 2022).
Jensen, Michael P. 2012 Sydney Anglicanism: An Apology. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock.
Jordan, Mark D. 1997 The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Jordan, Mark D. 2000 The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kelly, J. N. D. 1972 Early Christian Creeds. Essex: Longman.
Kirby, Michael 2013 Clobbering Religious Gay Prejudice. Eureka Street, 22 May. Online: https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/clobbering-religious-gay-prejudice (accessed 6 March 2022).
Koester, Paul M. 2018 The Role of Apologetics in Witnessing to Mormons. Master of Divinity thesis, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, WI.
Koziol, Michael 2019 ‘Please Leave Us’: Archbishop Tells Same-sex Marriage Supporters to Abandon Anglican Church. The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/national/please-leave-us-archbishop-tells-same-sex-marriage-supporters-to-abandon-anglican-church-20191015-p530tk.html (accessed 6 March 2022).
Koziol, Michael 2021 ‘It’s Our Turn’: Inside the Christian Right Conference Plotting a Political Takeover. The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 March. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-s-our-turn-inside-the-christian-right-conference-plotting-a-political-takeover-20210303-p577fv.html (accessed 6 March 2022).
Kuefler, Mathew (ed.) 2005 The Boswell Thesis: Essays on Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
LaCugna, Catherine M. 1993 God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life. New York: HarperCollins.
Lindberg, Carter 1996 The European Reformations. Oxford: Blackwell.
Loader, William 2011 Making Sense of Sex: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Early Jewish and Christian Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Loader, William 2012 The New Testament on Sexuality. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid 2009 A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. London: Penguin Books.
Maddox, Marion 2014 Right-Wing Intervention in a Naïve Polity: The Australian Christian Lobby. Political Theology 15(2): 132–50. https://doi.org/10.1179/1462317X13Z.00000000071
Maddox, Marion 2021 Why is the Australian Christian Lobby Waging a Culture War over LGBTQ Issues? The Conversation, 4 February. Online: https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-australian-christian-lobby-waging-a-culture-war-over-lgbtq-issues-127805 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Mann, Rachel 2020 Dazzling Darkness: Gender, Sexuality, Illness and God. Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications.
Mark, David 2019 Israel Folau Launches Court Proceedings against Rugby Australia, NSW Waratahs over Unfair Dismissal Claim. ABC News, 1 August. Online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-01/israel-folau-court-action-against-rugby-australia-waratahs/11372714 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Martin, Dale B. 2006 Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation. Louisville, KY and London: Westminster John Knox Press.
Parliament of Australia 2004 Marriage Amendment Act (2004). Online: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004A01361 (accessed 6 March 2022).
Patrick, Aaron 2019 Inside Story: How Israel Folau’s Legal Team Played Rugby Australia. Financial Review, 21 December. Online: https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/inside-story-how-israel-folau-s-legal-team-played-rugby-australia-20191216-p53kcr (accessed 6 March 2022).
Porter, Muriel 2011 Sydney Anglicans and the Threat to World Anglicanism: The Sydney Experiment. London: Routledge.
Porter, Muriel 2022 Sydney Letter Calls on Archbishop Goldsworthy to ‘Repent’ over Ordinations. Church Times, 6 May. Online: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/6-may/news/world/sydney-letter-calls-on-archbishop-goldsworthy-to-repent-over-ordinations (accessed 22 June 2022).
Robinson, Georgina 2019 Folau ‘Saddened’ by Sacking, Considering his Options. The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May. Online: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/folau-set-to-be-sacked-by-rugby-australia-20190514-p51n2g.html (accessed 6 March 2022).
Sandeman, John 2019 Martyn Iles Stands Tall. Eternity News, 5 September. Online: https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/martin-iles-stands-tall/ (accessed 6 March 2022).
Schmitz, Matthew 2012 ‘Evangelical’ or ‘evangelical’? To Capitalize or Not? First Things, 16 August. Online: https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/first-thoughts/2012/08/evangelical-or-evangelical-to-capitalize-or-not (accessed 5 September 2022).
Shelton, Lyle 2020 I Kid You Not: Notes from 20 Years of the Culture Wars. Brisbane: Connor Court Publishing.
Smith, Geoffrey 2022 A Statement from the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia on the Launch of the Company, the Diocese of The Southern Cross. Anglican Church of Australia, 18 August. Online: https://adelaideguardian.com/app/uploads/2022/08/Statement-from-the-Primate-re-Diocese-of-Southern-Cross.pdf (accessed 5 September 2022).
Sporting News 2019 Israel Folau Shares More Homophobic Social Media Posts. Sporting News, 10 April. Online: https://www.sportingnews.com/au/rugby/news/israel-folau-twitter-religion-tasmanian-birth-certificates-nsw-waratahs/1ixisw96y8bys1bssna85ozxfy (accessed 29 June 2022).
Trueman, Carl R. 2019 Israel Folau, Unlikely Martyr. First Things, 23 April. Online: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/04/israel-folau-unlikely-martyr (accessed 6 March 2022).
Vasey-Saunders, Mark 2015 The Scandal of Evangelicals and Homosexuality: English Evangelical Texts 1960–2010. Surrey: Ashgate.
White, Heather R. 2015 Reforming Sodom: Protestants and the Rise of Gay Rights. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Wright, John W. 1984 Boswell on Homosexuality: A Case Undemonstrated. Anglican Theological Review 66(1): 79–94.
Wright, Nigel (ed.) 2012 Five Uneasy Pieces: Essays on Scripture and Sexuality. Adelaide: ATF Theology.
Zhou, Naaman, and Lisa Martin 2019 Israel Folau Donations Page Taken down by GoFundMe for Breaching Terms of Service. The Guardian, 24 June. Online: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/24/israel-folau-donations-page-taken-down-by-gofundme-for-breaching-terms-of-service (accessed 6 March 2022).
Published
Issue
Section
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
