Attitudes in Presbyterianism toward homosexuality vary, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance.
Denominations for homosexual relationships
Church of Scotland
The "mother church" for Presbyterians worldwide, the Church of Scotland is still debating the issue of homosexuality. In 1994, the General Assembly received for consideration two reports, one from the Board of Social Responsibility on human sexuality ("placing questions of sexuality for people with...disabilities, elderly people, and homosexuality in the contexts of human sciences and Scripture"), and one from the Panel on Doctrine on marriage (concluding, "among other things, that cohabiting couples, whether heterosexual or homosexual, may well display all the marks of loving, faithful and committed partnership, and should not be thought sinful"). The Panel's Working Party was unanimous, but the larger Panel was not and had dissenting members, as did the Board's report. Neither became official church doctrine. The legalization of same-gender Civil Partnerships in Scotland in 2005 brought the issue to a head again, this time over the question of whether Church of Scotland ministers are allowed to conduct (and also have the right to decline to perform) union ceremonies between two persons of the same gender. The Assembly narrowly passed legislation to permit civil blessings. In 2011, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted to allow openly gay ministers, provided those ministers were inducted into the Church of Scotland before May 2009. However, it imposed a moratorium on openly gay ministers being newly inducted into the Kirk until May 2013. During its May 2013 annual meeting the question of ordaining openly gay ministers was again discussed. As an effort to build common ground between the generally opposing "traditionalists" and generally affirming "revisionists", the General Assembly made a decision for the Church to maintain its historic doctrine in relation to human sexuality but, to permit individual Kirk Sessions (local congregations) to call a homosexual minister in a civil partnership if they choose to do so. Questions regarding a mechanism by which conflict between the local Kirk wishing to ordain a homosexual minister and its overseeing Presbytery (which aims to maintain church doctrine) were referred to committee and the question will be further discussed at the 2014 general assembly. In 2015, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted in favour of appointing and accepting gay ministers who entered into same-sex marriages. On May 25, 2017, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland officially backed a Theological Forum report calling for approval of same-sex marriage and an apology to homosexuals for past mistreatment. While the apology immediately went into effect, no timeline was set for allowing gay marriages and it was acknowledged that same-sex marriages would still not be allowed in Church of Scotland churches until at least the 2018 assembly. In May 2018, the General Assembly passed a vote by 345 to 170, for a motion which tasked a committee with drafting church law on the issue of same-sex marriage. Its legal question committee has been asked to report back to the decision-making body in 2020.
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada has had a conservative view on the subject in the past. A 2002 report summarized its position by noting that the church "opposes any attitude of hatred or discrimination directed at homosexual people, the Church believes its task is to lead all people to the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, the Church has accepted the biblical norm of male and female, and the Church has called for chastity...outside the bond of marriage." It notes that "there are lesbian and gay people holding positions of responsibility in the [PCC], people of homosexual orientation are able to have all the privileges of church membership, and [that the PCC] still needs to examine the issues around ordination." The PCC did not approve of same-sex marriages at the time the Civil Marriage Act was passed, and it stated that position to the Canadian government in 2005.
However, the stance of the PCC has changed in recent years. The 145th General Assembly in June 2019 adopted two recommendations: that presbyteries under the Barrier Act may hold parallel definitions of marriage being "a covenant relationship between a man and a woman or as a covenant relationship between two adult persons", and that LGBTQI persons may be ordained as ministers and ruling elders. The recommendations were approved by the General Assembly in 2021.