John Boswell

1946-1994

Christian Historian

Words like "ground-breaking" and "astonishing" have been used to describe the work of John Boswell. But others have said he "misinterpreted" some documents and "jumped to conclusions." That's what it means to be controversial.

Before his Christmas-eve death in 1994, Boswell did more than contribute to the field of lesbian and gay Christian history; he defined the field. Some scholars say they look to his 1980 book Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality for direction. Many disagree with his conclusions, though. Regardless of the conclusions, most recognize that Boswell was the first to compile the arguments concerning the church and lesbians and gays in one volume.

Boswell's primary claim throughout his career seemed to be that it is possible to be gay or lesbian and Christian. Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, the 1994 book published only months before his death, asserted that commitment ceremonies between same-sex couples were performed in the early church. Some say Boswell overlooked a line dividing two unrelated ceremonies in his primary documentation, so he may have misinterpreted what the all-important manuscript said.

John Boswell, who died at age 47 of AIDS, was a tenured Professor of History at Yale. His exploration of same-sex unions and gay Christianity almost kept him from getting that tenure. In other words, he almost sacrificed his career so he could tell what he thought was the truth about the history of his church.

Scholars and pew-sitting Christians will debate Boswell's conclusions about Christian history for decades, perhaps centuries. Whether he was right or wrong (or a little of both), someone will step forward to take Boswell's place as the preeminent gay and lesbian Christian scholar. More people -- like you and me -- should follow Boswell's lead and step forward to take our community out of the uncertain past to a certainly-better future.