Cuban evangelicals defend marriage as “an exclusive union between a man and a woman”

Leaders of 20 Cuban evangelical denominations released an official statement in which they reaffirmed their position against same-sex marriage.

They believe that, within the reform of the Cuban Constitution, the proposal is “totally incompatible with the thinking of the Fathers of our country”.

THE FAMILY,  “A DIVINE INSTITUTION”

The document, shared on social media by some of the churches that signed it, defines the family as “a divine institution created through marriage as the exclusive union between a man and a woman”.

The Evangelical Pentecostal Church Assemblies of God, the Western and Eastern Baptist Conventions, the Evangelical League of Cuba, the Methodist Church in Cuba, and the Free Baptist Church, signed the statement.

“The proposal of equal marriage, product of the gender ideology, is totally incompatible with the history, the cultural values and the thinking of the Fathers of our country, so that its implementation as a state policy would harm the rights of children and the responsible exercise of paternity, as well as other elementary rights”, they said.

“CUBAN CHURCH HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE A VOICE”

Additionally, they defend themselves from the label of “homophobic”, claiming that they do not to fear, nor reject homosexuals.

“By fulfilling the divine mandate, we love them, pray for them and preach the gospel to them”, Cuban evangelical leaders added.

The document stated that “the love of God is for all human beings regardless of their sexual orientation, political or religious ideology, to regenerate and transforme people, once they have repented through faith in Jesus Christ”, they declared.

“The Cuban Church, as an integral part of society, is concerned and therefore has the right to have a public voice for the common good”, they concluded.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Reverend Moisés De Prada, Superintendent of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church Assemblies of God, told the Cuban newspaper Diario de Cuba that in the meeting they were going to analyze issues included in the current Constitution Project that they consider to be “in contradiction” with the development of the church.

In addition to gay marriage, they planned to discuss the changes to Article 15 of the Constitution that the government had proposed, as well as "the acquisition of land and properties and a law of worship” among other issues.

Some weeks ago, several of these Christian leaders shared a document in which they defended their right to enrich the new constitutional text “to guarantee complete religious freedom” on the island.

Specifically, they demanded the addition of some terms, such as “freedom of conscience”, and two new paragraphs (66 and 67).

These paragraphs asked the authorities “to refrain from interfering in the internal life of religious associations” and not to use “organisations that control them", in a petition they are presenting in the so-called “popular consultations”.