Abstract:
This paper will examine how the decision made by the Presbyterian Church in 1927 – to use polity
rather than theology to solve its theological issues – has guided the same-gender blessing and
marriage debate since the 1980s. The paper summarises the formation process of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)’s polity regarding same-gender blessing and marriage ceremonies in light
of General Assemblies’ decisions and General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commissions’
ecclesiastical rulings.
