Ökumenische Arbeitsgruppe Homosexuelle und Kirche
A German ecumenical association advocating equality, dignity, and participation for LGBTQI people within Christian churches and religious life.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Ökumenische Arbeitsgruppe Homosexuelle und Kirche, commonly known as HuK, is a German voluntary association formed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and allied Christians seeking equality and protection from discrimination in churches. Its name translates approximately as Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuality and Church. The association operates at the intersection of LGBTQI emancipation, Christian theology, church policy, pastoral practice, and self-help. The group emerged from encounters among homosexual Christians at the German Protestant Church Congress in 1977. Its members came from different denominations but shared experiences of exclusion and the classification of homosexuality as incompatible with Christian life or church service. HuK chose a reformist and ecumenical approach: rather than separating itself from the churches, it sought to change church teaching, employment practices, pastoral structures, and public discourse from within. This position gave the organization influence in church debates but also produced early distrust in parts of the broader gay movement, where some activists viewed cooperation with discriminatory institutions with suspicion. During its first years, HuK expanded rapidly and established regional groups, including groups in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Tübingen. Its early priorities included ending the treatment of homosexuality as an illness, opposing discrimination against LGBTQ people employed by churches, supporting affected individuals, and creating space for LGBTQ Christians at major religious events. The association initially operated without a formal legal structure. After extended internal debate, members adopted statutes in 1983. A first attempt to register the association failed after consultations with major regional Protestant and Catholic institutions. A subsequent attempt, using the word “ecumenical” in the organization’s name, succeeded in 1985 at the district court in Nuremberg. Church congresses have remained central to HuK’s public work. The organization has participated in German Protestant Kirchentage and Catholic Katholikentage, sometimes in unofficial or parallel settings when organizers were unwilling to include LGBTQ concerns in formal programs. It has organized panels, petitions, information events, theological discussions, and public advocacy. A 1979 petition supporting Pastor Klaus Brinker, who had been denied a parish position by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, collected 4,709 signatures and became an official statement of that church congress. HuK became a regular participant in the Protestant Kirchentag from 1987 onward. Its participation in Catholic events developed more slowly; after years of restricted access and parallel programming, it became possible for the association to attend Catholic Church Congresses regularly from 1994, and the Katholikentag formally invited HuK for the first time in 2014. HuK’s principal policy objective is a sexual ethic in which lesbian and gay relationships are treated equally and do not prevent participation in church life or appointment to church office. Its remit has broadened to include transgender and intersex people and the wider LGBTTIQ* community. The association provides information, theological analysis, public commentary, individual counseling, and support for people facing problems with church employers or congregations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also recognized as an expert organization on homosexuality and churches and has been invited to submit opinions in proceedings before Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court. The organization works through volunteer structures. A three-to-five-member executive board is supported by a delegates’ council, regional groups, thematic working groups on Protestant and Catholic church policy, and counseling activities. HuK publishes the member magazine HuK-Info three times a year. It also cooperates with other German and international LGBTQ Christian organizations, including the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups and ILGA. In Protestant churches, HuK’s sustained advocacy has contributed to broader recognition of same-sex relationships, including, in some regional churches, marriage ceremonies and the ability of same-sex couples to live together in church housing or vicarages. Progress in the Roman Catholic Church has generally been more limited at the official level, although individual parishes and local initiatives have shown greater openness. In 2020/21, HuK received the Herbert Haag Prize for its commitment to freedom and humanity within Christian churches and became a member of the Ecumenical Church Congress in Frankfurt.
History
HuK originated in 1977 when LGBTQ Christians met at the German Protestant Church Congress. The participants represented different Christian backgrounds, but shared experiences of discrimination by churches and opposition to the tendency to describe homosexuality as pathological or incompatible with church service. From the beginning, the group sought to work inside Christian institutions rather than reject them altogether. That approach distinguished HuK from some parts of the contemporary gay movement and generated criticism, but it also enabled the association to develop a sustained church-policy strategy. Membership grew from 71 people in 1978 to 101 by February 1979. Regional groups were established in several German cities and regions. The association’s early work focused on access to church events, public education, opposition to discriminatory employment practices, and theological arguments for the equal dignity of homosexual people. At the 1979 Protestant Church Congress in Nuremberg, HuK helped organize a discussion on homosexuality and the Gospel and collected signatures for a petition supporting Pastor Klaus Brinker, who had been refused a pastoral position in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover. The petition secured 4,709 signatures and qualified as an official church-congress statement. HuK also sought a presence in Catholic events. In 1978 it appeared at the Catholic Church Congress in Freiburg in an unofficial setting hosted by a Protestant student congregation. Attempts to obtain a place in the official program of the 1980 Catholic Congress failed, reflecting the Catholic Church’s reluctance to engage the issue publicly at that time. HuK supported the parallel “Katholikentag von unten” and circulated an appeal to the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics. The appeal called for an end to discrimination against homosexual people and for dialogue, receiving nearly 3,000 supporting signatures. Regular access to Catholic Congresses developed only gradually and became possible from 1994 onward; in 2014 the organizers formally invited HuK for the first time. The group spent the early 1980s consolidating its internal structures. It introduced membership fees in 1981 to help finance activities at church congresses. Debate over whether to become a formally registered association was intense. A statute was approved by a general meeting on 19 March 1983, but the first registration attempt failed after the Marburg court consulted the Protestant Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fulda, both of which expressed reservations. A second application, using the expanded name Ökumenische Arbeitsgruppe Homosexuelle und Kirche, succeeded in 1985 at the district court in Nuremberg. From the late 1980s onward, HuK became a more established participant in Protestant church events, attending the German Protestant Kirchentag regularly from 1987. Its activities broadened beyond event participation to include theological working groups, church-policy analysis, public responses to statements about homosexuality, and counseling for people whose church employment or congregational role was affected by their sexual orientation. The association developed separate working structures for Protestant and Catholic church policy and maintained a network of regional groups. Hanover’s group became an independent registered association, while HuK continued to coordinate national advocacy and support. HuK’s policy objective has been equal treatment of lesbian and gay relationships in church ethics and practice, including access to church office and freedom from employment discrimination. Over time, the organization expanded its focus to transgender and intersex people and to broader LGBTTIQ* concerns. In Protestant regional churches, which possess considerable autonomy, the results have varied, but many have moved toward recognition of same-sex relationships, including marriage ceremonies and permission for same-sex couples to share church housing or vicarages. Official progress in the Roman Catholic Church has been more limited, although local parishes and individual church actors have sometimes been more receptive. The association also developed an external expert role. It has been asked to provide opinions in proceedings before Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court concerning the constitutionality of laws relevant to LGBTQ people and religious institutions. It participates in German-speaking networks and international organizations such as the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups and ILGA. HuK publishes HuK-Info for members three times annually and remains primarily volunteer-run, with a volunteer executive board and delegates’ council. In 2020/21, the organization received the Herbert Haag Prize for its commitment to freedom and humanity in the churches and joined the Ecumenical Church Congress in Frankfurt.
- 2021
Herbert Haag Prize and ecumenical membership
[1]HuK was honored with the Herbert Haag Prize and became a member of the Ecumenical Church Congress in Frankfurt.
- 2017
Fortieth-anniversary publication
[2]A collected volume titled Aufgehende Saat documented four decades of HuK history and work.
- 2014
First formal invitation to a Catholic Congress
[1]The Catholic Church Congress formally invited HuK for the first time, rather than the invitation being initiated solely by the association.
- 1994
Regular Catholic Congress participation
[1]HuK’s participation in Catholic Church Congresses became possible on a continuing basis.
- 1987
Regular Protestant Kirchentag participation
[1]HuK began participating regularly in the German Protestant Church Congress.
- 1985
Successful registration as an association
[1]After an unsuccessful first attempt, HuK was registered at the district court in Nuremberg under its ecumenical name.
- 1983
Association statute adopted
[1]Members approved formal association statutes at a general meeting on 19 March.
- 1981
Membership fees introduced
[1]The organization began charging membership fees to help finance its church-congress activities.
- 1979
Nuremberg church-congress petition
[1]HuK helped organize a discussion on homosexuality and the Gospel and gathered 4,709 signatures supporting Pastor Klaus Brinker.
- 1978
Early membership and Catholic Congress presence
[1]HuK reported 71 members and appeared at the Catholic Church Congress in Freiburg in an unofficial setting.
Products and positioning
A volunteer, ecumenical LGBTQ Christian advocacy and self-help organization that combines theological argument, church-policy engagement, public education, and support for people facing discrimination within religious institutions.
Member magazine
HuK-Info
HuK-Info is the association’s member publication, issued three times a year. It communicates organizational developments, theological and church-policy analysis, reports from regional and thematic groups, and information relevant to LGBTQ Christians and people dealing with discrimination in church settings.
Support service
Individual counseling
HuK offers individual counseling for people who encounter difficulties with church employers, congregations, or religious institutions because of sexual orientation or gender identity. The service forms part of the organization’s self-help and advocacy mission.
Advocacy and research
Church-policy working groups
Thematic working groups address Protestant and Catholic church policy. Their work combines theological reasoning, monitoring of institutional developments, public commentary, and proposals for equal treatment of LGBTQ people in church life and employment.
Marketing campaigns
- 1980Appeal for dialogue at the Catholic Church Congress
Germany
HuK appealed to the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics to end discrimination against homosexual people in the church and begin a dialogue.
Outcome. The appeal received nearly 3,000 supporting signatures. HuK also helped prepare the parallel Katholikentag von unten after being excluded from the official program.
- 1979Klaus Brinker petition
Germany
At the Nuremberg Protestant Church Congress, HuK campaigned for Pastor Klaus Brinker, who had been refused a pastoral position by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover. The petition gathered 4,709 signatures.
Outcome. The number of signatures was sufficient for the petition to become an official statement of the church congress.
- 1977LGBTQ Christian inclusion at church congresses
Germany
HuK has maintained a long-term presence at Protestant and Catholic church congresses through panels, information events, petitions, and theological discussions addressing homosexuality, gender identity, and church life.
Outcome. Participation expanded from difficult and sometimes unofficial access to regular involvement in Protestant events from 1987 and Catholic events from 1994.
Brand decisions
2014
Formal integration into Catholic Church Congress programmingStrategyBackground
HuK had historically faced resistance to official participation in Catholic Church Congresses and had often relied on parallel or unofficial events.
Action taken
The Catholic Church Congress formally invited HuK for the first time.
Aftermath
The invitation represented a visible change in institutional openness after years of advocacy and regular participation efforts.
1983
Move toward formal association statusStrategyBackground
HuK had operated without a formal registered-association structure, while members debated whether legal formalization would strengthen or constrain the movement.
Action taken
The general meeting adopted association statutes on 19 March 1983 and initiated registration proceedings.
Aftermath
The first registration attempt failed, but a revised application using the ecumenical name succeeded in 1985.
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