Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition
London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1955. First edition. Octavo, original navy cloth, gilt spine, original dust jacket. Bookseller's label, tanning and offsetting to rear blank flyleaf, slight edge-wear, owner signature to the verso of unclipped original dust jacket. Very good indeed. Item #1851
"THE HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE FORMATION OF THE TRADITIONAL WESTERN CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TO HOMSEXUAL PRACTICES"
First edition of Derrick Sherwin Bailey's Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition—an important step in the reform of the laws on homosexuality in the United Kingdom. Complete with the scarce original dust jacket, this copy bears a Foyles sticker on the front endpaper.
As a leading expert on sexual ethics in the Church of England, Derrick Sherwin Bailey helped pave the way for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the United Kingdom. Listed on the title page as a Central Lecturer of the Church of England Moral Welfare Council, Bailey had written a book on The Mystery of Love and Marriage (1952) and also contributed to The Problem of Homosexuality: An Interim Report of the Church of England Moral Welfare Council, published by Church Information Board (1952).
An historical study of homosexuality in the Classical and Medieval worlds, Bailey expanded the views of his contribution to the Problem of Homosexuality for the public consideration of a larger audience. Described as a "pioneering study" by the Yale historian John Boswell, who wrote that Bailey influenced almost all "modern historical research on gay people in the Christian West." Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition was a direct influence on the policy consensus developed in the Wolfenden Report of 1957, in which the British government recommended the decriminalization of homosexual acts.
An Introduction ("Birmingham, October 24th, 1954") provides a disclaimer. "I ought, perhaps, to make it clear that I am entirely responsible for any interpretations and expressions of opinion contained in this study either of the Council for which I lecture, or of my colleagues in the group which compiled the Report, The Problem of Homosexuality." The contents: I. Sodom and Gomorrah, II. The Bible and Homosexual Practice, III. Roman Law to the Time of Justinian, IV. Legislation, Teaching, and Opinion in the Church, V. The Medieval Situation, VI. The Law in England, VII. Conclusion. With an Index. Though Bailey attempts throughout to temper criticism and vindicate the Church, in a long Conclusion he labels the tradition as "erroneous" and "defective," and which "can no longer be regarded as an adequate guide by the theologian, the legislator, the sociologist, and the magistrate."
Price: $200.00