Positional Statements

The Salvation Army prepares Positional Statements that present the organisation’s view on various social and ethical issues. The statements are based on the Army’s understanding of biblical truths and contemporary social science research. The statements indicate the corporate view of The Salvation Army on each topic as at the date of issue and, as such, form the basis for any official comments on such matters.  It is understood that some Salvationists may hold a different view. All statements are subject to periodic review.

The International Statements

The Salvation Army publishes International Positional Statements prepared by the International Moral and Social Issues Council, sometimes in collaboration with the Territorial Moral and Social Issues Councils, and approved by the General. In 2014, the Australian Moral and Social Issues Councils took the decision to adopt all International Positional Statements as the official statements for Australia. Consequently, previous national statements on these moral and social issues were discarded. The Salvation Army in Australia will now only write independent positional statements when the presenting issues are not addressed by the International Positional Statements, or require a distinctly Australian expression (e.g. Indigenous issues). Locally developed Positional Statements are indicated as such in the below list.

The Australian Statements

Within Australia, the statements are prepared by the National Moral and Social Issues Council, and after endorsement by National  leadership, are further scrutinised by The Salvation Army’s International Moral and Social Issues Council prior to submission to the General for approval.