Documentary backdrop image for This Obedience (2003)

Documentary backdrop image for This Obedience (2003)

200383 min0documentary

3.0/ 10(3 ratings)• TMDB

Lgbtq Rights Religious Institutions

This Obedience

200383 min0documentary

3.0/ 10(3 ratings)• TMDB

A Lutheran congregation in Minnesota ordains an openly gay woman as its pastor in 2003, sparking backlash from social conservatives.

Lgbtq Rights Religious Institutions

Genres

Directors

Dawn Mikkelson,

Synopsis

A Lutheran congregation in Minnesota ordains an openly gay woman as its pastor in 2003, sparking backlash from social conservatives.

People

Dawn Mikkelson

Dawn Mikkelsondirector

Jamie Lee

Jamie Leedirector

Synopsis

A Lutheran congregation in Minnesota ordained an openly gay woman as its pastor in 2003. This decision directly challenged the national Lutheran organization’s directives. The film documents the backlash from social conservatives within and outside the church. It includes interviews and personal stories, capturing the congregation's struggles and triumphs as they address issues of faith and sexuality amid intense criticism.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Gay Priests Break Their Silence (2025)

Gay Priests Break Their Silence

Gay priests in France share their experiences and challenges within the Catholic Church, highlighting the conflict between their identities and institutional beliefs.

Gay Priests Break Their Silence

Cure for Love (2017)

Cure for Love

2017•59m•★4.2TMDB

A wedding ceremony unites Anna Katrina Facel and Brian Keith Pangeli, set against the backdrop of a controversial evangelical movement on sexual orientation.

Gay Conversion - USA (2007)

Gay Conversion - USA

More than 100 conversion clinics operate in the United States, promoting therapies that claim to change sexual orientation, despite widespread criticism.

Gay Conversion - USA

Pride Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does For This Stonewall Veteran (HBO) (2019)

Pride Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does For This Stonewall Veteran (HBO)

Three nights of chaos erupted at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, marking a turning point in the LGBTQ movement and the fight for civil rights.

Pride Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does For This Stonewall Veteran (HBO)

Being Gay and Christian in England in 1996 (British TV Documentary) (2018)

Being Gay and Christian in England in 1996 (British TV Documentary)

Simon Harvey navigates the conflict between his homosexuality and his strict Christian upbringing in England during the 1990s.

Being Gay and Christian in England in 1996 (British TV Documentary)

Gay Marriage And The Battle For The Methodist Church (2016)

Gay Marriage And The Battle For The Methodist Church

More than 1,500 United Methodist pastors have pledged to perform same-sex weddings, challenging the church's traditional stance on homosexuality.

Gay Marriage And The Battle For The Methodist Church

Queer in Orbán's Hungary (2026)

Queer in Orbán's Hungary

In a defiant display of resilience, activists rally for LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary despite government oppression.

Queer in Orbán's Hungary

Long Time Comin (2024)

Long Time Comin

2024•53m•★3.8TMDB

Two prominent African-Canadian lesbian artists, Faith Nolan and Grace Channer, perform and discuss their artistic collaboration and its impact on the community.

Long Time Comin

The Wedding Heard ’Round the World: America’s First Gay Marriage (2016)

The Wedding Heard ’Round the World: America’s First Gay Marriage

On September 3, 1971, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license in Hennepin County, marking a significant moment in LGBTQ history.

The Wedding Heard ’Round the World: America’s First Gay Marriage

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries (2025)

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries

39% of homosexuals living in deprived areas have been physically assaulted, reflecting the violence faced by the LGBTQ community in oppressive countries.

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma (2023)

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma

Clint Eastwood remains an enigmatic worldwide sensation in this revealing documentary.

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma

Grain: Analog Renaissance (2021)

Grain: Analog Renaissance

2021•1h21m•★7.0TMDB

More than 80 minutes of personal stories reveal a growing interest in analog photography among fashion houses and social media influencers.

Grain: Analog Renaissance

Explore This Obedience

Browse more like this

Queer in Orbán's Hungary (2026)

Queer in Orbán's Hungary

In a defiant display of resilience, activists rally for LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary despite government oppression.

Queer in Orbán's Hungary

No digital watch option in your country

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries (2025)

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries

39% of homosexuals living in deprived areas have been physically assaulted, reflecting the violence faced by the LGBTQ community in oppressive countries.

Being Gay in the Most Oppressive Countries

No digital watch option in your country

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma (2023)

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma

Clint Eastwood remains an enigmatic worldwide sensation in this revealing documentary.

Clint Eastwood: the Actor, the Man and the Enigma

No digital watch option in your country

Grain: Analog Renaissance (2021)

Grain: Analog Renaissance

2021•1h21m•★7.0TMDB

More than 80 minutes of personal stories reveal a growing interest in analog photography among fashion houses and social media influencers.

Grain: Analog Renaissance

No digital watch option in your country

Church & State (2018)

Church & State

2018•1h25m•★4.8TMDB

A small law firm in Salt Lake City takes on a lawsuit that challenges Utah's gay marriage ban, contributing to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Queer Church (2023)

Queer Church

2023•55m•★4.5TMDB

A Queer Church Service led by transgender Pastor Drew Stever takes place on the first Sunday of Pride, welcoming all attendees to celebrate together.

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (2022)

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

2022•1h32m•★9.0TMDB

In 1946, the Revised Standard Version of the Bible introduced the term "homosexual," marking the first time it appeared in any biblical translation.

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

God, I'm Gay (2024)

God, I'm Gay

2024•52m•★7.0TMDB

Robbert Rodenburg confronts his past as a gay man in a conservative Christian community in the Netherlands, seeking acceptance and healing from rejection.

For They Know Not What They Do (2019)

For They Know Not What They Do

2019•1h31m•★6.0TMDB

Four families with LGBTQ children face challenges from society and religion after the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in the United States.

For They Know Not What They Do

Love Free or Die (2016)

Love Free or Die

2016•1h22m•★3.5TMDB

In June 2003, Gene Robinson became the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church, igniting debates on inclusion and equality within religious communities.

Love Free or Die

This Is What Love in Action Looks Like (2011)

This Is What Love in Action Looks Like

2011•1h14m•★4.3TMDB

A nationwide protest erupted in 2005 after a Memphis teenager was sent to a controversial Christian program aimed at changing his sexual orientation.

This Is What Love in Action Looks Like

Maya (2020)

Maya

2020•1h26m•★8.0TMDB

Mohsen, the head keeper at Iran's second largest zoo, takes his Bengal tiger, Maya, to the Caspian Sea, challenging their bond and highlighting issues of animal captivity.

A Concrete Cinema (2017)

A Concrete Cinema

2017•1h17m•★10.0TMDB

A construction worker in Villa Elisa, Argentina, uses salvaged materials to build a cinema in response to the decline of local movie theaters.

A Concrete Cinema

How God Created Us: Coming Out in the Catholic Church (2022)

How God Created Us: Coming Out in the Catholic Church

2022•1h•★8.5TMDB

125 employees of the Catholic Church in Germany come out as queer, sharing their struggles and the risks of revealing their sexual orientation.

How God Created Us: Coming Out in the Catholic Church

All God's Children (2001)

All God's Children

2001•26m•★9.0TMDB

Twenty-six minutes of interviews with leaders like Reverend Jesse Jackson and Senator Carol Moseley-Braun address the acceptance of LGBTQ individuals in the Black Church.

All God's Children

The Shepherds (2018)

The Shepherds

2018•1h16m•★7.2TMDB

In 1996, a female pastor opens Taiwan's first LGBT-affirming church, offering support to those rejected by traditional Christian communities.

Browse more by Dawn Mikkelson

View all films →

Minnesota Mean (2023)

Minnesota Mean

2023

The Red Tail (2009)

The Red Tail

2009

Finding Her Beat (2022)

Finding Her Beat

2022

Risking Light (2018)

Risking Light

2018

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →