A new project has been launched in the US, in an attempt to end homophobia in the Christian church, to reform Christian teachings on homosexuality, and to give gay Christians a voice in the church.

The Reformation Project, launched by Matthew Vines, aims to eradicate homophobia from the Christian church, and to forge a new way of teaching, inclusive of gay Christians.

According to the Reformation Project website, it “is a Bible-based, Christian non-profit organization that seeks to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity”.

A statement of faith on its website reads: “The Reformation Project is a Bible-based, Christian organization. We are ecumenical in nature and mission, inclusive of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians alike.”

In September, the project will aim to train 50 “reformers”, at the United Methodist Church in Kansas City, and aims to equip them to “make lasting changes to beliefs and interpretations that marginalize LGBT people”, in their communities.

The project aims to raise $100,000 (£65,000), towards making the training free for all participants, and aims to expand to training more reformers each year, first in the US, and later across the world.

Mr Vines is also writing a book, aiming to do the same. The IndieGogo page showed that, with just under a day remaining, the project was $2,000 (£1,290) from its final goal to fund September’s conference.

At the weekend, a Catholic priest in Brazil, the world’s biggest Catholic country, resigned, and was excommunicated, after protesting against the church’s policies opposing homosexuality.

Meanwhile, a Catholic priest in Argentina was recently expelled from the church following an investigation after he voiced his support for equal marriage in the country.