Oscar Bougardt, the Cape Town pastor previously found guilty of LGBTQ+ hate speech, has lashed out at a fellow pastor for sharing the stage with gay comedian Marc Lottering, triggering a fresh wave of anti-LGBTQ+ posts.
On Monday, Bougardt – who heads up Calvary Hope Baptist Ministry in Delft – shared a screenshot of a video of Lottering singing with Pastor Jose van Rensburg at New Hope Church in Cape Town. According to Daily Voice, Lottering is a childhood friend of van Rensburg and attended the church for a baptism when he was called on stage.
“The pastor in question who openly welcomed Marc Lottering, who is openly gay, may face spiritual consequences,” warned Bougardt in response to the video.
“Permitting a homosexual individual to participate in church performances alongside the pastor… is in my opinion, as contradicting scripture; if scripture labels it an abomination, it is not for pastors to reinterpret it,” he continued.
Bougardt further asserted that, “According to Romans 1, those who engage in homosexual practices are considered reprobates; choosing such a lifestyle over devotion to God implies rejection of Him.”
Marc Lottering Responds
In an Instagram post, Lottering addressed the situation, writing: “I am aware of the ‘hate gay Marc Lottering’ post doing the rounds today – all because a Pastor dared to ask me to join him in song in church yesterday.
“I have been sent the links and am not opening or reading them, by choice. It’s not the first time and it most certainly won’t be the last time to be on the receiving end of hate.
“Many of you have asked me today whether I am ok. Please know that I am. For all the Hate that I receive, there is so much Love out there too,” the performer said.
Escalation of Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric
Following his post about Lottering, Bougardt continued to publish further attacks on LGBTQ+ people. Later that day, he condemned same-sex couples and their adoption of children, claiming that this “is not in the best interest of any child.”
He added that, “Children adopted by homosexuals might encounter confusion regarding their own identities.”
On Tuesday, Bougardt again commented on a post by van Rensburg, and insisted that “All homosexuals are rejected due to their own decisions, take time to read Romans 1. If you comprehend scripture in its proper context, you will see they are reprobates due to their deliberate choices and not by birth.”
On Wednesday, he shared an illustration depicting a family sheltering under an umbrella as rainbow colours flowed over them. Alongside the image, he wrote:
“The Bible provides guidance on relationships, stating that a man should leave his parents and cleave to his wife, which implies a binary gender structure. From my perspective, this scriptural principle underscores the existence of two fundamental genders, rendering other gender identities incongruous with biblical teachings.”
He later again cited Romans 1 as highlighting “the link between homosexuality/ sexual immorality and broader societal decay, including unrighteousness, malice, and deceit. They are rejected because of their reprobate mindset.”
On Thursday, Bougardt also commented on a report that the biggest LGBTQ+ festival in the Middle East was set to take place in Israel.
“At the end of day God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah due to homosexual tendencies, this is an clear indication that Israel today is not God chosen nation, but a bunch of retards who kills innocent women and children in Palestine. I am disgusted at modern day Israel.”
Legal Risks and Previous Conviction
Bougardt could risk imprisonment over his latest comments.
In August 2023, the Western Cape Division of the Equality Court sentenced him to nine months in prison, suspended for five years, for violating a 2014 court order to stop making anti-LGBTIQ+ statements, as well as a subsequent 2018 suspended sentence.
The court ordered him not to: “…directly or indirectly publish, post, disseminate, comment on or share, on any social media platform, digital forum or interactive website (including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter (X), TikTok or YouTube) any statements concerning sexual orientation or any other prohibited grounds defined as such in the definition of ‘prohibited grounds’ under section 1(1) (a) and (b) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000.”
Undeterred, in November 2024, Bougardt vowed to oppose Cape Town hosting WorldPride in 2028, describing it as “an abomination to all of us who are God-fearing people.”
Bougardt Defends His Comments
Responding to MambaOnline, Bougardt acknowledged that his statements “may be perceived as contentious” but insisted that they are “rooted in my sincerely held religious beliefs and my duty as a pastor to uphold what I understand to be biblical truth.”
He further asserted that his comments regarding van Rensburg and Lottering “were not intended to incite hatred, harm, or discrimination against any individual or group. Rather, they were directed at what I believe to be a matter of concern within the church, namely, the responsibility of church leaders to act with integrity and consistency in relation to the teachings of Scripture.”
Bougardt claimed the 2023 Equality Court ruling only prohibited him “from publishing statements concerning sexual orientation that would fall within the scope of prohibited speech under the Act (the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act,” adding that, “I take this order seriously.”
He maintained that his recent comments do not violate that order, arguing that they “do not advocate harm, do not incite violence, and do not promote hatred against any individual or group. They constitute religious and theological expression concerning church doctrine and leadership, which must be distinguished from unlawful hate speech.”
According to Bougardt, his social media posts fall within his constitutionally protected rights to freedom of religion, belief and expression, “as they are grounded in sincerely held religious convictions and are directed at doctrinal matters within the church.”
