Did Gay People Steal The Rainbow From Christians?

Every Pride Month some pearl-clutching Karen says, “Gay people stole the rainbow from Christianity.” Here’s what’s wrong with this claim.

If you spend time with conservative Christians in June, you’ve probably heard this, too. But that accusation assumes several things:

Christians owned the rainbow in the first place.
The rainbow has only one religious meaning.
The biblical rainbow is exclusively Christian.
LGBTQIA+ people — and I’ll sometimes use the reclaimed word “queer” as an ally and umbrella term — chose the rainbow to mock, replace, or steal from Christianity.
Pride Month somehow desecrates something sacred that Christians had a sole claim to.

If you don’t have time to read the whole article—though I hope you will—let me save you the suspense. No, gay people did not steal the rainbow from Christians. Christians never owned it.

Now, let’s talk about why.

The Rainbow in the Bible

The Bible mentions the rainbow in four places. Each time, the point is not the science of light bending through raindrops. The rainbow carries spiritual meaning: covenant, glory, mercy, and divine presence. Here’s a quick look at each depiction in Scripture.

Genesis 9:13-16 – God’s rainbow as a sign to Noah

When Christians think of biblical rainbows, this is the first one that comes to mind. After the flood, God sets his bow in the clouds as a sign of covenant. God has just brought the floodwaters over the earth, and is now setting the divine weapon back on its hook, promising no longer to aim it at creation.

I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

God makes this covenant not with some people and not others, but with “every living creature.” So, from the beginning, the rainbow is not narrow or tribal. It’s a sign of divine mercy toward all creation.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 – The Rainbow as Divine Glory

The prophet sees a vision of divine glory. The only thing he can compare the radiance around God’s throne to is a rainbow.

And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire, and seated above the likeness of the throne was something that seemed like a human form. Upward from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around, and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around. Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

Here the rainbow is not used as a boundary marker or a “keep out” sign. Instead, it represents the overwhelming divine presence that inspires wonder and awe.

Revelation 4:2–3 – The Rainbow Around the Throne

Either John’s apocalypse borrows heavily from his reading of Ezekiel, or the two are describing closely related visions of divine glory. John describes it like this:

At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald.

This image suggests majesty, beauty, covenant, and mercy surrounding God’s authority, represented by the throne. If anything, the rainbow softens the image of the throne. Instead of a shining heavenly weapon, the spectrum appears as a circle, the way a rainbow looks from heaven’s vantage point. Judgment is encircled by promise.

Christians who deny queer folks the right to use the rainbow as a symbol should take a closer look at Revelation’s larger vision. The rainbow itself is not a modern Pride flag, and we do not need to pretend that it is. But Revelation does not use the rainbow as an exclusionary symbol, either. The book’s wider vision includes redeemed humanity from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Its final reach is not small, narrow, or tribal. It is wide enough to embrace everyone, just as God’s love and grace extend to all.

Revelation 10:1 – The Rainbow as a Halo

John describes a vision of a heavenly warrior with multi-colored halo:

And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire.

The rainbow here reflects the one around God’s throne. Like God’s signet seal above the angel’s head, it represents heavenly authority, divine radiance, and continuity with God’s promise. Again, the rainbow is not an exclusionary symbol.

Christians Should Be Careful

Christians should be careful about claiming that queer folks stole “our rainbow.” Mainly, because it isn’t ours at all.

But also, because two of the three biblical books with rainbow references aren’t originally Christian. Those were Jewish scriptures before Christians received them. Christians call these texts the Old Testament because we read them as part of the Christian canon. But historically and theologically, they are the Hebrew scriptures.

Christianity inherited the rainbow as a biblical symbol. It didn’t invent it. So Christian possessiveness over the rainbow is already shaky.

Rainbows in Other Religions and Cultures

Beyond Judaism and Christianity, the rainbow has carried spiritual meaning across many religions and cultures. It has been a bridge, a bow, a messenger, a warning, a promise, and a sign of divine presence. So, to claim that queer people stole the rainbow from Christians is not only bad theology. It is bad history. My next article will explore the rainbow’s symbolism in a whole spectrum of traditions. I hope you’ll join me.

For related reading on Patheos, check out my other articles:

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