Somewhere Over the Rainbow. . . . A Common Symbol for Unity and Hope

This past summer, a man in Manheim sawed down a flagpole bearing a rainbow flag displayed by  a Catholic Church. LGBTQ+ supporters had raised the flag in front of St. Sebastian parish  to celebrate Pride Month, and make queer Christians feel welcome. Though the Pride rainbow is the queer community’s most popular and well-known symbol, it is also a prevalent symbol in the history of Christianity.

But the rainbow has represented many things and has been a symbol of many groups throughout history. In an article on Katholisch.de, Ayleen Over has analyzed the varied uses of the rainbow, particularly for two groups which have often been at loggerheads: Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community.

The rainbow became a symbol of the queer community in the 1970s, when the city of San Francisco commissioned Gilbert Baker to design a flag to represent the LGBTQ+ community. Baker was “fascinated by the impact of the American flag” and “was captivated by the stitched-together red and white stripes, which, despite their simplicity, became a symbol of unity.” In a 2015 interview, Baker said that the rainbow, to him, “possessed this simplicity of the various, stitched-together stripes, while simultaneously representing something natural.” Since then, the rainbow as a symbol has become inextricably linked with LGBTQ+ Pride.

But the San Francisco Bay Area was also the site of controversy about the rainbow symbol this past year. This is far from the first time the Pride flag has caused friction among Christians. In June, the San Francisco Giants celebrated Pride month by wearing the rainbow in the logos on their hats. Several Christian players chose to write a passage from Genesis on their hats, claiming the rainbow as a symbol of God’s covenant with Noah rather than a symbol of LGBTQ+ Pride. Across the bay, in Oaklan, a Catholic high school was made to take down its Pride flags, sparking a controversy throughout their student body and alumni. 

In the bible passage cited by the San Francisco Giants players, Genesis 9:13, God says to Noah “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Here, the rainbow serves as a visible reminder of God’s promise to never flood the earth again, representing hope and reconciliation:

“When I gather the clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of flesh. The waters will never again become a flood to destroy all living creatures.”

In Ezekiel 1:28, the rainbow becomes a symbol of God’s appearance:

“As the appearance of the rainbow that appears in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the radiant brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the Lord’s glory.”

Rainbows appear in Revelation as well. In Revelation 4:3, there is a rainbow over the heavenly throne “like an emerald.” Later, in Revelation 10:1, an angel descending from heaven whose cry triggered the sounds of seven thunders, has a rainbow above his head.

The rainbow features heavily in medieval iconography. Medieval artists often portrayed Jesus seated on a colorful arch during the Last Judgment, and many churches feature rainbows in their stained glass art as a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth.

Institutional Christianity is also not the only place we find the rainbow. In the sixteenth century, theologian Thomas Muntzer led an uprising of farmers, townspeople, and miners in what is now Germany, with a rainbow flag as a symbol of their covenant with God and “the hope for a new beginning.” For similar reasons, American clergyman James William Van Kirk created a peace flag with the rainbow and a globe for the 1913 World Peace Congress. This led to use of the rainbow in the peace movement of the 1960s. More recently, children decorated their windows with rainbows during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Greek and Germanic mythology, the rainbow became a bridge between the gods and earth. In Irish folklore, a leprechaun hides gold at the end of a rainbow. The Aboriginal people of Australia worship a rainbow serpent as the creator of the world.

As a natural phenomenon, humankind has always seen the rainbow as a symbol of connection and hope. Whether it be a symbol of the queer community, representative of God’s covenant with Noah, or a symbol of human connection amidst isolation, the rainbow can create unity, not division. It would be great if the rainbow could unite LGBTQ+ people with the people who oppose them. The question is not one of one group co-opting another group’s symbol, but of two groups sharing a common way to express unity. 

—Lynnzee Dick, New Ways Ministry, September 26, 2026