Homosexuality and religion

The relationship between religion and homosexuality varies greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. While myths of same-sex love can be found around the world and some religious faiths regard homosexuality as sacred, the Abrahamic religions traditionally espouse a negative view of homosexuality, and other religions have few official teachings about same-sex relations.

Currently, a majority of Abrahamic religions adhere to doctrines and interpretations that view homosexuality negatively (from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, to explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality). Those who hold these beliefs may teach that homosexual desire itself is sinful or assert that only sexual acts are sinful. Some religious groups have claimed that homosexuality can be overcome through religious faith and practice. In the wake of colonialism, imperialism and missionary work undertaken by people and countries of the Abrahamic faiths, some cultures have adopted new attitudes antagonistic towards homosexuality.

On the other hand, even within the Abrahamic religions, voices exist that view homosexuality more positively, and many religious denominations bless same-sex marriages.

Among the dharmic religions that originated in India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, teachings regarding homosexuality are less clear than among the Abrahamic traditions. Unlike in western religions, homosexuality is rarely discussed.

Regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both sacred texts and tradition for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of translations and interpretations are often disputed.

Views of specific religious groups

Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, traditionally forbid sexual relations between men and teach that such behaviour is sinful. Religious authorities point to passages in the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13), the New Testament (Romans 1:26-27, I Timothy 1:9-10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) and the Qur'an (7:80-81, 26:165), for scriptural justification of these beliefs. The first recorded law against homosexuality is found in the holiness code of Leviticus. Within this code of laws, sexual intercourse between men is a capital offense. There are fewer references that refer to sexual acts between women.

Today some major denominations within these religions, such as Reform Judaism and the United Church of Christ, accept homosexuality. They believe that injunctions against the sexual acts were originally intended as a means of distinguishing religious worship between Abrahamic and pagan faiths, specifically Greek (Ganymede) and Egyptian rituals that made homosexuality a religious practice and not merely human sexuality. Thus, the prohibitions are thus no longer relevant. Some Christian denominations, such as the Presbyterian and Anglican churches now welcome members regardless of sexual orientation, and perform same-sex marriages, as do Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism.

Judaism

Main article: Homosexuality and Judaism

...If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads....

— Leviticus 20:12-14, NIV

The Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is the primary source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that: "[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is a toeva ("abomination")" (Leviticus 18:22). (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for wilful violation is the death penalty, although in practice rabbinic Judaism rid itself of the death penalty for all practical purposes 2,000 years ago.)

Rabbinic Jewish tradition understands this verse to specifically prohibit a man from having anal sex with another man. Rabbinic works ban lesbian acts of sex as well. What people today describe as a biological or psychological homosexual inclination is not discussed among classical rabbis. The sources only discuss specific same-sex acts and not homosexual relationships.

Orthodox Judaism views homosexuality as sinful. Many Orthodox Jews view homosexuality as a choice; some sources claim it to be a deliberate deviance. The majority view is to consider all homosexual activity as an abomination (as per Leviticus 20:12-14). A trend of studying the issue of homosexuality has recently begun to occur, with a view towards understanding and reaching out to religious homosexual Jews. It is common practise amongst Orthodox Jews to encourage young Jews known to be gay to marry (someone of the opposite sex) in the hope that this will "cure" them. Many Rabbis and community leaders have condemned this as potentially cruel to both spouses.

Conservative Judaism, has engaged in an in-depth study of homosexuality since the 1990s with various rabbis presenting a wide array of responsa (papers with legal arguments) for communal consideration. The official position of the movement is to welcome homosexual Jews into their synagogues, and also campaign against any discrimination in civil law and public society, but also to uphold a ban on homosexual sex as a religious requirement. However, a recent split decision of the movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, in January 2007, has significantly reinterpreted the issue, and now allows homosexual men and women to become rabbis or cantors. Some form of commitment ceremony is now also viewed as legitimate. Conservative rabbis who voted on this change used the issue of Kavod HaBriyot, honoring a person's dignity, as honor for someone's rights may override rabbinic restrictions. See Conservative Halakha for a full discussion.

Progressive forms of Judaism, including Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom, view homosexual practices to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexual practices. Progressive Jewish authorities believe either that traditional laws against homosexuality are no longer binding or that they are subject to changes that reflect a new understanding of human sexuality. Some of these authorities rely on modern biblical scholarship suggesting that the prohibition in the Torah was intended to ban coercive or ritualized homosexual sex, such as those practices ascribed to Egyptian and Canaanite fertility cults and temple prostitution.

Christianity

Main articles: Homosexuality and Christianity, List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality, and The Bible and homosexuality

...God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another...

— Romans 1:26-27, ASV

The Catholic Church and, later, Protestant authorities have traditionally been explicitly condemnatory of same-sex sexual relations, namely, "man lying with man as one lies with a woman" and men "burning with lust toward one another." Where the Catholic view is founded on a natural law argument informed by scripture, the Protestant view is based more directly upon scripture. Certain scriptures within the Bible, as in Leviticus, declare same-sex sexual relations between men as sinful and, in the eyes of God, an "abomination". In the Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul describes “men, leaving the natural use of the woman, [burning] in their lust one toward another” as a consequence or punishment for the sin of idolatry.

Denunciation of homosexuality is also seen in surviving early Christian writings; such as in the Didache and the writings of Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, Eusebius, St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine of Hippo, and in doctrinal sources such as the Apostolic Constitutions — for example, Eusebius of Caesarea's statement which condemns "the union of women with women and men with men.” Many prominent Christian theologins have been critical of homosexuality throughout the religion's history. Thomas Aquinas denounced sodomy as second only to bestiality as the worst of all sexual sins, and Hildegard of Bingen's book "Scivias", which was officially approved by Pope Eugene III, condemned sexual relations between women as "perverted forms."

In the 20th and 21st century, a few historians and theologians have challenged the traditional understanding and argue that passages have been mistranslated or that they do not refer to what we understand as “homosexuality.”

The Roman Catholic Church requires homosexuals to practice chastity in the understanding that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered" and "contrary to the natural law." It insists that the only appropriate expression of sexuality is within the context of marriage, which by definition is permanent, procreative, heterosexual, and monogamous. The Church describes homosexual tendencies as "a trial" and stresses that people with such tendencies "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." In reference to the possible ordination of homosexuals to the religious life, distinguishing between "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" and those that are "only the expression of a transitory problem", the Vatican requires that any homosexual tendencies "must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes clear that same-gender attraction is not sinful and no one should be blamed for it, but that a few people have been able to overcome it. However, it considers homoerotic thoughts, feelings and behaviors to be a problem that everyone can and should overcome. Homosexual activity is considered a serious sin on par or greater than other sexual activity outside of a legal, heterosexual marriage and those involved may be ex-communicated.

While same-sex sexual behavior is rejected to the present day by many Christian denominations, contemporary Catholic guides to pastoral care reflect an ethos informed by compassion and respect of the sanctity of other.

Some Christians do not condemn homosexual acts as bad or evil. Many liberal Christians are open and affirming to active homosexuals. Indeed, there is even an entire denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, devoted to being open and affirming to active homosexuals.

Islam

Main articles: Homosexuality and Islam and Pederasty in the Middle East

What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay, but ye are froward folk.

— Quran, 26th sura, trans. Pickthal

All major Islamic sects disapprove of homosexuality, Islam views same-sex desires as a natural temptation; but, sexual relations are seen as a transgression of the natural role and aim of sexual activity. Same-sex intercourse is an offence punishable by execution in six Muslim nations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. It also carried the death penalty in Afghanistan under the Taliban. In other Muslim nations, such as Bahrain, Qatar, Algeria, Pakistan the Maldives, and Malaysia, homosexuality is punished with prison, fines, or corporal punishment.

Islamic teachings (in the hadith tradition) presume same-sex attraction, extol abstention and (in the Qur'an) condemn consummation. In concordance with those creeds, in Islamic countries, male desire for attractive male youths is widely expected and condoned as a human characteristic. However, it is thought that restraint from either acting on, or revealing, this desire is rewarded with an afterlife in paradise, where one is attended by perpetually young virgin lovers, women and men, houri and ghilman. (Al-Waqia 56.37, Qur'an) Homosexual intercourse itself has been interpreted to be a form of lust and a violation of the Qur'an. Thus, while homosexuality as an attraction is not against the Sharia (Islamic law, which governs the physical actions, rather than the inner thoughts and feelings), the physical action of same-sex intercourse is punishable under the Sharia.

The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. Relations between women, if they are regarded as problems, are treated akin to adultery, and al-Tabari records an execution of a harem couple under Caliph al-Hadi.

Youth seeking his father's advice on choosing a lover
From the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love; See Homosexuality and Islam; The Smithsonian, Washington, DC.

Historically, and with exceptions, punishment for male same-sex relations has been less severe compared to its Abrahamic counterparts: Judaism and Christianity. The Qur'an states that if a person commits the sin they can repent and save their life. In early Islamic cultures, such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Canaanites, homosexuality was well documented to be entrenched in many aspects of the culture by exposure to Hellenistic culture. Later cultures such as the Abbasid caliphate and Safavid Persia, were renowned for cultivating a sophisticated homosexual aesthetic reflected in art and literature. The reconciliation of same-sex attraction with religious teachings may have been based on a hadith from a collection of quotations ascribed to Muhammad: "He who loves and remains chaste and conceals his secret and dies, dies a martyr". Hadiths from later periods are harsher: "When a man mounts another man, the throne of God shakes... Kill the one that is doing it and also kill the one that it is being done to." Both ancient and modern fundamentalists have interpreted these injunctions literally, with resulting loss of life.

The result is a religion that allows love between those of the same gender as long as they do not have sexual intercourse. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Daud, Al-Mutamid, Abu Nuwas and many others used this edict to write extensively and openly of love between men while proclaiming to be chaste. Furthermore, in order for the transgression to be proven, at least four men or eight women must bear witness against the accused, thus making it very difficult to persecute those who do not remain celibate in the privacy of their homes.

The teachings of Islam have themselves been used to justify love and sexual expression between males. As for bearing witness, it takes emotional considerations into the subject. See Qur'an, iv. 38; Qur'an, ii. 282; Qur'an, iv. 175), and thus, by a process of induction, they must be worthier objects of desire as well.Debate Between the Wise Woman and the Sage

Dharmic religions

Among the dharmic religions that originated in India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, teachings regarding homosexuality are less clear than among the Abrahamic traditions. Unlike in western religions, homosexuality is rarely discussed. However, most contemporary religious authorities in the various dharmic traditions view homosexuality negatively, and when it is discussed, it is discouraged or actively forbidden. Ancient religious texts such as the Vedas often refer to people of a third gender, who are neither female nor male. Some see this third gender as an ancient parallel to modern western lesbian, gay, transgender and/or intersex identities. However, this third sex is usually negatively valued as a pariah class in ancient texts. Ancient Hindu law books, from the first century onward, categorize non-vaginal sex (ayoni) as impure.

Hinduism

File:Kajuraho homoerotic sculpture - India - Danielou - auparashtika.jpg

Monk performing auparashtika on a visiting prince. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh.

Main article: Homosexuality and Hinduism

Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Sexuality is rarely discussed openly in Hindu society today, and homosexuality is largely a taboo subject — especially among the strongly religious. In a 2004 survey, most — though not all — swamis said they opposed the concept of a Hindu-sanctified gay marriage. Some of the law codes, such as that of Manu Smriti refer to both female and male homosexuality as a punishable crime. Punishments include ritual baths, fines, public humiliation and having fingers cut off. However, the bulk of sexual matters dealt with by the law books are heterosexual in nature.

A "third gender" has been acknowledged within Hinduism since Vedic times. Several Hindu texts, such as Manu Smriti and Sushruta Samhita, assert that some people are born with either mixed male and female natures, or sexually neuter, as a matter of natural biology. They worked as hairdressers, flower-sellers, servants, masseurs and prostitutes. Today, many people of a "third gender" (hijras) live throughout India, mostly on the margins of society, and many still work in prostitution, or make a livelihood as beggars.

The Indian Kama Sutra, written in the 4th century AD, contains passages describing eunuchs or "third-sex" males performing oral sex on men. However, the author was "not a fan of homosexual activities" and treated such individuals with disdain, according to historian Devdutt Pattanaik. Similarly, some medieval Hindu temples and artifacts openly depict both male homosexuality and lesbianism within their carvings, such as the temple walls at Khajuraho. Some infer from these images that Hindu society and religion were previously more open to variations in human sexuality than they are at present.

During British control, Hinduism became markedly antagonistic toward homosexuality. Hindus adopted British Victorian values and imposed them upon hijras and the general public. Consequently, homosexuality, crossdressing, and other similar practices that were formerly legal in Hindu society were criminalized by the British during the 19th century.

In Hinduism many divinities are androgynous. There are Hindu deities who are intersex (both male and female); who manifest in all three genders; who switch from male to female or from female to male; male deities with female moods and female deities with male moods; deities born from two males or from two females; deities born from a single male or single female; deities who avoid the opposite sex; deities with principal companions of the same sex, and so on. One of the most important aspects of Hinduism is the belief that both God and nature are unlimitedly diverse.

The dynamic between homosexuals and Hindu Nationalism is a complex one. On one hand, Professor of women's studies and world religions Paola Bacchetta argues that "queerphobia is one of the pillars of Hindu nationalism"..On the other hand, one of India's most prominent Gay activists, Ashok Row Kavi, has expressed some sympathy with the Hindutva movement, particularly when he condemned the lenient approach of the left-wing politicians towards Pakistan.

Buddhism

Main article: Homosexuality and Buddhism

Buddhism traditionally did not concern itself with the gender of the beloved. Contemporary Western Buddhists and many Japanese and Chinese schools hold very accepting views, something that is traditionally allowed when the relationship does not impede the birth of a child, while other Eastern Buddhists, possibly since colonial times, have adopted attitudes that scorn the practice.

In keeping with its philosophy of moderation and restraint, Buddhism discourages sexual behavior that would disturb equanimity of the practitioner or of others, and Buddhism is often characterised as distrustful of sensual enjoyment in general. In particular, homosexual conduct and gender variance are seen as obstacles to spiritual progress in most schools of Buddhism. However, in Japanese feudal period, pederasty between child novice and older monks become common due to the fact that many non eldest sons of nobility and samurai family were forced to become monks. In Edo period, Tokugawa Shogunate banned priestly class to marry or have sex which resulted in homosexuality being associated with priestly class in Japan. After Meiji restoration, the ban of marriage and sex by priest/monk were lifted and majority of monks took up wife and produce offspring. As the temple succession become hereditary, the custom of child novice, along with the practice of pederasty and homosexuality disappeared from Japanese temple. In the West, FWBO, contemporary Western Buddhist orders, is known for the founder's exaltation of male homosexual relationship between order members.

Traditionally, monks are expected to refrain from all sexual activity, and the Vinaya (the first book of the Tripitaka) specifically prohibits homosexuality and gender variance for monks. A notable exception in the history of Buddhism occurred in Japan during the Edo period, in which male homosexuality, more specifically pederasty between child monks and older monks were celebrated among certain institutions, including the monastic community.

References to pandaka, a deviant sex/gender category that is usually interpreted to include homosexual males, can be found throughout the Pali canon as well as other Sanskrit scriptures. Leonard Zwilling refers extensively to Buddhaghosa's Samantapasadika, where pandaka are described as being filled with defiled passions and insatiable lusts, and are dominated by their libido. The Abhidharma states that a pandaka cannot achieve enlightenment in their own life time, but must wait for rebirth as a normal man or woman. According to one scriptural story, Ananda—Buddha's cousin and disciple—was a pandaka in one of his many previous lives.

The third of the Five Precepts of Buddhism states that one is to refrain from sexual misconduct; this precept has sometimes been interpreted to include homosexuality. The Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism interprets sexual misconduct to include lesbian and gay sex, and indeed any sex other than penis-vagina intercourse, including oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation or other sexual activity with the hand. However, the Dalai Lama acknowledges that homosexual sexual relations can be "of mutual benefit, enjoyable, and harmless" for non-Buddhists, and supports human rights for all, "regardless of sexual orientation."

In Thailand, traditional accounts propose that "homosexuality arises as a kammic consequence of violating Buddhist proscriptions against heterosexual misconduct. These kammic accounts describe homosexuality as a congenital condition which cannot be altered, at least in a homosexual person's current lifetime, and have been linked with calls for compassion and understanding from the non-homosexual populace."

Within Japanese traditions, those who practice pederasty claim that it was "invented" by the Bodhisattva Manjusri of wisdom and the sage Kūkai, the founder of Buddhism in Japan. Japanese Buddhist scholar and author of Wild Azaleas Kitamura Kigin actually said that heterosexuality was to be avoided for priests and homosexuality allowed.

Sikhism

Main article: Homosexuality and Sikhism

Sikhism has no written view on the matter, but in 2005, the world's highest Sikh religious authority described homosexuality as "against the Sikh religion and the Sikh code of conduct and totally against the laws of nature," and called on Sikhs to support laws against gay marriage. However, other Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak's emphasis on universal equality and brotherhood is fundamentally in support of homosexuals' human rights.

Jainism

Chastity is one of the five virtues in the fundamental ethical code of Jainism. For laypersons, the only appropriate avenue for sexuality is within marriage, and homosexuality is believed to lead to negative karma. Jain author Duli Chandra Jain wrote in 2004 that homosexuality and transvestism "stain one's thoughts and feelings" because they involve sexual passion.

Taoic religions

Among the Taoic religions of East Asia, such as Taoism, passionate homosexual expression is usually discouraged because it is believed to not lead to human fulfillment.

Confucianism

Main article: Homosexuality and Confucianism

Confucianism has allowed homosexual sex with the precondition of procreation. In China where Buddhists often belong to Confucianism as well, traditionally exclusive homosexuality was discouraged because it would prevent a son from carrying out his Confucian religious duty to reproduce, whereas non-exclusive homosexuality was permissible and widely practiced. Monogamy was an unusual and foreign idea to many Asians until contact with the West. Chinese traditions attribute homosexuality to Huang Di ("Yellow Emperor"), the father of Chinese civilization.

Taoism

Main article: Homosexuality and Taoism

It is difficult to determine a single position on homosexuality in Taoism, as the term Taoism is used to describe a number of disparate religious traditions, from organised religious movements such as Quanzhen to Chinese folk religion and even a school of philosophy. The vast majority of adherents live in China and among Chinese Diaspora communities elsewhere, and so attitudes to homosexuality within Taoism often reflect the values and sexual norms of broader Chinese society (see Homosexuality in China).

Taoism stresses the relationship between yin and yang: two opposing forces which maintain harmony through balance. The Taoist tradition holds that males need the energies of females, and vice versa, in order to bring about balance, completion and transformation. Heterosexuality is seen as the physical and emotional embodiment of the harmonious balance between yin and yang. Homosexuality on the other hand is often seen as the union of two yins or two yangs, and therefore unbalanced. People in same-sex relationships or people who engage in same-sex sexual behaviour are thought to be susceptible to illness. However, homosexuality is not explicitly forbidden by the Taoist Holy Books, the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi.

Homosexuality has found a place within the history of Taoism, at certain times and places. For example, Taoist nuns exchanged love poems during the Tang dynasty.

Paganism

File:Greek homosexual couple.jpg

6th century BCE Athenian cup depicting a man seducing a youth. Antikenmuseum, Berlin

Main articles: Pederasty and Mythology of same-sex love

In Classical antiquity religious views on same-sex romance cannot be separated from the general societal view of the subject. Attitudes toward same-sex intercourse differed somewhat between the Greeks and the Romans. In ancient Greece same-sex love was integrated in sacred texts and rituals, reflecting the fact that in antiquity it was considered normal to be open to romantic engagements with either sex. Certain surviving myths depict homosexual bonds (see History), sanctified by divinities modeling such relationships (e.g. Zeus and Ganymede). The Romans viewed sexuality somewhat differently. It was considered appropriate for someone of higher social standing to sexually penetrate someone of lower social standing. Thus, an upper-class male could engage in sexual relations with either a slave or a woman (both below him in standing). It would be inappropriate and indeed condemned for a free Roman man to be penetrated by another man.

The Sumerian religion also held homosexuality sacred. It also was incorporated into various New World religions, such as the Aztec. It is thought to have been common in shamanic practice. However, Ancient Germanic religions were condemnatory towards homosexuality, and the ancient common law in Scandinavia harshly punished homosexual activity.

Neopagan religion

Neopagan religions are almost unanimous in their acceptance of same-sex relationships as equal to heterosexual ones. Most Neo-Pagan religions have the theme of fertility (both physical and creative/spiritual) as central to their practices, and as such encourage a healthy sex life, which is seen as consensual sex between adults, regardless of gender or age. Another New Age perspective, however, is that of Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now. Starting with the idea that "the realization that you are 'different' from others may force you to disidentify from socially conditioned patterns of thought and behavior," he claims that being gay can help in the "quest for enlightenment", but only so long as one does not "develop a sense of identity based on... gayness".

Wicca, like other religious philosophies has a spectrum of adherents including those with conservative views to liberal views. Nothing in Wiccan philosophy prohibits sexual intercourse outside of marriage or relationships between members of the same sex, however. On the contrary, the Wiccan Rede "An it harm none, do as thou wilt" is interpreted by many to allow and endorse responsible sexual relationships of all varieties.

The Charge of the Goddess, says in the words of the Goddess, "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals" and in the Gardnerian and Alexandrian forms of Wicca, "The Great Rite" is a way of expressing love through sexuality. The ritual is not an excuse to have sex with someone, nor is any sexual activity in a properly consecrated circle a Great Rite. Any sexual acts dealing with Wicca, whether literal or symbolic, is encouraged to take place between two consenting adults, even more so with two involved lovers.

The Wiccan attitude about sexuality as wholly natural, and goes on from there to seek a fuller understanding of masculine-feminine polarity and of how to make constructive use of it — both psychologically and magically. Sexuality freed from the shackles of obligatory breeding is what makes us specifically human.

Other religions collectively termed "Pagan," including Druidism are also accepting in general.

Religious groups and civil rights political activity

Religious opponents of LGBT rights believe that supporting reform of anti-gay laws would promote wilful acts of homosexuality, which is incompatible with their faith. Opposition to equal rights protections, same-sex marriage, and hate crime legislation is often associated with conservative religious views.

On the other hand, the Unitarian Universalist Association supports the freedom to marry [1] and compares resistance to it to the resistance to abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the end of anti-miscegenation laws. [2]

Religious persecution of homosexuality

Persecution of lesbians and gay men is common in conservative Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia, where gay men have reportedly been beheaded, or forced into therapy. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan reportedly executed homosexuals by burying them alive.

Some translations of the Old Testament have been used to argue that gay men should be punished with death, and AIDS has been portrayed by some such as Fred Phelps as a punishment by God against gay men and lesbians.

Religious support for homosexuality

There exist groups and denominations whose interpretation of scripture and doctrine states that homosexuality is morally acceptable, and a natural occurrence. Some conclude that there can be no scriptural prohibition against homosexuality as it is presently understood, namely as the outworking of an orientation. Others consider that scriptural prohibitions only relate to pederasty, which was a mode of same-sex practice in ancient times. Others consider that scripture has a thoroughgoing patriarchal bias, which expresses itself in a disapproval of all gender-transgressive sexual practices; present-day readings must account for this. Proponents of liberation theology may consider that the liberation of gay and lesbian peoples from stigmatisation and oppression is a Kingdom imperative. Similarly, the inclusion of the "unclean" Gentiles in the early Church is sometimes said to be a model for the inclusion of other peoples called "unclean" today.

Others consider that Christ made the commandments to "love God and one's neighbour," and to "love one's neighbour as oneself" touchstones of the moral law; that these imply a radical equality, and that, by this principle of equality, the Law of Moses is to be adjusted. Jesus exemplified this principle in his teaching on divorce. Furthermore, it is said that Jesus Christ instituted a virtue ethic, whereby the worth of one's action is to be adjudged by one's interior disposition. For these reasons, it is said that to condemn homosexuality is to fall into a pre-Christian "Pharasaical" legalism.

People adopting one of the foregoing positions would hold that morality which applies to heterosexuals should similarly apply to gay men and lesbians, i.e. sex is acceptable within a monogamous relationship or a same-sex marriage.

Others seek a naturalistic justification for the view that homosexual behavior is moral or that morality does not apply, pointing to evidence of the existence of such behavior in the animal kingdom. Therefore it is said to be natural, perhaps even integral to a species' survival.

See also

• Religion and sexuality
• LGBT rights by country

General references

• John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century, University Of Chicago Press, 1st ed. 1980 ISBN 0-226-06710-6, paperback Nov. 2005 ISBN 0-226-06711-4
• Dane S. Claussen, ed. Sex, Religion, Media, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. ISBN 0-7425-1558-3
• Mathew Kuefler (editor), The Boswell Thesis : Essays on Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, University Of Chicago Press, Nov. 2005 ISBN 0-226-45741-9
• Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, 1st ed. 1999, paperback 2004 ISBN 1-57731-480-8
• Arlene Swidler: Homosexuality and World Religions. Valley Forge 1993. ISBN 156338051X

References

External links

• Homosexuality and Religion Comparison of religious views
• Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing "signed by over 2600 religious leaders"; an alternative sexuality - friendly document.
• Soulforce Religious based gay rights organization.
• Religious Declaration on Human Sexual Morality Pro-heterosexuality and monogamy.
• Greek Mythology The secret Greek myths of male love, ancient coming-of-age rituals, uncensored and developed.
• The Two-Spirit Tradition essay on male love and gay marriage in Native American shamanic religion.
• The Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association - http://www.galva108.org - For more information on Homosexuality and Hinduism.