Homosexuality and religion  
 

An article by Vexen Crabtree Dec 2002

Contents:

Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Attained gay rights across the world
Conclusions

1. Christianity
Gay couples to get equal rights ((BBC, 2002 Dec 06), once again the government is going for gay rights. Once again, the principal opposition is a section of Christianity. I haven't heard from Baroness Young, the opposer of gay rights from 4/5 years ago for a while2, the current opposition is led by Colin Hart, the director of the Christian Alliance.

I was a member of Stonewall back then... unfortunately some of my first involvements with Christians was due to their opposition of homosexuality. I can remember debating on the Young Farmers Debating Committee some 10 years ago on this subject too, debating for equal age of consent for gay and straight rights. My opponents (themselves young) were the first to present to me an argument from The Bible, although at the time I had no idea what on Earth they were talking about... if only I knew then the things I know now!

Christian Churches consistently and strongly opposed gay rights, even (and especially potently) the liberal Church of England done so. They opposed and ejected known homosexuals from it's ranks, clergy and offices; would not allow homosexual rights committees to meet on Church property and considered AIDS to be God's revenge on homosexuals. American and South African fundamentalists still re-iterate this point of view however, now, most Christians consider it immoral and very inconsiderate and misguided to do so. Despite the oppression of homosexuals, that the public began to consider a wrongdoing on behalf of the Church, in the late 20th century there were known homosexual sympathizers within the Church and many of it's priests and bishops (much) later came out as having been homosexual all along, others of having knowingly ordained homosexuals. The fear of exposure prevented these people from supporting the gay rights movement, which is itself testimony to the fearsome anti-gay agenda of the higher-up Christian communities. These would have also been the more powerful, older and more conservative Christians.

This public and active oppression continued heavily throughout the 70s and 80s (before which homosexuality was simply illegal, and very much taboo) and even in the 90s this attitude continued, with strong, rich and well supported organized Christian groups defeating several attempts by the Government to accomplish equal gay age of consent, gay rights and gay marriage. The most surprising element of all this is the failure of the otherwise liberal and tolerant Church of England to support gay communities.

There are groups within Christianity that are concerned with the Human Rights of sexuality, however such groups are much quieter and less numerous than those that oppose any element of tolerance towards gay people. Such groups are drowned out by the larger, more numerous and better funded anti-gay Church groups. Despite the decline of established churches in the West, fundamentalist groups that are offensively anti-gay are still growing numerically, although some liberal Churches may accept homosexuality it is likely that the most zealous Christian groups will still be of the anti- kind for the foreseeable future.

In the USA I believe that the situation is different, and the liberal Churches have acted towards homosexual rights even when public opinion was against this. In Europe, the opposite was true, society in general softened to the idea of open and accepted homosexuality long before the Churches did, except in heavily religious countries such as Greece where homosexuality is still illegal.

"In 1967 the Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed, not without resistance from the churches"
C of E: The State It's In by Monica Furlong p11


C of E: The State It's In
"When [...] is the Church going to have the courage to celebrate the creativity of its homosexual members, who are more discriminated against than black people or women? For those gay people who wish to be ordained there is only one way to get through the initial interviews, and that is the humiliating one of keeping their sexuality concealed. [...] It is painfully easy to remain in the closet ever afterwards, thinking that at some future date there will be an opportunity to come clean, only the day never comes. The Church, of course, encourages this silence. A description of a nervous breakdown, Jim Cotter's book Brainsquall, reveals what a terrible price gay clergy have been required to pay for such a double standard.
[...]
Sometimes it seems as if the Church is almost the only body left which cannot deal with homosexuality. It is possible to get elected for Parliament as an openly gay man or woman, possible to be made a cabinet minister, possible for many eminent people to be quite straightforward about living with another man or woman.
[...]
Change, of course, is inevitable. Just as the change of the status of women in society pushed the hand of the Church to ordain women; just as the change of the status of black people in Britain makes it imperative that they are seen as full members of the Church with their own distinctive contribution; just as the change in marital habits makes churches accepting of second marriages, so change in this field too is inevitable. Maybe not this year or next year, but before too long, the Church is going to have to get up its nerve (and it is not in a bold frame of mind) and accord homosexuals full status within the Church, because, like blacks or women, they are increasingly refusing the meek and silent status enforced upon them."

C of E: The State It's In by Monica Furlong p363-364

Why?
Despite their will towards social good, why have Christians acted in such a negative way towards gay society? I am sure there must be a combination of social factors. Many scholars have questioned the basis of this rejection on Biblical grounds, although most Christians do believe that the Bible condemns homosexuals to hell simply for being how they are, the Bible is actually not so clear.

"There are six quotations taken from the Bible that can be used against Homosexuality, and five of them are down to translation or biased errors. Jesus Christ always promoted Love over Hate and in this respect he overrode the Old Testament. In all the texts we have Jesus Christ is never quoted or implied to have spoken about sexualities. [...]
It is in Leviticus that the text can be found that can be translated as being anti-gay, but the correctness of the translations used is being questioned. A word that is being used is "abomination" as a translation for the word that in the Bible means "taboo", or "unritualistic". Some Bibles use the word "detestable", it depends on which Bible you own as to how accurate the translation is. "

"The Bible and Homosexuality" by Vexen Crabtree, 1999 May 05



Hypocritical and unchristian behaviour
It doesn't matter whether Christians "agree" with being gay or not, the actions of Christians who believe otherwise causes hate. I believe this is hypocrisy, or ignorance.

It is ignorance if they do not know they are causing hate - I recommend that they get in touch with gay support groups and Stonewall, and find out the embarrasing and worrying scale of religious anti-gay hatred that gay groups face

It is hypocrisy if they stand for love, but knowingly cause hate

It is inconsistent if a Christian, who believes we are all sinners (including Christians and priests) but think that being gay is worse than any other particular sexuality

Tolerance towards sinners was one of Jesus' most controversial teachings, as was his preaching that those who consider themselves better than others (the Jewish religious rulers) should humble themselves and consider themselves worse. Christians should, like the good samaritan, help minorities attain equal rights even if those people don't have the same beliefs. Equality in law, of marriage and anti-discrimination should be the prime rules of the Christian who loves his neighbour, and although there are gay-friendly Christian groups, they are sadly underwhelmed by the anti-gay Christian community.

2. Islam
Islam is probably the most rigidly and inhumanly anti-homosexual in it's practices of all the world religions. The verses from the Koran condemning homosexuality are much clearer than those that the Christians use. In all Muslim countries and all areas where the Islamic Sharia law is enforced homosexuality is strictly illegal. All of Islam fits within the area of Christianity that we call "fundamentalist" with regards to sexuality. The debates in Islam about homosexuality are not about whether it is acceptable, but merely about how severe the punishment should be. So although there are liberal and strict elements within Islam with concern to homosexuality even the liberal opinion is the lesser of two evils.

"Islamists deny human rights to gays. An attempt by the United Nations to include gay people in anti-discrimination measures is being derailed by a coalition of Islamic countries. UN sources said that Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were doing everything in their power to stop the resolution. They hope to delay the vote long enough to kill it off entirely. Secretary of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association in Britain, George Broadhead, commented that all Muslim countries outlawed homosexuality, and the penalties for those convicted ranged from prison, flogging, execution by a variety of perverted methods – such as throwing the victim off a cliff or pushing a stone wall on to them. "The record of these countries on human rights in general is bad enough, but when it comes to gay human rights, they are disgusting""
NSS Newsline 2003 Apr 25

Very few individuals speak up for homosexuality, although there is an international Muslim gay rights group, they are widely detested within Muslim countries, and opposed and campaigned against by Muslim groups in Western countries.

"According to a pamphlet produced by Al-Fatiha, there is a consensus among Islamic scholars that all humans are naturally heterosexual. Homosexuality is seen by scholars to be a sinful and perverted deviation from the norm. All Islamic schools of thought and jurisprudence consider gay acts to be unlawful. They differ in terms of penalty: The Hanafite school (currently seen mainly in South and Eastern Asia) teaches that no physical punishment is warranted. The Hanabalites, (widely followed in the Arab world) teach that severe punishment is warranted . The Sha'fischool of thought (also seen in the Arab world) requires a minimum of 4 adult male witnesses before a person can be found guilty of a homosexual act.
Al-Fatiha estimates that 4,000 homosexuals have been executed in Iran since their revolution in 1979. 10 public executions of homosexuals have been performed in Afghanistan by the Taliban army."

Ontario Consultants on Religous Tolerance

The OCRT also repeat statements from Western Islamic groups citing their opinions on homosexuality, and universally Muslims state that they consider homosexuality to be wrong.

"Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi of the ISNA [Islamic Society of North America] said: "Homosexuality is a moral disorder. It is a moral disease, a sin and corruption... No person is born homosexual, just like no one is born a thief, a liar or murderer. People acquire these evil habits due to a lack of proper guidance and education.""
Ontario Consultants on Religous Tolerance

Islam, however, is inconsistent and illogical. It simultaneously states that all homosexuality is a moral evil, a corruption... yet it also holds that the animals of the world have submitted themselves completely to Allah. Yet, in nearly all animal species we witness homosexual behavior. This must mean that it is permissible by Allah to be gay, and that animals who have submitted completely to Allah can therefore also be gay. Islamic tradition is wrong to condemn homosexuality as an evil, and in denying that homosexuality is natural they are ignoring the facts of the world, it is an ignorant religious belief equal to that of the Christians during the Dark Ages: Where truth is suppressed because it threatens tradition and the corrupt powers of organized religious leaders.

If those who submit to Allah are sincere, they must recognize Allah's will: And such a will creates homosexuality, including homosexual people and homosexual animals, and it is not therefore the Muslims' prerogative to question this or condemn it.

3. Judaism [1]
Of the monotheistic religions, Judaism has a healthy attitude towards sex, aside from a few superstitious laws surrounding blood.
Judaism

"There is no suggestion in Judaism that the celibate life is specially holy. [Sex is] the most intimate and enjoyable way of deepening a relationship"
[...]
"A man who has no wife is doomed to an existence without joy, without blessing, without experiencing life's true goodness, without Torah, without protection and without peace"
Yevamat 62b, quoted in Teach Yourself Judaism (1st ed) by C. M. Pilkington p105

However, religious Judaism does not accept homosexuality, and as the very concept of homosexuality was not formed at the time that the Hebrew Bible's texts and traditions were formed, the issue was not addressed. As a result, like other closed religions that are tradition-orientated, Judaism (both the religion and the culture) has lapsed behind modern society. Reform Jews wrestle with issues around homosexuality, as initially 'questions about the acceptability of homosexual relationships do not arise as they are condemned in the Torah'. Superstitions that arose from Judaism (in turn feeding Islam and Christianities frequently negative attitude towards sex) have had a long term detrimental affect on sexuality, even though in theory (for straight males!) the attitude towards sex itself is generally positive and normal.

2003 June 20
Having said that, it looks like organized Judaism is generally more sensible and calm about the issue, so perhaps it's not that they haven't faced it, but that it really doesn't have an impact on Judaism because it is inherently more tolerant of sexuality. The following quote is about a Jewish Liberal movement that supports homosexuality so the comment is no doubt biased, but it looks good anyway:

"The Liberal movement has become the first Jewish body in the UK to sanction blessings for gay and lesbian couples in synagogue, according to today’s Jewish Chronicle.
Rabbi Frank Dabba Smith, chair of the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues’ rabbinic conference, said that there had been "no deep divisions" over the policy."

The Times Online, 2003 Jun 20, Ruth Gledhill, religion correspondent

4. Attained gay rights across the world [3]
Starting with Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands the 90s saw the beginning of the gay rights movements victories over established prejudice in an increasing number of developed countries. The damage done to equality and tolerance by Christian and Muslim rulers is slowly being undone across the developed world.

Complete list of attained gay rights across the world


There is not a single case of all the victories above where there have not been multiple large and mainstream Christian groups running campaigns to prevent equal rights for gays, and the Catholic Church and the vast majority of Christian denominations continue to battle at local and European levels to repeal those rights already attained. The Catholic Church has gained some ground in 1997 in exempting itself from some European gay rights conventions, and the Church of England has also succeeded in exempting itself from UK employment anti-discrimination laws.

It is said that the traditional churches were wrong about slavery and anti-black racism, and that they are also wrong on homosexuality... eventually, when enough of their youth have grown up within gay-tolerant society, the Churches will change to embrace homosexuals equality as they did to embrace abolitionism and race equality.

5. Conclusion
Abrahamic religions have contributed to the most negative and destructive attitudes towards sexuality issues, especially homosexuality, but the liberal wings of some of these religions has adapted to the wide (European) acceptance of homosexuality. Many traditional religions reject the scientific, medical and psychological knowledge we have gained about sexuality and regard homosexuality as a "choice" or a "moral evil", these religions are themselves immoral and evil in their attitude, their attitudes cause hatred, bigotry, violence and oppression in the name of love or God. Homosexual communities have become accustomed to the ranting of religious fundamentalists and traditionalists.

In the wider religious scene things are much healthier. Eastern history has shown less of the out and out violence against homosexuality. New religious movements and Earth religions are nearly always accept that homosexuality is natural, as these religions are more in touch with the natural world. Although there are Pagans, Satanists, Wiccans, etc, who do not like homosexuality very few make hateful statement such as those made by Muslim and historical Christian authorities. Although Judaism does not accept homosexuality, Jews have not made such hateful comments, but partially this may be because Judaism has not yet fully faced the issues although some liberal groups have little problem with it..

To help eradicate discrimination against gays and lesbians, consider joining the following groups:

Or, you can simply browse their websites and pick up addresses and details of MPs and organisations that you can lobby by writing letters, signing petitions or emailing, and get details of current events.

 

Related pages by Vexen:

Links:
OCRT: The Church of England and Homosexuality
Stonewall: Status of legal recognition of same sex marriages world wide
Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
Stonewall
Councils consider same sex weddings (in addition to London)
BBC News: It is only Greek institutionalized orthodox Christian religion, not Government, that is homophobic
Guardian Gay Rights news feed


Notes:

2003 Feb 17: Added section on Judaism.[Return to text]
2003 Jun 03: This is because, I since found out, she died [Return to text]
2003 Jun 13: Added text [Return to text]
Stonewall: Status of legal recognition of same sex marriages world wide
The National Secular Society newsletter 2003 Oct 03 states: "Belgium opened marriage to same-sex partners with effect from 1 June 2003", "The Canadian province of Ontario opened marriage to same-sex partners on 10 June 2003. The Canadian province of British Columbia opened marriage to same-sex partners on 8 July 2003"

 

Home page / Christian homophobia / Muslim/Islamic homophobia / Black homophobia / Matthew Shepard / Pim Fortuyn