Premium Essay

How Religion Views Homosexuality

In:

Submitted By spellinfelon4325
Words 885
Pages 4
How Religion Views Homosexuality

According to an article by Benjamin Radford with Discovery News, “Two-percent of Americans identify as gay.” You may be thinking that this percentage is much lower than you had expected. The gay community may be a minority; however, gay rights are a human rights issue. Whether there are four million gay Americans or only four, the Constitution applies to everyone. But why are homosexual Americans fighting for rights? This is because religion is prejudice against homosexuality. (Radford, 2011)
The bible is at the center of all of the questions concerning homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and gay rights. Religious practitioners look to it for the answers pertaining to these issues. There are several verses in the bible that have caused controversy, but there are two in specific that have raised more flags than the others. The first is Leviticus 18:22 and it states, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” This verse has caused an uproar of religious protests of homosexuals and their lifestyles, with religious practitioners claiming those who act on homosexual thoughts are committing sin and will be denied entrance to heaven. The other verse among the most controversial is Genesis 2:24, and it states, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Religious leaders and believers say these verses are proof that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are an abomination and therefore should not be permitted. (Online Parallel Bible Project, 2007) (Pearson, 2011)
The bible has a lot of different verses involving homosexuality and marriage, but it also has a lot to say about a wide variety of other things. For example, let’s look at some of the rules of Law found in Leviticus. Chapter 11 has rules about clean and unclean foods, stating

Similar Documents

Free Essay

The Globalization Effect

...your poor, your Huddled masses yearning to breathe free..” or the “American dream” showed once again to be the mission of the American/Western society. Post-war America, a more industrialized nation by then, started the globalization movement of a renewed capitalist society. After the war, America had a foothold in each corner of the world; this was the first time in history that the whole world could be impacted by the ideas of one nation and its allies. With the increase in globalization; new, postmodern issues presented themselves to western civilizations; issues which were not encountered since the Romanization period of Europe. The new, postmodern world was a macro view of an older, more micro world which was dependent on “states” being independent of the world around them. The more liberal views and tolerance towards religious freedom and the American integration of the world and same sex marriages was proven to be the catalyst for a new more expansive world in the 20th and 21st century. Integration of cultures is not unfamiliar. American and Western societies were based on an older practical model that had been used since Sumerians, one of the first civilizations of the Neolithic period. The Roman Empire perfected culture integration in order to make the Empire stronger and more diverse. A fact easily proven by the fact that most Holy Roman Empires from Germany spoke Latin which was a language taught to Roman Aristocracy from Greek educators. Western Societies...

Words: 1631 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Same Sex Marriage

...Same Sex Marriage and Religion In the 21st century, the controversial debates about the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community and their rights are becoming more and more common in the media. Over millennia, same sex relationships have transformed from a socially accepted way of living in ancient times, to a social taboo with the birth of Christianity, and finally into a widely accepted way of living in the 21st century. Most sources of media, especially television shows have embraced this evolution and have become supporters of the LGBT community, these shows include some of the most popular series around the world such as Glee, Pretty Little Liars, Doctor Who, Grey’s Anatomy, and many more. Furthermore, many influential people are part of or advocates for the LGBT community. For instance, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Ellen DeGeneres and many more. Today I will talk about the history of LGBT rights and evaluate the supporting arguments and opposing arguments of this topic in today’s society by assessing a host of different media sources, including newspaper articles, magazine articles, and documentaries. First of all, I will present the history of LGBT rights and assess to what extent society has changed its views and ideas on this subject. The first evidence found on same sex couples were found in Egyptian hieroglyphics and old Mesopotamian records which demonstrated same sex relationships were accepted in their community. (Eskridge) Although this...

Words: 1890 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Homosexuality in Islam

...(charity), sawm (Fasting) and Hajj (Pilgrimage). To understand such a religion and lifestyle, the acceptance of Allah as the one and only is greatly emphasized throughout Islam teachings and through devices such as the Fiqh and Quran. While many unknowingly assume that such a religion avoids the concepts of variations in lifestyles such as homosexuality, Islam actually teaches an understanding that these behaviours exist however In following the 5 pillars, acts such as homosexuality and adultery are temptations that must be resisted in living the life Allah wishes apon his followers. According to the prophet Mohammed a warning of “do not gaze at beadless youth, for they have eyes more temoting than the houris”[1]. Under general consensus within Islam, to be homosexual creates a perversion and deviation from the tasks of man and women as laid out by the quran. Not only due to the issues of contradictions in masculinity and power, emphasis can be found as frowning apon the acts of homosexual due to health reasons and their link with diseases. Yet whether the act is so harshly classified as non muslim is debatable amongst many scholars and interpretations vary from scholar to scholar throughout periods of time. The possibility of homosexual relationships are recognised with the fiqh, however the majority of jurists focus on forms of prevention and regulation than to the actual act itself. It is not only homosexuality that is an issue for many muslim believers but all sexual behaviour...

Words: 1905 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Appedix F

...Associate Level Material Appendix F Impact Matrix Assignment Directions: Assume that you are on the school board of your school district and you are tasked with the job of strategic planning for issues facing your district. Complete the matrix below to determine the potential response of each of the religious groups in your community. Use the attached links to research the basic moral and ethical principles believed by each group. Then determine how you believe each group will react to the issue based on what you find. Provide a brief justification for your answer. After completing the matrix, write a 300- to 500-word summary of the significant similarities and differences among the different religious groups. |SCHOOL ISSUES | |Prayer in School |Creationism v. Evolution |Studying Women’s Rights in the Middle East |Saying the Pledge of Allegiance |Starting a Gay and Lesbian Support Group |Inter-Racial Dating | |COMMUNITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS |Pro/Con |Justify your answer |Pro/Con |Justify your answer |Pro/Con |Justify your answer |Pro/Con |Justify your answer |Pro/Con |Justify your answer |Pro/Con |Justify your answer | |Atheist |Con |Atheists are opposed to prayer in school. They find it to be of an offense. They do not believe in God, therefore they do not believe in praying...

Words: 2363 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

I Am Not My Sexuality

...I Am Not My Sexuality: Annotated Bibliography and Outline Unit 5 Course 5334 Annotated Bibliography Aldrich, R. (2004). Homosexuality and the city: an historical overview. Urban Studies, 41(9), 1719-1737. Aldrich gives a historical overview of the history of homosexuality. He goes back to the Roman times and discusses Sodom and Gomorrah and continues to the present day. He makes mention of how homosexuals left various cities to escape the traditional life constraints and went to other cities to begin transforming the city into much construction of the gay and lesbian culture. Bonilla, L & Porter, J (1990). A comparison of latino, black, and non-hispanic white attitudes toward homosexuality. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12(4), 437-452. This article discusses Latinos, Blacks, and non Hispanic whites attitudes towards homosexuality. It has been researched that the Latino culture is more inclined than blacks and non whites to believe that homosexuality and the spread of AIDS are invariably related. This one assumption has the capacity to cause the rights of homosexuals to be restricted. Goldsmith, S. J. (2001). Oepipus or orestes? Homosexual men, their mothers, and other women revisited. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 49 (4), 1269-1287. The author of this article discusses gender roles and how they have an effect on the sexuality of men and women. He mentions when people sense femininity in a man it causes them to fear that man simply...

Words: 2359 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Homosexuality

...Introduction Homosexuality is defined or characterized as attraction towards the same gender either male or female. It came from the Greek language, where “homo” means the same or similar, hence referring to the attraction between two beings of the same sex. Homosexuality is also referred as a clinical term. Most male homosexuals generally prefer to be called "gay men" and most homosexual women generally prefer to be called "lesbians." Homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation, alongside bisexual and heterosexual. The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality is an example of normal and positive variation in human sexual orientation. Currently the most common adjectives in use are lesbian for women and gay for men, though gay can refer to either men or women. The American Psychology Association defines sexual orientation in the following way: “Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectionate attraction toward others”. There are three broad categories within the family of sexual orientations which are defined as: heterosexuality, homosexuality (gay orientation) and bisexuality. The origins of homosexuality has been surfacing now and then in our time and we will look at how the future will hold for them(homosexuals). Literature Review Nowadays, homosexuality is an uncomfortable and even forbidding topic for many, but in the ancient...

Words: 3697 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Marriage

...Topic: Political and Religious viewpoint on homosexuality Every parent prepares for the day that his or her child will marry. It is a day of happiness, excitement, and the birth of a new beginning for the newlyweds. Now, imagine not being able to partake in this ceremony simply because you fell in love with someone of the same sex. Homosexuals are daily ridiculed for loving someone of their same gender. When someone falls in love, it just happens, humans do not choose who they fall in love with because when there is a connection then we hang on to it and never want to let it go. Therefore, it should not matter if you are lesbian, gay, or even transgender because we are all equal, under the law and under God. The Republican Party is known to have a more conservative view on issues in society than the Democratic Party, and gay marriage is one of the issues the Republican Party believes should not be changed. They believe in keeping the traditional concept of marriage, “the union of one man and one woman” (Republican Party Platform, 2012). However, what the Republican Party does not consider is how traditional values hinder the growth of society resulting in narrow-minded citizens. An excellent example of what occurs when a nation is conservative is seen during the Industrial Revolution. England became the dominant nation during industrialism because citizens were able to experiment and be the unique individual they strived to be, unlike Eastern Europe, which trailed...

Words: 1109 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Homo

...Acceptance of Homosexuality in the Society Recently, there has been growing interest in homosexuality. According to Wikipedia.org, homosexuality is a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex. In Merriam Webster dictionary, It is a sexual interest in and attraction to the same sex as one has. To some part of the world, like Greece and rome, religions such as Jewish, Christian and Muslim, believes that homosexuality is blasphemy or a sin rather. There has been this topic whether homosexuality should or should not be accepted in the society. The topic has been viral all over the world that some of the countries had made a law that allows homosexuality in certain areas. According to Wikipedia.org, at 1970, gradually accepted same-sexuality between partners of legal age. A nonpartisan American think tank called Pew Research Center which is based in Washington DC conducted a survey that shows the broad acceptance of homosexuality in the European part and its wide neglection in Asia and Russia. According to David F. Greenberg’s book, The construction for homosexuality, Dr. Robert Kronemayer (1980) would say, Homosexuality is a symptom of disturbed persnonality. From the Eye of the Beholder, William Blackstone from England said that homesexuality is a crime against nature. People share different opinions about the certain topic. Yet the questions are, how true is the allegations of the people about homosexuality? How would it affect the views of the people on the thought...

Words: 398 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Homo

...Acceptance of Homosexuality in the Society Recently, there has been growing interest in homosexuality. According to Wikipedia.org, homosexuality is a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex. In Merriam Webster dictionary, It is a sexual interest in and attraction to the same sex as one has. To some part of the world, like Greece and rome, religions such as Jewish, Christian and Muslim, believes that homosexuality is blasphemy or a sin rather. There has been this topic whether homosexuality should or should not be accepted in the society. The topic has been viral all over the world that some of the countries had made a law that allows homosexuality in certain areas. According to Wikipedia.org, at 1970, gradually accepted same-sexuality between partners of legal age. A nonpartisan American think tank called Pew Research Center which is based in Washington DC conducted a survey that shows the broad acceptance of homosexuality in the European part and its wide neglection in Asia and Russia. According to David F. Greenberg’s book, The construction for homosexuality, Dr. Robert Kronemayer (1980) would say, Homosexuality is a symptom of disturbed persnonality. From the Eye of the Beholder, William Blackstone from England said that homesexuality is a crime against nature. People share different opinions about the certain topic. Yet the questions are, how true is the allegations of the people about homosexuality? How would it affect the views of the people on the thought...

Words: 398 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Christianity and Homosexuals

...Question: Explain how such a wide range of attitudes toward homosexuality could exist within the Christian religious tradition. Answer: It is interesting that homosexuality, for centuries, has been such a controversial topic. Like sexuality, homosexuality results from a combination of hereditary factors along with social and environmental influences. While attitudes toward homosexuality are generally in flux, whether due to political activism or not, it seems that Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures view it as sinful. Nevertheless, in Christianity there appear to be an abundance of varying attitudes toward homosexuality which require a deeper analysis. Christianity can be divided into four separate sub groups: Fundamentalist Christians, Mainline Christians, Liberal Christians, and Evangelical Christians, all of whom draw distinct conclusions regarding biblical interpretation, specifically on the subject of homosexuality. Fundamentalist Christians typically believe in the strict inerrancy of the bible. In their belief the bible is seen as the word of God and thus should be read literally. The dominant view is that the bible condemns all homosexual activity and considers it sinful if it is performed outside of a marriage. The bible relates the story of Sodom and its inhabitants all of whom were destroyed by God because of their desire to have homosexual sex with the visiting angels. Biblical terms such as “sodomite” are thus used as descriptions of homosexuals. Lastly, the...

Words: 543 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

America vs Europe

...Similarities and Differences between American and European Values Shalonda Cotton Cross-Cultural Perspectives Allan Mooney 3/29/2015 Even the United States and Europe is just a flight across the Atlantic, Europeans and Americans are very different, but have some similarities also. Europeans and Americans both agree and disagree what we deem are basic values are. There is a view that supports opposing views of the world and foreign relations obviously stands in need of clarification. The Pew Research Centre reported a very wide public, single opinion poll, taken of public attitudes in several different countries. It shows that America's old faithful image has slipped a bit. The Pew study found that many Europeans support “the US-led war on terror” and about 60% called Iraq a serious threats. Many countries love and admire America culture because of our science, technology and new modern way of thinking. In both the Marshall Fund and Pew studies, there were a few differences in attitudes towards our armed forces, neither was there much difference in a positive opinion to use force abroad. The Marshall Study points out that institutions such as NATO of the United Nations is just as strong in America as Europe. Majorities in almost every country said the world would be less safe if there were a competing superpower, based off the Pew Study. Some Americans say they favor a firm intelligent leadership from the European Union, while some...

Words: 1126 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Student

...while effectively dimming the light on another. Because of this, we create perceptions based off of information that may not be whole. With these perceptions, we begin to construct a social reality. Once this reality is created, it is difficult to change it even if we find contradicting information. Because of these reasons, the way media represents information is crucial. The issue that will be discussed in this paper is that of gay marriage, stereotypes of homosexuals, and the scientific side of homosexuality. The way media has represented this topic over the past 30 years has varied immensely. We’ve come a long way over the past couple decades and homosexuality is now widely discussed in all forms of media including news, television, advertisements, movies, books, magazines and politics. It is important to close the gaps between the perception, the reality, and the representation of the way media portrays homosexuality. Identifying differences between the representations of homosexuality decades ago compared with now will provide necessary information to form an educated and well-rounded opinion on this issue. This issue is important to our...

Words: 4875 - Pages: 20

Free Essay

Examine the Differences in Ethical and Religious Views Concerning Homosexuality

...differences in ethical and religious views concerning homosexuality. Homosexuality has been the topic of ethical debates for many years, concerning the rights of homosexuals, and whether or not they should be treated equally. In the modern day homosexuality is comparatively far more tolerated than in the past, when it had been at least somewhat illegal until progressive thinking led to the 1957 Sexual Offences Act, which set the wheels in motion towards ending the inequality between homosexuals and heterosexuals. One of the focal points of the issue is whether homosexual marriage should be permitted in the same way as heterosexual marriage – it can be argued that the introduction of Civil Partnerships in 2004/5 was, although progressive and still offering equal rights to those of married couples, still disrespectful to not allow homosexuals to be specifically ‘married.’ This kind of view suggests that ethical attitudes towards homosexuality are progressive and accepting, reaching a conclusion that would satisfy homosexuals in their quest for equal rights. Discrimination against homosexuality, however, is still fairly prominent, and the lack of ease in passing laws relating to homosexuality suggests that there is still a lot of unease surrounding the topic. It cannot yet be said that to see a homosexual couple canoodling in public is considered to have as subtle an effect as a heterosexual couple doing the same. John Harris, however, states that homosexuality is an issue of etiquette rather...

Words: 632 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Adfadsf

...Leo Dudziak HLS 301G Human Sexuality Library Research Project 6/21/2015 1. Religion and Sex 2. International Human Sexuality Issues Female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation is a ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice of female genital mutilation is concentrated in 27 African countries. Although cases are found in other countries those 27 countries compose a vast majority of worldwide female genital mutilation. It is an appalling tradition that is practiced for religious and cultural reasons. There are four types of female genital mutilation according to The World health organization. Type 1 is partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type two partial removal of clitoris and labia minora. Type three is narrowing of the vaginal orifice and type 4 is any other harmful procedure to female genitals for nonmedical purposes. 85% of women who have had female genital mutilation have had type one or type two performed. The practice significantly affects females the sexuality of those that have had it performed to them. Woman can be severally affected because removal of part of the vagina or clitoris has many negative physical and psychological affects. The physical effects that can happen are severe bleeding, problems urinating, cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased newborn deaths. Female genital mutilation can take some or all pleasure away from sex. It also reduces orgasms...

Words: 1725 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Same Sex Marriage

...in office, Americans share so many memories of historical events. Conquering wars, poverty, and eliminating racial segregation are just a few. Yet, as the rate of open homosexuality increases in the United States, there are a stir of arguments that opposed same sex marriage. Over the past few years, the media regarding this issue has created a large debate. Despite the mixed arguments, mainly surrounding religion, this opposition violates the right of American homosexual couples innate lifestyle. Religion was erected thousands of years ago and as time has changed, there have been many revisions made to accommodate the change in the world. There are several known exceptions that allow forgiveness. In the heat of many arguments the followers of these world religions have forgotten the overall message surrounding their teachings, acceptance. We are a country that was established by pioneers who escaped religious persecution. This allowed the freedom to worship a religion of choice. Many religious figures have argued that homosexuality is a sin. Western religions typically consisting of Christianity and Catholicism, state that homosexuality is against nature and the word God. These statements are true and can be found several times in the Bible as well as other religious scriptures. Though, homosexuality is frowned upon, one’s personal religious beliefs should not be imposed on another human being. As stated best, in the article written by Julian Bond, “Opposing Same-Sex...

Words: 1428 - Pages: 6