Religion and homosexuality

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Though the relationship between religion and homosexuality can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality, current authoritative bodies and doctrines of the world's largest religions generally view homosexuality negatively. This can range from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, to explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality. Most who are opposed to gay sex argue that only the sexual act is a sin, not the orientation. Some claim that homosexuality can be overcome through religious faith and practice. On the other hand, voices exist within many of these religions that view homosexuality more positively, and liberal religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages. Historically, some religions and mythologies have shown that same-sex love and sexuality was revered,^{[citation needed]} and a mythology of same-sex love can be found around the world;^{[citation needed]} elements of religious incorporation of non-heterosexual practice can still be identified in recent traditions, such as the Berdache, Hijra and Xanith.

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 may be hotly disputed.

Contents 1 Views of specific religious groups 1.1 Abrahamic religions 1.1.1 Judaism 1.1.2 Christianity 1.1.3 Islam 1.2 Zoroastrianism 1.3 Indian religions 1.3.1 Hinduism 1.3.2 Buddhism 1.3.3 Sikhism 1.3.4 Jainism 1.4 Chinese religions 1.4.1 Confucianism 1.4.2 Taoism 1.5 Paganism 1.6 Neopagan religion 2 Religious groups and public policy 3 See also 4 General references 5 References 6 External links

Views of specific religious groups

Abrahamic religions

The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have traditionally forbidden sodomy, believing and teaching that such behaviour is sinful. Passages providing scriptural justification for these beliefs are found in the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13), the New Testament (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Timothy 1:9-10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) and the Qur'an (7:80-81, 26:165). The first recorded law against homosexual behaviour is found in the holiness code of Leviticus within which sodomy is a capital offense. There are no references to sexual acts between women.

Today some denominations within these religions accept homosexuality, such as Reform Judaism and the United Church of Christ. They believe that injunctions against the sexual acts were originally intended as a means of distinguishing religious worship between Abrahamic and pagan faiths, specifically ancient Greek (Ganymede) and Egyptian rituals that made homosexuality an idolatrous religious practice.^{[citation needed]} Some Christian denominations, such as the Presbyterian and Anglican churches, now welcome members regardless of same-sex sexual practices, and perform same-sex marriages,^{[citation needed]} as do Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism.

Others consider that scriptural prohibitions only relate to pederasty,^{[citation needed]} 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;^{[citation needed]} present-day readings must account for this.

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 תועבה toeba ("abomination")" (Leviticus 18:22). (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful 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.^{[citation needed]} Rabbinic works ban lesbian sex as well.^{[citation needed]} What people today describe as psychological or biological homosexual inclination is not discussed among classical rabbis. The sources only discuss specific same-sex acts and not the modern concepts of homosexual identities/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.^{[citation needed]} 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 gay men and lesbians 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 homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexuality. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Some religious groups have concluded that there can be no scriptural prohibition against homosexuality as it is presently understood, namely as the outworking of an orientation. In 2003, the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues in the UK announced that committed same-sex partnerships between two Jews could be recognised by appropriate Jewish ritual and that those Rabbis who are members of the Union's Rabbinic Conference and who wish to officiate at such ceremonies have its support to do so: "The Rabbinic Conference recognises that holiness may be present in committed same-sex partnerships and supports the creation of appropriate liturgy for same-sex commitment ceremonies."^[1]

Christianity

The Roman Catholic Church and later, Reformed and Protestant churches traditionally condemned same-sex sexual relations, based on scripture texts such as describing a man lying with another man 18:22 as sinful acts. Where the Catholic view is founded on a natural law argument informed by scripture,^[2] the traditional conservative Protestant view is based on an interpretation of scripture alone. Certain books in the Bible, such as Leviticus, suggest that same-sex sexual relations between men is seen as sinful by God; a "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination".18:22 Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans, referring to people who had turned from God out of wickedness, and worshiped creatures rather than the Creator, describes how, as a consequence of this, God left them to their own devices: "Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another".Romans 1:26-27 He gives a list of the sorts of things people who turned their backs on God have done, and follows this by pointing out that we have all done these sorts of things, and says "Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things".Romans 2:1

Protestant conservatives also see homosexual relationships as an impediment to heterosexual relationships. They interpret some Biblical passages to be commandments to be heterosexually married such as "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh"(Genesis 2:24) and "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord"(1 Cointhians 11:11).^[3] Catholics, on the other hand, have accommodated unmarried people as priests, monks, nuns and single lay people for many years. A number of ex-gay Christians have reported satisfaction in their heterosexual marriages.^[4][5][6]

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 theologians 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 century, theologians like Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann, Hans Kung, John Robinson, Bishop David Jenkins, Don Cupitt, Bishop Jack Spong challenged traditional theological positions and understandings of the Bible; following these developments some have suggested that passages have been mistranslated or that they do not refer to what we understand as "homosexuality."^[7]

The Roman Catholic Church, maintains what it regards as early Christian teaching on homosexuality, and that sex is solely for procreation: "Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.' They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." ^[8]

The Catholic Church requires those who are attracted to people of the same sex to practice chastity, because sexuality should only be practiced within marriage, which it regards as permanent, procreative, heterosexual, and monogamous. The Church acknowledges that homosexuality can be a problem for people attracted to the same sex, rather than the opposite sex, but stresses that such people "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity."^[9] The Vatican distinguishes between "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" and the "expression of a transitory problem", in relation to ordination to the priesthood; saying that homosexual tendencies "must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate."^[10]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes a position of self controlling any tendencies towards same-gender attraction. Dallin H. Oaks, a leader in the LDS church, stated “All of us have some feelings we did not choose, but the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we still have the power to resist and reform our feelings (as needed) and to assure that they do not lead us to entertain inappropriate thoughts or to engage in sinful behavior”.^[11] Homoerotic thoughts, feelings and behaviors are considered to be a problem that everyone can and should overcome.^[12] 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 excommunicated.^[11] However, despite this position, the church decries any unkind act towards gays, as is manifest in this statement: "The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility towards homosexual men and women. Protecting marriage between a man and a woman does not affect Church members’ Christian obligations of love, kindness and humanity toward all people."^[13]

Richard Land, the head of the public policy board of the Southern Baptist Convention, claims that the "radical homosexual agenda" is one of "America's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."^[14] Even among denominations that proclaim homosexuality to be sinful, there is usually an official policy of "love the sinner, hate the sin."^[15][16]

Other Christian denominations do not condemn homosexual acts as bad or evil and some liberal Christians are open and affirming to active homosexuals. Indeed, there is a denomination of 40,000 members, the Metropolitan Community Church, devoted to being open and affirming to active homosexuals. The United Church of Christ also condones gay marriage and some parts of the Anglican and Lutheran churches allow for the blessing of gay unions. The United Church of Canada also allows same-sex marriage, and views sexual orientation as a gift from God. Within the Anglican communion there are openly gay clergy, for example, Gene Robinson is an openly gay Bishop in the US Episcopal Church.

There exist religious groups and denominations whose interpretation of scripture and doctrine states that homosexuality is morally acceptable, and a natural occurrence. For example, in 1988 the United Church of Canada, that country's largest Protestant denomination, affirmed that "a) All persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, who profess Jesus Christ and obedience to Him, are welcome to be or become full member of the Church; and b) All members of the Church are eligible to be considered for the Ordered Ministry."^[17] In 2000, the Church's General Assembly further affirmed that "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are a gift from God and part of the marvelous diversity of creation."^[18]

Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel Peace Price winner, has described homophobia as a "crime against humanity" and "every bit as unjust" as apartheid:^[19] "We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about; our very skins. It is the same with sexual orientation. It is a given. ... We treat them [gays and lesbians] as pariahs and push them outside our communities. We make them doubt that they too are children of God - and this must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy. We blame them for what they are."^[20]

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.

Passages from the Old Testament have been interpreted to argue that homosexuals should be punished with death, and AIDS has been portrayed by some such as Fred Phelps and Jerry Falwell^[21] as a punishment by God against homosexuals. Religious condemnation has been such a deep source of pain, many lesbian and gay youth have prayed to God to become heterosexual. ^[22]

Islam

“	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,^[23] 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.^[24]

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 similar as the admiration or attraction for an older or wiser sibling. Homosexual intercourse itself has been interpreted to be a form of lust and a violation of the Qur'an.

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.

Islam allows and promotes filial love between siblings of the same gender. Sexual activities between them, however, are totally prohibited. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Daud, Al-Mutamid, Abu Nuwas and many others used this edict to write extensively and openly of brotherly love between men while proclaiming to be chaste.

Zoroastrianism

“	The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is a man that is a Daeva [demon]; this man is a worshipper of the Daevas, a male paramour of the Daevas	”
—Vendidad

The Vendidad, one of the later Zoroastrian texts composed in the Artificial Young Avestan language, has not been dated precisely but likely evolved sometime around the 8th century BC, perhaps contemporaneously with the Jewish Torah. It is thought that some concepts of law, uncleanliness, dualism, and salvation were shared between the religions^[25], and subsequent interactions between the religions are documented by events such as the release of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity by Zoroastrian Cyrus the Great in 537 BC, and the Biblical account of the Magi visiting the infant Jesus. The Vendidad generally promotes procreation: "the man who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none." It details the penance for a worshipper who submits to sodomy under force as "Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana." (equal to the penalty for breaking a contract with the value of an ox^[26]), and declares that for those participating voluntarily "For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever". However, those not practicing the Religion of Mazda were pardoned for past actions upon conversion. ^[27]

Indian religions

Among the 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.^[28] 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.^[29] Ancient Hindu law books, from the first century onward, categorize non-vaginal sex (ayoni) as impure.^[30]

Hinduism

Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Rigveda,one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' (perversity/diversity is what nature is all about, or, what seems un-natural is also natural), which some scholars believe recognizes homosexuality as natural, if not an approval of homosexuality^[31]. However, 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 swamis said they opposed the concept of a Hindu-sanctified gay marriage.^[32] Some of the law codes, such as that of Manu Smriti refer to both female and male homosexuality as a punishable crime.^[33] 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^[34] 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.^[35] However, the author was "not a fan of homosexual activities" and treated such individuals with disdain, according to historian Devdutt Pattanaik.^[36] 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.

In some Hindu sects, 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. However, this is not accepted by the majority of Hindus, and is often considered heretical in nature. Those who do accept it justify with the belief that both God and nature are unlimitedly diverse and God is difficult to comprehend.

Buddhism

Asian societies shaped by Buddhist traditions takes a strong ethical stand in human affairs and sexual behavior in particular. However, unlike most other world religions, most variations of Buddhism do not go into details as to what is right and what is wrong in what it regards as mundane activities of life. Details of accepted or unaccepted human sexual conduct are not specifically mentioned in any of the religious scriptures in Pali language. The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path, one should neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings, not divine mandate or instruction. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct.^[37] However, the "sexual misconduct" is such a broad term, and is subjected to interpretation relative to the social norms of the followers. In fact, Buddhism in its fundamental form, does not define what is right and what is wrong in absolute terms for lay followers. Therefore the interpretation of whether homosexuality is acceptable for a layperson or not, is not a religious matter as far as fundamental Buddhism is concerned.

Buddhism is often characterised as distrustful of sensual enjoyment and sexuality in general.^[38] Traditionally, homosexual conduct and gender variance are seen as obstacles to spiritual progress in most schools of Buddhism; as such monks are expected to refrain from all sexual activity, and the Vinaya (the first book of the Tripitaka) specifically prohibits sexual intercourse, then further explain that both anal, oral as well as vaginal intercourse amount to sexual intercourse, which will result in permanent exclusion from Sangha.^[39] A notable exception in the history of Buddhism occurred in Japan during the Edo period, in which male homosexuality, or more specifically, pederasty between young novices and older monks, was celebrated.^[40]

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.^[41] 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.^[42] However, the Dalai Lama supports human rights for all, "regardless of sexual orientation."^[43]

In Thailand, traditional accounts propose that "homosexuality arises as a karmic consequence of violating Buddhist proscriptions against heterosexual misconduct. These karmic 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."^[38] However, Buddhist leaders in Thailand have also condemned homosexuality,^[44] ousted monks accused of homosexual acts, and banned kathoey from ordination.

Within Japanese traditions, there is a widespread forklore that homosexuality was "invented" by the Bodhisattva Manjusri of wisdom and the sage Kūkai, the founder of Buddhism in Japan.^[45] Japanese Buddhist scholar and author of Wild Azaleas Kitamura Kigin said that heterosexuality was to be avoided for priests and homosexuality encouraged.^[46]

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.^[47]

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 because the sexual act is consumed outside marriage.^[48] Jain author Duli Chandra Jain wrote in 2004 that homosexuality and transvestism "stain one's thoughts and feelings" because they involve sexual passion.^[49]

Chinese 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.^[50]

Confucianism

This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (May 2009)

Confucianism has allowed homosexual sex with the precondition of procreation.^{[citation needed]} 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,^{[citation needed]} whereas non-exclusive homosexuality was permissible and widely practiced.^{[citation needed]} Monogamy was an unusual and foreign idea to many Asians until contact with the West.^{[citation needed]} Chinese traditions attribute homosexuality to Huang Di ("Yellow Emperor"), the father of Chinese civilization.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[51]

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.^[52]

Paganism

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (September 2007)

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. 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. In part due to the spread of medieval Christianity there is no clear record of homosexuality in ancient Germanic Paganism. On one hand effeminate and homosexual men were deemed capable of performing a powerful type of female sorcery, called seid; in their mythology, however, the trickster and occasional transsexual God Loki accused Norse Paganism's grand patriarch Odin of engaging in the same kind of sorcery.

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 dissidentify 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 religions, has adherents with a spectrum of views ranging from conservative to liberal. It is a largely undogmatic religion, and nothing in Wiccan philosophy prohibits sexual intercourse outside of marriage or relationships between members of the same sex. On the contrary, the Wiccan Rede "An it harm none, do as thou wilt" is interpreted by many as allowing and endorsing responsible sexual relationships of all varieties.

The Wiccan Charge of the Goddess, one of the most famous texts in Neopaganism, states in the words of the Goddess, "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals".^[53] In traditional forms of Wicca, such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca, magic is often performed between a man and a woman, and the "Great Rite" is a sex ritual performed between a Priest and Priestess representing the God and Goddess;^[54] however, this is not generally seen as excluding homosexuals or magic between same-sex couples. Most groups still insist, however, that initiations be conferred from man to woman or woman to man. Any ritual sexual acts, whether actual or symbolic, take place between two consenting adults, normally a couple who are already lovers. See also LGBT issues and Wicca.

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

Religious groups and public policy

Opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBT rights is often associated with conservative religious views. Religious opponents of LGBT rights believe that supporting reform of anti-gay laws would promote wilful acts of homosexuality.^{[citation needed]} The American Family Association and other religious groups have promoted boycotts of corporations whose policies support the LGBT community.

On the other hand, the Unitarian Universalist Association supports the freedom to marry ^[55] and compares resistance to it to the resistance to abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the end of anti-miscegenation laws. ^[56]

Persecution of lesbians and gay men is common in conservative Islamic nations.

See also

• LGBT rights by country
• Religion and sexuality

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
• Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" NYU Press New York 1997
• Wafer, Jim (1991) "The Taste of Blood: Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomblé" UPP Philadelphia
• Wafer, Jim (1997) "Muhammad and Male Homosexuality" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York
• Wafer, Jim (1997) "The Symbolism of Male Love in Islamic Mysthical Literature" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York 1997

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.
• Pilgrimage of Faith Research Research about homosexuality and the British Methodist Church.

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