Religion and Homosexuality

[cowboy_wannabe]

here's the big question: how do you deal with religion and your homosexuality? do they mix? are you accepted in church? do you even go?

well, i used to be hardcore christian.. went to church every weekend, loved getting involved in bible debates and stuff like that, but then i grew up. i realized what the church was doing to me and my "people" and it was completely unfair... then i took a step back and in an instant sort of realized everything wrong with christianity. the only reason i've been in a church the last two years has been for fuenerals.

i'm sort of searching for a religoius body that will be more accepting, but so far i have no luck... i thought maybe you guys could offer your insights into the whole issue, personal storys and the like.

thanks!

[Aaron]

Being an atheist, this may be from a perspective you weren't considering, but I'll take a shot. I, personally, see some churches mixing with homosexuality quite well. Some churches are more progressive than others. From my understanding (feel free to correct me), churches like Catholic, Mormon, etc don't accept it at all. But other churches, such as the United Church and many Anglican Churches, are more accepting, and I know gay members of each.

On another note, I can understand your need to have a guiding religious influence in your life, but is it really necessary to "choose" one? Could you not, simply practice those beliefs that you actually believe in, and in a way just be spiritual with yourself?

I'm not sure if I made any sense there....

[hawkeye]

Religion is a big issue, Good idea bringing it up! I've always been Catholic, my parents brought me up going to a Catholic school, and I guess I've always been a "Good Catholic", and I've lived my life close to all the teachings. Because of this, it is very hard for me to give cause to "rebelling" against my parents and how they raised me, but I do feel that I have a few different beliefs than the whole Catholic church. Everyone here knows that being gay or bisexual is not a choise, and trying to only be straight seems to be living a lie, and thats why I dont think its wrong to have a different sexual orientation. If it is wrong, I dont thing God would put anybody through it in the first place. After all, there are so many ways to be a good person! when I get older, I may become a protestant, but I've never been able to look into other religions.

I would really like to hear any and all other thoughts on the subject. This is one that can never be overthought.

[goratrix]

Ohh, the allmighty religion. It's an issue I usually discuss a lot. I am agnostic, which means I realize I don't have the ability to believe. I do believe that there is something out there, a begining you might call it, and that because of some of the principle the laws of termodynamics describe, there is some order in the universe. However I don't think there is an actual creature, spirit, energy ball, whatever that is guiding the universe, creating life and giving it purpose.

About religion, I go to a christian college (don't ask), my mother was jewish, my father catholic... neither of them ever actually went to church or the temple. So religion did not play a big part in my childhood. I accept all the religions, and religious people, although I think that sometimes religion is used as a wepon or excuse to hide someone's discomfort or missundertandig of an issu (say homosexuality). I know I will never accept religion in my life, but if someone else wants to... it's their choice.

[TriBi]

I used to describe myself as "atheist", 'cos I am against "organised' religions as such, but that's not really correct. These days I think of myself as somewhat spiritual, more a believer in "karma" than anything else. If I had to choose a religion/philosophy that was closest to the way I feel, it would probably have quite a few buddhist principles.

I cannot abide any religion that says "you are no good because" or "my faith is right therefore yours is wrong" etc.

It just seems ridiculous to me that religion (or religious differences) should be the root of most of the conflict seen in the world, whe the basic precepts of all religions are generally very similar. Crazy.

[goratrix]

Religion is not the cause of the problems. It's a cover up, a shield you might say, for the personal greed of those who make the conflicts.

[Matt]

Religion is not the cause of the problems. It's a cover up, a shield you might say, for the personal greed of those who make the conflicts.
Bingo. Church is a business like any other, with bills to pay to keep the lights on and the doors open. The unfortunate thing is some of the more unscrupulous leaders of the church resort to unfair tactics in order to roll in the dough.

My church, fortunately, doesn't do that. It's a very small church, with about 40 people or so attending every sunday. I don't cast a shadow on the door every sunday, but I make it every once in a while.

[TriBi]

Religion is not the cause of the problems. It's a cover up, a shield you might say, for the personal greed of those who make the conflicts.

Regardless - if the followers are indoctrinated - what happens often tends to be "conflict, death and destruction in the name of faith".

I am fairly sure there is something in the Bible about "not building edifices". (Tho' I could be wrong - I don't exactly read it these days!) So what the hell is a church?

And please don't get me wrong - I'm not "having a go" at anyone who believes in their faith. Just asking them to be open minded to the faith of others, rather than antagonistic. Unfortunately, there are far too many of the latter in this world.

[hawkeye]

I believe, like matt ( i'm pretty sure i read this right) that it is the individual people who corrupt things like religion, and the only way to deal with this is to disagree with what you dont believe in.
TriBi also mentioned the same idea, people should search for what they truely believe in, rather than a group that believes mostly the same things you do.

[Quasar]

Religion and homosexuality is always one of those ‘hot topics’. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with it sitting comfortably in my mind. The problem I had was reconciling scientific fact on creation etc with how the Bible explained things.

As far as being gay is concerned, God made me this way, and if I wasn’t supposed to be gay, then he wouldn’t have made me gay….and if that isn’t true…..then who’s gonna tell God he got it wrong?

Certainly within the Christian movement, (I only have knowledge of this movement) the message is all about inclusiveness, acceptance and love. That love is also unconditional. Regardless of who we are, where we’re from, what we’ve done and what we’re doing, the bible’s teachings are that God loves us all – he might not always be happy with it – but he loves us. Equally, we are supposed to do the same to our fellow men.

Unfortunately, as has already been pointed out, there are religious leaders who pick and choose certain passages from the Bible to justify their actions and opinions because of their own insecurities and lack of understanding.

For many people though, organised religion is a source of comfort in their troubled times, however, as with all ideologies, it all goes wrong the minute people become fanatical.

Even non-religious people find themselves influenced by the Bible simply due to the fact that the Ten Commandments (you can argue there are actually 13! - go on check!!!) along with other teachings form the basis of most of the world's legal systems. Even atheists, agnostics etc will say that murder is basically wrong.

I was actually going to be a priest when I left school 20 years ago, and still find myself drawn to it. I still have a couple of issues I need to work out with religion, and I had to stop myself from turning this into a massive response.

However, if anyone has any specific issues, or just wants me to post an occasional item to help further their understanding of how being gay and religious can work, then let me know! As I said, I still have issues with religion, but I’m not going to discourage or encourage people either way, nor am I going to turn this thread into a pulpit!