Religion

[Elesbian47]

Were you raised with religion? Do you still believe? How has your homosexuality affected your religious views? Have your religious views affected your homosexuality?

[Shevanel]

Yes, Yes, my bisexuality hasn't really affected my views that much and my religious views haven't really affected my bisexuality either. I'm Roman Catholic.

[Jose Carioca]

I was religious until I was 15 and then I realized that the bible was a complete fabrication. It hasn't affected my sexuality at all.

[Cracked Actor]

I was raised agnostic and I'm still agnostic. XD

[Nodnarb]

No, my family isn't religious. I've been agnostic since I was old enough to really start thinking about relgion/god.

[Kenko]

I was raised Catholic, and currently am agnostic / very questioning.

Even if the Bible is a complete fabrication, it still has some good lessons, and has had an indisputable impact on the course of history, and can't be completely dismissed.

[djt820]

I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. Im now agnostic. I now think we cant prove God exists nor can we prove he doesnt exist. Most likely, people made up the idea of God. I think Organized Religion is complete horseshit as well. My sexuality only furthered that.

[Wander]

Originally Posted by Elesbian47

Were you raised with religion? Do you still believe? How has your homosexuality affected your religious views? Have your religious views affected your homosexuality?

1) Sort of. My mom is a methodist and my dad a Catholic, but they never really enforced religious beliefs at home. My grandmother made me go to vacation bible school during the summer for about three years, and I went to Sunday School for a year or two, but my family never really had a strong religious household.

2) In what? In a god? No. In supreme beings? No. In spiritual energy? No. I don't "believe" in much of anything; I either know, don't know, or lean towards one or the other based on the evidence in front of me.

3) They're independent. I decided I was best suited as an atheist several months before I acknowledged that I was gay, but the only influence that had was that I didn't have that fear of an angry, vengeful god breathing down my neck. I certainly didn't 'become gay to spite god', or 'give up religion so I could be gay' like some fundies seem to believe.

4) Read the above.

[Filip]

Roman Catholic here. I can't really say I was raised very religiously. Though I did go to schools that are run by the Church. And I had baptism, confirmation etc.

I would still say that I have faith. Though more in the Spinozist sense of an ordered universe, than in a God that I could contact.

Hard to say whether or not being gay changed my views. I think I only seriously started thinking about it at the same time I realised I was gay...

Wiccan here. I wasn't raised on it, even though my mother follows the same religion. My parents took the stance that my brother and I could chose our own path, and that's the one I chose. (dad's a non-practicing Baptist, my brother is agnostic/bordering on athiest) No effect at all on my sexuality In fact, I accepted my sexuality before I decided Wicca was the path for me

[partietraumatic]

i wasn't raised with any religion. I hardly went to church growing up. but despite this i am actually religious. Well...i believe in a god,if not neccessarily organised religion, which is just a conclusion ive come to through lots of thinking,that there must be a creater to have started all this *big extravgant wave of arm around*

[Amy]

Yes.
Yes.
Not at all. It has affected my personal views of other people and vice versa.
It hasn't.


Pretty much.

[Eleanor Rigby]

I have been raised by a very religious mom (Roman Catholic) and an agnostic father. I now have a complicated relationship with Christian faith. I'd say I feel in adequecy with Jesus message even if I'm reserved about resurection but I desagree with a lot of things in the current catholic church. About belief itself, I feel angry with God for personal reasons and as one of my priest friend says, I can't be angry about him if I don't believe in his existence, which I have to acknowledge is quite true.
As I am not homosexual, I can't say that it affect my views about religion. Studying philosophy had changed a lot my views about religion tho, especially because I mainly studied moral problems and because my views on these problems (homosexuality is one of them) are very different from what is said by the Catholic Church. Finaly, religion had probably affected my sexuality, but not very directly. I think it is more the way I have been raised in general that had affected my sexuality. I had a hard time at the begining of my sexual life to finaly understand that I had no reason to feel guilty about having sex.
Finaly, to be completly honnest, I have to say that I married my husband at church, because it was important for me, despite the fact that I have a complicated relationship with faith.

I was never raised up in religion but I was expected to accept it as I got older, coming from a hispanic backround and all. I can say I'm pretty much an Atheist (an Atheist for Jesus to be exact), no god, just life and it was my homosexuality that caused me to be where I am now. Once the gay went off in my head I started to question everything. I'm a much happier person because of it.

[EM68]

I am baptized as Greek Orthodox but went mainly to Catholic mass growing up. I don't really consider myself religious but more spiritual. To me there is a god and that Jesus died on the cross for us. However I do not believe that the bible is the direct word of god. Its more stories that have been handed down through the years. I believe that for some reason god made me gay and because of that I am not condemned to going to hell when I die because I am gay.

[matty123]

i have never been religious, (my mum is a bit, and my dad isn't really, my grandma is very religious and i went to a roman catholic primary school), i've always been one of those people that questioned everything, i found there were more answers in science than the bible, and a lot of religion is a load of rubbish based on a book that was written 2000 years ago, by various people, at various times for many reasons, then was mistranslated, and so what we have today is nothing like the original, and i hate how homosexuals get so much stick, i was really angry when i heard Pope Benedict XVI has suggested that the need to save mankind from a destructive blurring of gender roles is as important as saving the rainforests, this is a man that preaches the word of god and says we should be like jesus, and yet he lives in his own country in fantastic palaces and churches with billions of pounds worth of art work, nothing like jesus who supposedly only had the clothes on his back, plus religions only supply reasons for wars to be justified, and help segregate society. i think everyone should just be the best human they can be, love who they want to love, and be happy

[Apocalypte]

My mum is Catholic, my dad is agnostic - more apathetic than anything else really!
I was raised Catholic, and went to religious schools for my primary and secondary education. I was certain that I didn't believe by the time I was in roughly the equivalent of fifth grade, but went through the motions in terms of Confirmation at 11 years old.

My sexuality hasn't affected my religious views really - I knew I was an atheist a long time before I knew I was gay. That said - knowing the views of various religions on homosexuality and the role of women has put me off investigating religion from anything more than an academic viewpoint.

[Greggers]

I was a Baptist Christian until i was about 17.

At the age of 0 i started attending Church and Sunday School. It was just ingrained into me from a young age. I still have memories of the pastor speaking about the sins of 1) drinking 2) pornography and 3) homosexuality. He tended to talk about them alot, either that or i just paid attention more when he did. My faith was VERY strict and VERY conservative. Once i was about 8 i started going to youth groups (multiple, yes) and they were just as strict and conservitive. I still remember one innocent time when i drew a picture of the bathroom as "the place i like to play in" for sunday school (i found the bathroom was the only place in the house i could truly be alone) and my teacher SNAPPED at me. She made me ask forgiveness for the blasphemy.

As i grew older, i started to realise 1) i was drinking (tiny bits) out of peer pressure 2) i was looking at pornography 3) it was gay pornography. So right there i was doing the "big 3" no-nos my church taught me. This took SUCH a huge toll on my life. At the same time the church was preaching i was better of dead than alive, my Christian school was doing the same. Oh yes, i attended a Luthren Chrisitan school till grade 5, then a Baptist Chirstian school till grade 12. They both were horrible places. Everwhere i turned was more christian people telling me i was a bad peron. I was in major denile mode about my sexuality at this stage since someone told me "Every male has a homosexual phase and every male grows out of it in time, unless they choose not to then they burn in hell". So i thought i could choose to get out of the phase. HAH! Well, it didnt exactly turn out like that. By 16 i was starting to get the picture i was gay and it was not going to change. I went into a dark place and started with self-harm. I think then my pastor actually preached against self-harm and that sent me even further down and i started getting suicidal. My family, my friends, my church and my school all told me GAY IS BAD. What else was i supposed to believe? So i started having "Downs and MORE Downs" instead of "Ups and Downs". I had bad days, i might just cut myself, and i had worse days, i might think of or attempt suicide. But then, in grade 11, i had a breakthrough. Within the same month or so ONE teacher and ONE friend changed it all. I had to attend after school bible classes that were 3 hours long (yea....) and the one day he topic of homosexuality and being a Christian came up. Ive never seen a room so full of hate before. Everyone right away without even reading the material we were given to read before the discussion burst out into a choir of "No.". But, to my shock, the TEACHER expressed his views that Gay People do not choose who they are attracted to and are just normal people. Of course no one agreed with him, but i really needed to hear that. It marked the first time id ever heard someone say "Its ok to be gay and Christian". Sadly, as i write this, that Teacher has been fired for having "Too Liberal of Views". A very sad day for that school. The second time was in the school Library one lunch. I walked in on two people arguing with my BEST friend about homosexuality and Christianity. I sat down beside my friend and made it 2 on 2. We argued all lunch and even got kicked to the other side of the library because "out discussion was too graphic" so we needed to keep quiet. They said things like "If homosexuality is allowed whats next? People fucking horses? Old men are allowed to fuck little girls? But really, homosexuality is worse than old men fucking little girls". That was the jist of the one guys argument. Well, my friend, bless her soul, called him ignorant, retarded, offensive and horrible in many different ways and set him straight. Just knowing that my best friend thought homosexuality was ok without even knowing i was gay i was a huge comfort. After this, i stopped the suicidal thoughts (for awhile atleast)

So after all those experiences, when i was around 17 i stopped going to church period. It was a harmful and horrible place. My mother of course got super mad. The reason? She didnt want to be emberessed by being the mother with "the child who does not come to church". She didnt want to be the talk of the church gossip! Well after i left i felt much better. Sundays used to be my low point, because of church, but now they were just another Saturday (my best days). I kind of lost 90% of my faith at the same time, because i didnt think i could be gay and Christian. I still hung on to that 10% because of two reasons: The teacher who told me it was ok and the fact life makes no sense without a higher power.

Well these days ive been to a few other churchs i specifically know are not against homosexuality and they have really helped me with my faith. I can proudly say i am a gay christian. I am not a Christian if you ask most of my friend however because they either assume im gay and that cancels it out or the fact i dont act like a bible thumper. Generally were i live your only Christian when you act like a Christian all day long. You almost have to give up being human. I do drink at 18. Ive never been drunk in my life though. I do look at porn. Im only human, and a part of that is being sexual. I sin. Again, Im only human, and a part of that is imperfection. I accept the fact im flawed and with god on my side i try and live the best i can, im just not going to rush to the alter every time i do a "no-no". Many will say that makes me a bad Christian. I just point out to them "you just judged me, thats a no-no. Go to your alter now, shoo".

[KittyBoy]

Were you raised with religion? Yes I was.
Do you still believe? Not particularily.
How has your homosexuality affected your religious views? Nope
Have your religious views affected your homosexuality? HELL NO!

[Stuie]

Well the main religious experiences I had while growing up was being dragged to church by my grandparents when I was little and family christenings. They were generally torturously boring and didn't really inspire any faith in me.
In Prep (the grade before grade 1), I had a tendency to ask "the big questions" to my Religious Education teacher. I think she was somewhat horrified that a Prep could ask "what evidence to you have of God's existence?" In Grade 1, my parents were asked to remove me from RE, because of the incessant questioning of the beliefs put forward to us, so I think it's pretty safe to say I never believed in god.
However my grandparents all being Catholics means I have an absurdly large extended family (~80 people), which I suppose is good in some ways, bad in others, but mostly really good.
Well I think my homosexuality makes me even less inclined to believe in organised religion in any sense, but I never have really, so it's not a big deal.
It's not so much my religious views that have affected my homosexuality, it's more other people's and the ingrained homophobia of society created, in part, by some religions. The whole coming out process is made so much more terrifying if you're in an extremely religious environment. Greg, my thoughts are with you. I'm lucky enough to go to a school where being gay is pretty much accepted but many people aren't.