LGBT And Religion

The relationship between religion and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality, bisexuality, non-binary, and transgender identities. More generally, the relationship between religion and sexuality ranges widely among and within them, from giving sex and sexuality a rather negative connotation to believing that sex is the highest expression of the divine.

Some of the authoritative bodies and doctrines of the world's largest religions may view these negatively. This can range from quiet discouragement, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices or sex/gender reassignment among adherents, actively opposing social acceptance of LGBT identities, to execution of people engaging in homosexual acts while tolerating sex/gender reassignment in specific cases.

Liberal and progressive voices within these religions tend to view LGBT people more positively, and some liberal religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages, as well as accepting and marrying people who are transgender. Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered same-sex love and sexuality; such mythologies and traditions can be found in numerous religions around the world; elements of religious and cultural incorporation of non-heterosexual practice can still be identified in traditions that have survived into the modern era, such as the Berdache, Hijra, and Xanith.

Religious views of LGBT people

According to a 2006 Australian survey, LGBT Australians, compared to the general Australian population, were much more likely to have no religious affiliation, much less likely to be affiliated with a Christian denomination, and more likely to be affiliated with a non-Christian religion. The distribution of religions that LGBT Australians were raised in, however, was similar to that of the general population. Men, particularly bisexual men, were more likely to be Christian and more likely to have stayed in the same religion. Lesbian women were more likely to have left the religion they were raised in and be currently unaffiliated.

A 2004 survey of LGBT New Zealanders found that 73% had no religion, 14.8% were Christian, and 2.2% were Buddhist. In contrast, in 2001 census the general New Zealand population reported 59.8% Christian and 29.2% no religion. When looking at change since 1966, LGBT people are disaffiliating from Christianity at a rate 2.37 times the rate of the general population in New Zealand. In the survey 59.8% reported a belief in a spiritual force, god, or gods; this differed significantly by gender, with 64.9% of women and 55.5% of men reporting such a belief.

The Radical Faeries are a worldwide queer spiritual movement, founded in 1979 in the United States. Radical Faerie communities are generally inspired by aboriginal, native or traditional spiritualities, especially those that incorporate queer sensibilities.

Religious groups and public policy

Opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBT rights is often associated with conservative religious views. 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 and compares resistance to it to the resistance to abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the end of anti-miscegenation laws.

Lesbians and gay men face particular problems in conservative Islamic nations where laws generally prohibit same-sex sexual behavior; where interpretation of Sharia Law on male homosexuality carries the death penalty, with this form of discrimination being viewed as a breach of human rights by international human rights experts and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International.

With the signature of the US in 2009, the proposed UN declaration on LGBT rights has now been signed by 67 members of the United Nations. There was an opposing statement put forward by Muslim nations, and this has been signed by 57 member states, the majority being in Africa and Asia. 68 out of the total 192 countries have not yet signed either statement.

Homosexuality and religion

  There has been a long debate on whether practicing religion is linked to the mistreatment of homosexual individuals. In the article, written by Whitehead, he explains how religion does play an important role in how people viewed same sex couples and their abilities to be functional beings in society. It has been researched that samples of American and Australian college students say that gay or lesbian parents are viewed in a more negative light compared to a heterosexual parents.It is was found that almost one third of Americans defined a same sex couple as a family without the presence of children. Recently there has been controversy on whether same sex couples should be able to able to adopt children because of some people's definition of what a family should look like and according to the Whitehead, a lot of those people who don't feel comfortable having adoption open to the homosexual population has to do with their religious views. Those associated with being religious claim that same sex individuals do not provide safe homes and considered them "confusing" and "stressful" environment. A lot of the reasoning why religion and homophobia are said to correlated is with how religious individuals evaluate sacred text. Those who said to be more "traditional", and view god as a masculine entity view homosexual individuals as wrong due to reading texts like the bible as literal. Overall, much research has been done to indicate that religion is tied to more traditional and conservative views which leads to things like internalized homophobia and negative attitudes of homosexuality as a whole.

Transgender people and religion

 With the rise of transgender awareness and the slow increase of acceptance. It is important to understand the role religion has on how many people view transgender individuals A lot of traditionally conservative religions such as Christianity, Catholics and Muslims often view the concept of “transgender” as wrong, and deviant considering a lot of their religious texts favor the idea of heteronormativity and intergroup pro-sociality. In the study done by Campbell and other researchers tried to pinpoint just how religion and hatred for the transgender population comes from and their findings found that those who considered themselves religious(specifically Christian) were more associated with trans prejudice especially when correlating things like church attendance, and literal bible interpretations. These results suggest that the idea of creating an intergroup where readings like the bible are the foundation create a dislike for transgender individuals that don’t necessarily fit anywhere in sacred text, therefore associating it with the “out group”, aka, those who don’t belong.  

Views of specific religions

Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) have traditionally affirmed and endorsed a patriarchal and heteronormative approach towards human sexuality, favouring exclusively penetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries of marriage over all other forms of human sexual activity, including autoeroticism, masturbation, oral sex, non-penetrative and non-heterosexual sexual intercourse (all of which have been labeled as "sodomy" at various times), believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they're considered sinful, and further compared to or derived from the behavior of the alleged residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, the status of LGBT people in early Christianity and early Islam is debated.

Christianity

The Hebrew Bible

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