MENU:

RESOLVING PEOPLE'S CONFLICTING BELIEFS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY & BISEXUALITY

Click below to visit our sponsors.

Overview:

Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere, completely isolated from the media, you will realize that North Americans hold conflicting beliefs about gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.

No consensus seems possible at this time. This conflict is distressing individuals. It is destabilizing friendships, marriages, religious denominations, and even American and Canadian societies as a whole.

The essays in this section discuss the nature of the conflicts, and offer information that we hope will be helpful in understanding the variety of belief systems about homosexuality.

In our experience, debate is rarely useful. It tends to raise emotions and to harden opinions. Dialogue is often much more useful. In dialogue, the participants suppress their desire to convince the other person that they are right. The goal is to understand the other person(s) beliefs and on what bases they are held. Dialogue rarely leads to a consensus. However, it often results in all participants appreciating of the other person(s) integrity, character, intelligence, and thoughtfulness. Ultimately, we will probably have to find some way in which we can live in peace with diverse opinions.

Topics discussed in this section:

Copyright © 2003 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-SEP-4
Latest update: 2003-SEP-4
Author: B.A. Robinson