The impact of religion on homosexuality & bisexuality

 Anti-homosexual legislation promoted
by some conservative Christians

Quotations:

	"Jesus' life and teachings are built around love and forgiveness and reconciliation. There is no way you can say that (he) would have supported a policy of revenge, which is what the death penalty is." Rev. Joe Ingle of Nashville, TN, a death row minister. 1
	"Marriage, defined by one man and one woman, has been the foundation of civilization for thousands of years. Any attempt to alter that definition is an effort to undermine the most fundamental building block of every society: the family unit." FAQ about Same-Sex 'Marriage' " by Focus on the Family. 2

Legislation promoted by religious conservatives:

Religious conservatives generally refer to homosexuality as a behavior -- as something that one does. Gays, lesbians, mental health professionals, religious liberals and other groups generally refer to homosexuality as an orientation -- something that one is; it is defined by one's person's feelings of attraction towards men and/or women. This difference in definition generates an enormous amount of confusion and misunderstanding.

Most religious conservatives reject genetics as a cause of homosexuality. They view homosexual behavior as an abnormal, unnatural, chosen and changeable disorder, condemned by God, which has serious negative moral implications. Most of their legislative wishes derive logically from their ideas about homosexuality. The most important of these beliefs may well be that homosexuality is a conscious choice by young persons. Religious conservatives often feel that anything that encourages more youth to choose the "homosexual lifestyle" is to be opposed. Factors that make the "homosexual lifestyle" less desirable are to be encouraged.

Their personal nightmare is that North American culture will change to:

	Accept all sexual orientations as equal from a moral standpoint, and
	Recognized all committed relationships, whether by opposite-gender or same-gender couples.

The following are some examples of legislation that religious conservatives are promoting or opposing are:

	They oppose same-sex marriage because they feel that it would seriously damage the institution, which they regard as a special privilege to be reserved only for opposite-sex couples. If homosexuals can marry, then millennia of family tradition would be dissolved. They believe that extending marriage to allow gays and lesbians to marry would encourage more young people to choose the "homosexual lifestyle." It would make marriage meaningless. A 2002-APR-9 poll by Focus on the Family revealed that 86% of its web site visitors agreed that "The institution of marriage is in serious danger in America." 3 On 2002-JAN-22, over 95% of their visitors agreed that "Civil unions in California would be a major threat to [heterosexual] marriage across the U.S."
	Conservative Christians oppose allowing gays or lesbians to adopt children, presumably out of fear that the parent(s) will train their children to accept homosexuality as a normal "lifestyle" and may even influence them to choose homosexuality later in life. A Focus on the Family poll on 2002-MAR-20 showed that over 90% of their visitors opposed adoption by homosexuals. 3
	Religious conservatives generally oppose including sexual orientation as a protected class in legislation which outlaws discrimination in employment and accommodation. They advocate that only factors like race and national origin, etc. be included. Legislation protecting gays and lesbians would demonstrate that the government regards homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.
	Many religiously conservative groups have opposed federal anti-hate crime legislation which would include gender and disability as protected classes, because the proposed bills would also include persons of all sexual orientations.
	They oppose including mention of homosexuality in public school sex-ed classes, because to do so would typically present homosexuality as one of three alternative normal and natural sexual orientations. Again, this would legitimize homosexuality in the eyes of the students, and lead to more youth deciding to be homosexual.
	Many promote having health-care plans remain as a special privilege reserved only for married couples. They wish to exclude the spouse and children of same-sex couples for a variety of reasons. It would legitimize same-sex partnerships; it would recognize same-sex parenting as valid. They feel it would also encourage more youth to become gay and lesbian. A Focus on the Family poll on 2001-NOV-20 showed that 61% of their visitors were more inclined to donate money to the Salvation Army after they terminated benefits to spouses and children of unmarried employees.
	Conservative Christians often encourage the continuation of existing state laws that criminalize same-sex behavior. They fear that if gay and lesbian behavior were to be decriminalized, that more youth would choose this "lifestyle."

Legislation recommended by Robert T. Lee:

Only the most extremist groups within conservative Christianity advocate the death penalty for homosexuals. But such radical elements do exist.

Robert Lee of the Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments is one of the more outspoken of radical conservative Christian sources on the matter of homosexuality. In his essay "Against Homosexuality," he proposes much more punitive legislation against gays and lesbians. ₄

Lee makes a number of points in his essay; some are stated and others are implied. In the chart below, we contrast Lee's arguments with possible counter claims by those who promote equal rights for persons of all sexual orientations:

Christian groups promoting restricted homosexual rights:

The websites' URLs for some of these groups are listed below

	Alliance for Traditional Marriage (Hawaii)
	American Family Association
	Americans for Truth About Homosexuality
	Center for Reclaiming America
	Christian Family Network
	Christian Coalition
	Citizens for Community Values
	Concerned Women for America
	Coral Ridge Ministries
	Exodus International
	Focus on the Family
	Kerusso Ministries
	Liberty Counsel
	Mission America
	National Legal Foundation

Organizations promoting the death penalty for sexually active homosexuals:

	Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments, at: http://www.tencommandments.org/
	Citizens for the Ten Commandments at: http://www.hom.net/~angels/deathpenalty.html
	Coalition on Revival, a Christian Reconstructionist movement. See: http://www.ifas.org/fw/9101/radical.html
	The Society for the Promotion of Reformation in Government, at: http://www.spring-ni.com/downloads/title3e
	Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, KS. See: http://www.godhatesfags.com

Current beliefs among the public:

We have only been able to find one public opinion poll on whether persons who engage in homosexual sexual acts should be executed. Unfortunately, that was reported in an About.com section on Atheism and Agnosticism. The persons participating in the poll were self-selected. Although most were Americans, some probably lived in other countries. Thus, the results are probably not representative of the beliefs of the average American. 

About.com's online survey "Should homosexuality be a felony that is punished with death" conducted by About.com found that:

	82% of persons voting rejected making homosexual activity a corporal offense
	17% accepted the alternative: that same-sex sexual activity should be punishable by execution on the grounds that "... homosexuality is an abomination before God." 2

References:

1. "Bible Belt Death," at: http://www.sullivan-county.com/
2. FAQ about Same-Sex 'Marriage' " by Focus on the Family, at: http://www.family.org/cforum/research/
3. "Previous polls," CitizenLink, at: http://www.family.org/cforum/citpollarchive.cfms
4. Robert T. Lee, "Against Homosexuality," The Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments," 1998-JUN-20, at: http://www.tencommandments.org/homosexual.html
5. "Poll results," About.com, at: http://atheism.about.com/

Copyright © 2002 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-SEP-21
Latest update: 2009-MAY-13
Author: B.A. Robinson

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