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 | Slavery: Anabaptists started to oppose slavery in the late 17th century. They were joined by Quakers and Mennonites. When John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, focused on slavery in the 18th century, the small protest became a mass movement for the abolition of slavery. Slavery in Canada was phased out, starting in the early 19th century. Slavery in the U.S. was abolished in the 1860s as a result of the Civil War. The process in North America took two centuries. However negative affects of slavery in the U.S. and Canada endure to the present time. |
| Women's rights: The drive for equal rights and opportunities for women in North America gained strength in the late 19th century. Over a century later, women have attained equal rights in many areas. However, they are still not permitted to function in certain military roles. The Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, many conservative Protestant churches, and other religious organizations prohibit female ordination. The move to equality has taken over a century, and the clock is still ticking. |
| Homosexual rights: In colonial days, homosexual behavior was often considered a capital crime. Change in attitudes has been rapid, starting in the mid-20th century. The "homosexual agenda" has as one of its goals the general acceptance of homosexuality as a normal, natural sexual orientation. This is the position expressed by the American Psychological Association in 1994: "Homosexuality is neither mental illness nor moral depravity. It is simply the way a minority of our population expresses human love and sexuality. A half century has passed since the first meaningful study of homosexuality, and many advances towards equality have been accomplished. But much remains to be done. |
Trends towards acceptance of homosexuality:
| In 1950, psychologists and psychiatrists still regarded homosexuality as a severe emotional disorder. | ||||||
| During the 1950s Evelyn Hooker completed the first meaningful study of homosexuals in society and showed that "homosexuals were not inherently abnormal and that there was no difference between homosexual and heterosexual men in terms of pathology." More details | ||||||
| There was a delay of about one generation while mental health professionals gradually accepted the findings of studies by Hooker and subsequent researchers. | ||||||
| The revolt by gays, lesbians, transsexuals and others against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, NY, triggered the gay liberation movement. | ||||||
| In 1973, almost a generation after Hooker's work, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Subsequently, many other mental health, legal, educational, and social work professional associations issued statements accepting homosexual orientation. | ||||||
| During the next generation, homosexual rights organizations gradually whittled away at laws which criminalized homosexual behavior,. They successfully promoted anti-discrimination laws and bylaws in many cities and states. | ||||||
| In the year 2000, a Vermont bill to allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions became law. | ||||||
| The year 2003 saw many developments:
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| By 2005-MAY, same sex couples can marry in Massachusetts, and can enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships in California, Connecticut and Vermont. They can also marry in 7 out of 10 Canadian provinces which contain almost 90% of the country's population. |
Recent legal developments became possible because the general public's perception of homosexuals influenced the courts and legislators. Also, the decisions of various courts and legislatures to grant homosexuals equal rights have influenced the public's beliefs about homosexuals.
Other contributing factors were:
| An increasing number of gays and lesbian have come out of "the closet" in recent decades, and gone public with their sexual orientation. Coming out is a risky process. However, this has vastly increased the percentage of North Americans who personally know at least one gay or lesbian. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey in the year 2000 showed that among those who don't know any homosexuals, 68% agreed with the statement "Homosexual behavior is morally wrong." Among those who know a homosexual as a personal friend, the percentage dropped to 47%. 3 |
| A vast amount of information has also become available in recent decades about sexual orientation in general, and homosexuals, lesbians and bisexuals, their relationships, their families, and their children in particular. |
Shifts in public opinion:
| From 1977 to 2004, the Gallup Organization found that the percentage of American adults agreeing with the statement "Should homosexual have equal rights in terms of employment" went from 56% to 89%. | ||||||||||
| Over the same interval:
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| From 1996 to 2004, the Gallup Organization found that the percentage of American adults who felt that marriages between homosexuals should be recognized by the law as valid rose from 27% to 42%. | ||||||||||
| Between 1987 and 2003, the UCLA / ACE survey of 7 million entering collegians in America showed that the percentage who agreed that "It is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relationships" dropped from 53% to 26%. 3 | ||||||||||
| Zogby International and
Hamilton College conducted a poll of "class of 2001" high
school seniors. This is particularly indicative of future cultural trends.
They found that:
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Site navigation: Home > Conflict > Homosexuality > Religious impact > Teaching > here |
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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L.R. Holben, "What Christians think about homosexuality: Six representative viewpoints," Bibal Press, (1999).
Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com
online book store. - "Evelyn Hooker, PhD," at: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/
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Cited in David G.
Meyers & Letha Dawson Scanzoni, "What God has joined together? A Christian
case for gay marriage," HarperSanFrancisco, (2005-JUN), Pages 140 to 147. This is
based on a proof version of the book; the page number may be changed in the
final published copy.
Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com
online book store.
Copyright © 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-MAY-8
Latest update: 2005-MAY-8
Author: B.A. Robinson
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