This paper looks at the controversial moral debate concerning homosexuality. Even in a modern world, religions like Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all still hold a condemning image of homosexuality. Still, each of the three have different degrees of acceptance, with more liberal groups showing little concern to more conservative groups seeing homosexuality as a violation of God's will. New progressions in the Catholic Church, however, have promising hopes for a more tolerant religious view of homosexuality.
Homosexuality as Seen From Three Religious Perspectives
One of the most controversial issues today is the notion of homosexuality. To many, it is an individual right to love who one wants to love. Yet, often with various religious perspectives, homosexuality becomes one of the most condemned moral concerns. The religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are all very closely related. They share basic, fundamental elements which makes their monotheistic religions similar in a lot of ways. One way they are similar is in their views of homosexuality. Most of the more conservative members of these religions tend to condemn it.
Islam, like the other religions, has various degrees of condemnation of homosexuality. More liberal Muslims often do not have any concern about homosexuality. Still, there are many who would consider themselves liberal and acceptant of others being homosexuality, but generally concerned with members of their own religion being homosexual. Out of the three major religions, it is conservative Islam that takes the harshest stance against homosexuality from a legal perspective. Much of the Middle East is under governments following Islamic law. As such, religious doctrine is the basis for civil law. In various countries under a theocracy style of government, homosexuality is "sinful and punishable under Islamic law" (Religion Facts, 2013). This is based on the condemnation of homosexuality in the most holy of books in the religion. The Qur'an states "For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds" (Religion Facts, 2013). This clearly shows a negative image of homosexuality in the religion.
Judaism has many different sects that each has their own perspectives on homosexuality. For example, there are more reform oriented Jews who do not see homosexuality as a sin and generally accept it within society as just another way of living one's life. Yet, there are also more conservative sects, like Conservative and Orthodox Jews, who take a much more condemning approach in their views of homosexuality. Conservative Jews often believe that is a violation of Jewish law, and thus no religious Jew should practice homosexuality. Still, other religions or individuals who are not Jewish can do what the please with their own lives. Even more conservative in their views are Orthodox Jews. To this sect, homosexuality is "condemned as rebellion against God" (Religion Facts. 2013). The Old Testament is one of the clearest religious texts in discouraging homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22 blatantly states that "a man shall not lie with another man as with a woman; it is an abomination" (Religion Facts, 2013). This is the clearest condemnation of homosexuality in comparison to the holy texts of the other two religions.
Again, Christianity has different degrees of discouragement of homosexuality, from both its patrons and in society at large. In Christianity, homosexual acts are "traditionally considered sinful" (Religion Facts, 2013). Some of the more traditional or conservative sects of the religion often view homosexuality as against God. According to Romans 1:27, the Bible quotes "men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion," (Religion Facts, 2013). Such Biblical content suggests that homosexuality is not acceptable within the Christian faith. Many within the authority of Christian denominations often claim that homosexuality is a sin based on the notion that it does not naturally generate procreation. The union between same sex couples does not result in more children of God, and thus is often seen as unnatural to many within the religion. This is the same Christian thinking that leads many to believe that abortion and contraception is also against the will of God. One of the big issues in Christianity is not necessarily homosexual acts, but of same-sex marriage. It is clear that religious Christian thought sees a marriage between homosexual couple as a violation of God's practice of marriage (Pew Research Center, 2013). In this, Christian belief is somewhat similar to the extreme condemnation seen in Islamic law.
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