Religions Opposition To Gay Marriages

The impact of religion on the world has been a constant and dominant force in both the past, as well as in modern society. Religion is prominent in many people’s lives because it answers the questions of life’s purpose and serves as a guide to live a life with spirituality and morality. Ethics and religion are tied; being a good person and having strong morals tends to be associated with religion. However, people are beginning to question the morality of some beliefs of two Abranmaic religions: Christianity and Islam. Both of these religions oppose gay marriage. The basis for their opinion is statements found in their sacred texts; the Bible and the Quran, which openly judge homosexuality. Many people feel that religion is supposed to be accepting of “outsiders”, and they question if discriminating against LGBTQ community is morally correct. Although not all Christians and Muslims agree and follow these beliefs, the ethics of the religion are called into question through the religious views on societal issues such as gay marriage. Religion plays an outstanding and powerful role in our world in influencing the way people think and their views of right and wrong.

Christianity is the world’s most popular religion with many thousands of followers. There is a range of different secs that exist within this religion, varying from fundamentalists to progressive Christians. Fundamentalists are the followers of Christianity that interpret the Bible literally and follow the teachings without exceptions; these types of Christians tend to be more extreme and devout. It is the Christian fundamentalists, along with several other groups of Christianity, that denounce homosexuality. In fact, the Catholic Church’s official position renounces gay marriage. Christianity rejects LGBTQ issues because of statements found in the Bible. The Bible consists of two main parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is made up of the Hebrew scriptures, when the New Testament focuses on the life of Jesus. The New Testament can be split into four main parts. In the Book of Exodus, located in the Old Testament, the story of how the Israelites were led out if slavery in Egypt by the prophet Moses is told. Included within this book, is a set of God’s rules and punishments for the people in their new home, the Promised Land. God declares, “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads’” (Leviticus 20:13). Furthermore, in a letter from the apostle, Paul, he writes something that further condemnes homosexuality. Paul writes, “for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:10). The teachings of the Bible on homosexuality are highly controversial in today’s society. Gay marriage has become a very relevant issue and the push for acceptance grows stronger everyday. However, Christianity has not adapted to the modern view on gay marriage. Religion is meant to save people from suffering by welcoming them to God, despite their differences or past mistakes. Instead, several Christians chose to turn away from members of the LGBTQ community and opposed to being open like they claim they are. Many people see this as a contradiction of Christianity’s mission, religion is supposed to bring hope, acceptance and love to everyone, Christans and non-Christians. However, it denies homosexuals their basic human rights. The Bible even indicates death as the punishment for homosexuality. Discriminating against a specific group because of their sexual orientation is not moral or respectable, and the ethics of Christians are called into question due to this. The once established principle of the Catholic Church against homosexuality now raises concern about the righteousness of Christianity as a whole.

Although the Bible contains statements against homosexuality, there is still a debate within the religion about the acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Although there are Christian extremists who oppose gay marriage our society, there are also countless Christians that do not oppose homosexuality. Many of these people are not fundamentalists and do not follow the teachings of the Bible entirely. Many feel that the main goal of Christianity is to be a good person and love others. Therefore, there are many Christians that feel they are obeying God by accepting gay people, and by just being open and loving their neighbors will lead them to heaven. Additionally, there are some Christians interpret the Bible in different ways and can find a way to follow the Bible and also accept homosexual marriage. According to Robert K Gnuse, none of the statements in the Bible clearly disapprove homosexuality. He believes that the Scriptures are “historically and culturally limited” (Gnuse 70), and for that reason, homosexuality is not rejected, but rather not addressed because it was not common for people to come out during that time period. Some other Christians believe that some rules stated in the Old testament do not apply to Christianity because practices in the Old Testament, such as keeping kosher, no longer apply to Christians, therefore it is not clear if the denouement of homosexuality is intended to be followed. Many Christan extremists believe that therapy could cure people from being homosexual, these extremists started to use psycho therapy to “change” homosexuals into being straight. Many of these people who underwent these treatments said that the therapy and treatments had not changed them and caused more harm than good. In one video called “Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-gay Movement” had a mother of a homosexual. The mother was a Christan Traditionalist, she had her daughter go through treatments to try and change her from homosexual to hetrosexual. The treatment affected her daughter in such a negative way, that her daughter committed suicide. This mother said her daughters death changed her and it made her wish she could go back and change her actions. Some Christian interpretations of the Bible that are not against homosexuality are more accepting and moral, although the official position of the Catholic Church condemns homosexuality. While not all Christians oppose gay marriage, the ethics of those who do are challenged greatly in the modern day.

Furthermore, the morals of Islam is called into question because of its view on homosexuality like Christianity’s is. Islam is the world’s second most popular religion, and the population is growing fast. Similar to Christianity, many varieties exist within this religion, ranging from fundamentalists to progressives. The Islamic fundamentalists tend to oppose gay marriage because they strictly follow the teachings of the Quran like Christians following the Bible. The Quran is the Islamic sacred book containing the rules to follow; it was written by the prophet Muhammad in a series of surahs as God communicated to him. Muhammad writes, “If two men among you commit indecency, punish them both. If they repent and mend their ways, let them be. God is forgiving and merciful” (Surah 4). The view on homosexuality is slightly different than Christianity’s because of the punishment the sinner will receive. While both religions oppose gay marriage, Islam offers people a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of God, rather than be put to death. Although Islamic law is slightly less strict than Christianity, homosexuals still do not receive fair treatment. Both Religion should adapt to modern day beliefs. Additionally, the option given to homosexuals of changing their ways is also immoral; people do not choose their sexual orientation and it is ignorant and stubborn to believe that they can change how they were born. Islam seeks to help people through submission to God, however, it excludes the LGBTQ community and prevents them from developing a connection to God. Religion is supposed to offer a way to feel welcomed and spiritually connected to the people around you. This stigma surrounding the LGBTQ community is prohibiting the participating of LGBTQ members from feeling welcomed and connected with others and God. Islam and Christianity, being the somewhat of powerhouse religions, should follow what they preach, which is love for all. The basis of religion serving as a moral platform contradicts the Islamic teachings in regards to homosexuality.

Similarly to Christianity, a debate exists within Islam about the validity of the beliefs against homosexuality. It is mostly fundamentalist Muslims that condemn homosexuality because of the readings in the Quran, like Christans with the Bible. The more revolutionary Muslims tend to not discriminate against homosexuals, but rather allow them to continue practicing Islamic religion. The younger generations of Muslims and Christans are becoming much more accepting and tolerant of gay marriage and homosexuality in comparison to the older generations. Additionally, American Muslims have become increasingly more tolerant of homosexuality. This is because Muslim Americans are facing their own discrimination against their religion after recent terrorist attacks such as the 9/11 attack. Many Americans have adopted a hatred towards Muslims in America and are mistreating them. The intolerance that Muslim Americans face have led them to become accepting, they realize that discrimination can hurt innocent people and homosexuals do not deserve to be treated poorly. The fundamentalists, Muslims and Christians, that oppose gay marriage do not represent the essence of religion, but rather they contradict it, which in turn brings the ethics of Islam and Christianity into question.

The influence of religion in the world is present in our everyday life. Religion has the power to control every aspect of life including politics, art, science, education, and media and it even has the power to control the way that people think. People’s morals are based off of what their religion invites them to believe in. Christians follow what is written in the Bible and Muslims follow what is written in the Quran, often without question. The debate between right and wrong frequently does not come down to a person’s thoughts, but rather their religious beliefs. People do not need to think and judge themselves because their religion already serves that purpose and does it for them. Homosexuality automatically received a negative connotation simply because of what the sacred texts has written. The viewpoint of many fundamentalist Christians and Muslims on gay marriage and homosexuality is intolerant, immoral, and unjust. Religion is about accepting and saving people from their sins and ultimately their suffering no matter their differences or their mistakes. Religion should be judgement free. However, many of the most popular organized religions in the world do not offer acceptance to homosexualities. This challenges all the goals of all religions, not only Christianity and Islam to calls their morals, ethics, and their motives to question what the believe in.

Works Cited

1. “Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-Gay Movement.” Frameline, 2006.
2. “BibleGateway.” BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages., www.biblegateway.com/Committee),
3. Christian Population.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 18 Dec. 2011, www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/.
4. EDC Team (E-Da`wah. “Quran Gateway.” WordPress.org, wordpress.org/plugins/quran-gateway/.
5. Kuruvilla, Carol. “American Muslims Are Now More Accepting Of Homosexuality Than White Evangelicals.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 1 Aug. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-muslims-are-now-more-accepting-of-homosexuality-than-white-evangelicals_us_597f3d8de4b02a4ebb76ea3d.
6. Liu, Joseph. “Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population.”