Encyclopedia
Homosexuality refers to
sexual and romantic attraction between two individuals of the same sex. Since the word was coined in 1869 by
Karl-Maria Kertbeny, it has influenced the development of the modern concept of sexual orientation, gaining associations with romantic love and identity in addition to its original, exclusively sexual meaning.
Homosexuality is usually contrasted with heterosexuality and
bisexuality. The term
gay is used predominantly to refer to homosexual
males.
Lesbian is a gender-specific term that is only used for homosexual
females. The adjective
homosexual is also used for same-sex sexual relations between persons of the same sex who are not gay or lesbian. Three major forms of homosexual relationships are proposed by anthropologists: egalitarian, gender-structured, and age-structured. Of these, one is usually dominant in a given society at a given time. As there are different biological, historical and psychosocial components to sex and gender, no single label or description will fit all individuals.
Etymology and usage
The word
homosexual is both an adjective and a noun. The adjectival form literally means “same sex”, being a hybrid formed from the Greek prefix
homo–, which means “same”, and the Latin root
sex–, which means “sex” or "gender". Its first known appearance in print is found in an 1869 German pamphlet by the Austrian-born novelist
Karl-Maria Kertbeny and published anonymously.
The term
homosexual can be used to describe individuals' sexual orientation, sexual history, or self-identification. Many people reject the term "homosexual" as too clinical and dehumanizing as it the word only refers to one's sexual behavior, and does not refer to non-sexual romantic feelings. As a result, the terms
gay and
lesbian are usually preferred when discussing a person of this sexual orientation, whose sexual history is predominated by this behavior, or who identifies as such. The first letters are frequently combined to create the acronym LGBT . Some same-sex oriented people personally prefer the term "homosexual" rather than "gay", as they may perceive the former as describing a sexual orientation and the latter as describing a cultural or socio-political group with which they do not identify.
Although early writers also used the adjective
homosexual to refer to any single-gender context , today the term is used exclusively for sexual attraction. The term
homosocial is now used to describe single-sex contexts that are not specifically sexual. An alternative, more generic term referring to same-sex love,
homophilia , is also in use.
New terms are arising for use in situations where specificity is important. For example,
men who have sex with men, or
MSM for short, is sometimes used in the medical community when specifically discussing sexual behaviour .
Same-sex attraction focuses on spontaneous feeling, but de-emphasises identification with a demographic or cultural group, and also leaves open the possibility for co-existing opposite-sex attraction.
Homoerotic is a synonym for
same-sex attraction that is used to refer both to personal feelings and works of art.
Non-straight is another attempt at neutrality that is gaining currency. Some other humorous terms are now becoming more prevalent, including
heteroflexible to refer to a person who identifies as heterosexual, but occasionally engages in same-sex sexual activities, or
metrosexual to denote a straight man with stereotypically gay tastes in food, fashion and design.
A variety of negative terms also exist, many of which have been "reclaimed" as positive words by those against whom they were initially used; e.g., queer.
Academic study
The manifestation of sexual orientation is subject to a considerable variability. Thus it is common for homosexual individuals in
heteronormative societies to love, marry, and have children with individuals of the opposite sex, a practice that may be done primarily for social reasons in societies which reject same-sex relations, as a cover for one's orientation . These adaptations are forms of situational sexual behavior. Also some people of either sex want to pass their genes on and have children. Homosexual men or women may marry for that reason. Lesbian women may want a child through Artificial insemination.
A further, and extremely common, manifestation of situational sexual behaviour involving homosexual acts is seen in prisons where individuals can only meet members of their own sex for long periods of time.
Anthropology
Forms
Numerous researchers studying the social construction of same-sex relationships have suggested that the concept of homosexuality would best be rendered as "homosexualities." They document that same-sex relations have been and continue to be organised in distinctly categorical ways by different societies in different eras. These variations are grouped by cultural anthropologist Stephen O. Murray into three separate modes of association:
- Egalitarian, features two partners with no relevance to age. Additionally, both play the same socially-accepted sex role as heterosexuals of their own sex. This is exemplified by relationships currently prevalent in western society between partners of similar age and gender. See Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures
- Gender structured features each partner playing a different gender role. This is exemplified by traditional relations between men in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Central and South Asia, as well as Two-Spirit or shamanic gender-changing practices seen in native societies. Albania also has a similar practice where a woman may choose to be an "Albanian Virgin" and be given all the rights and entitlements of a man. In North America, this is best represented by the butch/femme practice. See Homosexuality and Islam, Two-Spirit, and Hijra
- Age structured features partners of different ages, usually one adolescent and the other adult. This is exemplified by pederasty among the Classical Greeks or those engaged in by novice samurai with more experienced warriors; southern Chinese boy-marriage rites; and ongoing Central Asian and Middle Eastern practices. See Shudo, Pederasty, Historical pederastic couples, and Homosexuality in China.
Gender-structured and age-structured homosexuality typically involve one partner adopting a "passive" and the other an "active" role to a much greater degree than in egalitarian relationships. Among men, being the passive partner often means receiving
semen, i.e. performing fellatio or being the receptive partner during
anal sex. This is sometimes interpreted as an emphasis on the sexual pleasure of the active partner, although this is disputed. For example, in gender-structured female homosexuality in
Thailand, active partners emphasise the sexual pleasure of the passive partner , and often refuse to allow their
dee to pleasure them, while in ancient Greece the pederastic tradition was seen as engendering strong friendships between the partners, and was blamed for predisposing meles to continue seeking the "passive" pleasures they experienced as adolescents even after they matured.
Some anthropologists have argued for the existence of a fourth type of homosexuality,
class-structured homosexuality, but many scholars believe that this has no independent existence from the other three types.
Usually in any society one form of homosexuality predominates, though others are likely to co-exist. As historian Rictor Norton points out in his in Ancient Greece egalitarian relationships co-existed with the institution of
pederasty, and fascination with adolescents can also be found in modern sexuality, both heterosexual and homosexual. Egalitarian homosexuality is becoming the principal form practised in the Western world, while age- and gender-structured homosexuality are becoming less common. As a byproduct of growing Western cultural dominance, this egalitarian homosexuality is spreading from western culture to non-Western societies, although there are still defined differences between the various cultures.
Incidence
Estimates of the modern prevalence of homosexuality vary considerably. They are complicated by differing or even ambiguous definitions of homosexuality, and by fluctuations over time and according to location. Anti-gay activists typically favor the smallest estimates, while radical gays prefer the highest estimates.
It is important to note, however, that these numbers are subject to many of the pitfalls inherent in researching sensitive social issues. For example, because of the stigma associated with homosexuality, survey results will be biased downward by under-reporting. The frequent use of non-random samples in many studies could also serve to skew the data.
In general, most research agrees that the number of people who have had multiple same-gender sexual experiences is fewer than the number of people who have had a single such experience, and that the number of people who identify themselves as exclusively homosexual is fewer than the number of people who have had multiple homosexual experiences.
The controversial Kinsey Reports of 1948 found that 37% of males had some sexual experience with other men, and that 4% had always been exclusively homosexual. Among women, Kinsey found between 2% and 6% had "more or less exclusively" homosexual experience.
In the
United States during the 2004 elections, exit polls indicated 4% of all voters self-identified as gay or lesbian. However, due to societal pressures, many who are homosexual may not be willing to identify as such.
In
Canada, a 2003 report by Statistics Canada indicated that among Canadians aged 18 to 59, 1% reported that they are homosexual, and 0.7% reported to be bi-sexual.
In
North Africa, the
Middle East and
Central Asia, where gender- or
age-structured relationships are the rule, male homosexual practices are reported to be widespread, engaged in by many individuals who do not regard themselves as homosexual.
See Homosexuality and IslamBiology
Prenatal hormonal theory
The neurobiology of the masculinization of the brain is fairly well understood. Estradiol, and testosterone, which is catalysed by the enzyme 5a-reductase into dihydrotestosterone, act upon androgen receptors in the brain to masculinize it. If there are few androgen receptors or too much androgen there can be physical and psychological effects. It has been suggested that both male and female homosexuality are results of variation in this process. In these studies lesbianism is typically linked with a higher amount of masculinization than is found in heterosexual females, though when dealing with male homosexuality there are results supporting both higher and lower degrees of masculinization than heterosexual males.
Physiological differences in homosexual persons
Several recent studies, including pioneering work by neuroscientist Simon LeVay demonstrate that there are notable differences between the physiology of a heterosexual male and a homosexual male. These differences are primarily noted in the
brain, inner ear and
olfactory sense. LeVay discovered in his double-blind experiment that approximately 10% of homosexual male brains were physiologically different from their heterosexual counterparts, some people take this as showing that people are born as homosexuals, however in LeVay's own words:
- "It's important to stress what I didn't find. I did not prove that homosexuality was genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain. INAH-3 is less likely to be the sole gay nucleus of the brain than a part of a chain of nuclei engaged in men and women's sexual behavior...Since I looked at adult brains we don't know if the differences I found were there at birth, or if they appeared later"
LeVay's work has come under criticism for not taking into account the fact that all of the brains of homosexual men he studied were from homosexual men who had died of
AIDS, which was not equally true of the heterosexuals whose brains he studied. When comparisons were made of the INAH-3 measurements in only the brains of those in each group who died from complications due to AIDS , similar size differences were found. It should also be noted that, to date, no evidence has been found to suggest that HIV or the effects of AIDS would results in changes in INAH-3 size.
Studies in women have not produced similar findings to date.
Some recent studies have tied a correlation between the number of older brothers a man has and his likelihood of being homosexual. Blanchard and Klassen reported that each older brother increases the odds of being gay by 33%. This is now “one of the most reliable epidemiological variables ever identified in the study of sexual orientation” . To explain this finding, it has been proposed that male fetuses provoke a maternal immune reaction that becomes stronger with each successive male fetus . Male fetuses produce HY antigens which are “almost certainly” involved in the sexual differentiation of vertebrates . It is this antigen which maternal H-Y antibodies are proposed to both react to and ‘remember’. Successive male fetuses are then attacked by H-Y antibodies which somehow decrease the ability of H-Y antigens to perform their usual function in brain masculinisation. This is now known as the fraternal birth order effect. In a study comparing the effects of being raised with older "brothers" and having biological older brothers, published July 26, 2006 in PNAS, Bogaert found that there was a link to homosexuality only if the older brothers were biologically related and even when they were not raised together. Interestingly, this relation seems to hold only for right-handed males. There has been no observable equivalent for women.
Homosexual behavior in animals
Homosexual behaviour, although rare, does occur in the
animal kingdom, especially in species closer to humans on the evolutionary scale, such as the
great apes.
Georgetown University professor Janet Mann has specifically theorised that homosexuality, at least in
dolphins, is an evolutionary advantage that minimises intraspecies aggression, especially among males.
- Male penguin couples have been documented to mate for life, build nests together, and to use a stone as a surrogate egg in nesting and brooding. In 2004, the Central Park Zoo in the United States replaced one male couple's stone with a fertile egg, which the couple then raised as their own offspring. German and Japanese zoos have also reported homosexuality among their penguins. This phenomenon has also been reported at Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand.
- Courtship, mounting, and full anal penetration between bulls has been noted to occur among American Bison. The Mandan nation Okipa festival concludes with a ceremonial enactment of this behaviour, to "ensure the return of the buffalo in the coming season." Also, mounting of one female by another is common among cattle.
- Homosexuality in male sheep is associated with variations in cerebral mass distribution and chemical activity. A study reported in Endocrinology
...
concluded that biological and physiological factors are in effect. These findings are similar to human findings studied by Simon LeVay.
- Male bighorn sheep are divisible into two kinds, the typical males among whom homosexual behavior is common and "effiminate sheep" or "behavioral transvestites" which are not known to engage in homosexual behavior.
Psychology
Behavioural Studies
At the beginning of the 20th century, early theoretical discussions in the field of psychoanalysis posited original
bisexuality in human psychological development. Quantitative studies by
Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s and
Dr. Fritz Klein's sexual orientation grid in the 1980s find distributions similar to those postulated by their predecessors.
Many modern studies, most notably
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and
Sexual Behavior in the Human Female by
Alfred Kinsey, have found that the majority of humans have had homosexual experiences or sensations and are bisexual. Contemporary scientific research suggests that the majority of the human population is bisexual, adhering to a fluid sexual scale rather than a category, as Western society typically views sexual nature. The Kinsey Reports found that approximately of adult Americans were exclusively homosexual for their entire lives, and approximately 10 percent were homosexual in their behaviour for some portion of their lives. Conversely, an even smaller minority of people appear to have had equal sexual experiences with both genders indicating an attraction scale or continuum. However, social pressures influence people to adhere to categories or labels rather than behave in a manner that more closely resembles their nature as suggested by this research.
Kinsey himself, along with current LGBT activist groups, focus on the historicity and fluidity of sexual orientation. Kinsey's studies consistently found sexual orientation to be something that evolves in many directions over a person's lifetime; rarely, but not necessarily, including forming attractions to a new gender. Rarely do individuals radically reorient their sexualities rapidly — and still less do they do so volitionally — but often sexualities expand, shift, and absorb new elements over decades. For example, socially normative "age-appropriate" sexuality requires a shifting object of attraction . Contemporary queer theory, incorporating many ideas from social constructionism, tends to look at sexuality as something that has meaning only within a given historical framework. Sexuality, then, is seen as a participation in a larger social discourse, and, though in some sense fluid, not as something strictly determinable by the individual.
Most sexual orientation specialists follow the general conclusion of Alfred Kinsey regarding the sexual continuum, according to which a minority of humans are exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, and that the majority are
bisexual . The consensus of psychologists is that sexual orientation, in most individuals, is shaped at an early age; and is not voluntarily changeable.
Other studies have disputed Kinsey's methodology and have suggested that these reports overstated the occurrence of bisexuality and homosexuality in human populations. "His figures were undermined when it was revealed that he had disproportionately interviewed homosexuals and prisoners ."
However, Kinsey's idea of a sexuality continuum still enjoys acceptance today and is supported by findings in the human and animal kingdoms including biological studies of structural brain differences between those belonging to different sexual orientations.
More modern and precise research
Sex in America: A definitive survey is now available from NORC and the University of Chicago by Edward O. Laumann, University of Chicago. "Results reported from the study, and included in The Social organisation of sexuality, include those related to sexual practices and sexual relationships, number of partners, the rate of homosexuality in the population .
Sexologists have attributed discrepancies in some findings to negative societal attitudes towards homosexuality. For example, people may state different sexual orientations depending on whether their immediate social environment is public or private. Reluctance to disclose one's actual sexual orientation is often referred to as "being in the closet". Individuals capable of enjoyable sexual relations with both sexes may feel inclined to restrict themselves to heterosexual relations in societies that stigmatise same-sex relations.
Although the concept of three basic sexual orientations is widely recognised, a small minority maintain that there are other legitimate sexual orientations besides homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality. These may include significant or exclusive orientation towards a particular type of transsexual or transgender individual , intersexed individuals, or those who identify as non-gendered or other-gendered.
Father-son Relationships and Male Sexual DevelopmentInvestigation into parent-child relations of homosexual and heterosexual men is heavily documented in research literature, and a link between the absence of sufficient bonding with samesex parent or role models and the development of adult male homosexuality has been proposed. Numerous studies have found that adult homosexual males tend to report having had less loving and more rejecting fathers than their heterosexual peers .
Bieber stated:
- Since 1962 when our volume was published, I have interviewed about 1,000 male homosexuals and 50 pairs of parents of homosexuals. The classic pattern was present in more than 90% of cases. In my entire experience, I have never interviewed a single male homosexual who had a constructive, loving father. A son who has a loving father who respects him does not become a homosexual. I have concluded that there is a causal relationship between parental influence and sexual choice .
Bieber later expanded and clarified his earlier findings by saying:
- We have repeatedly stated and written that a boy whose father is warmly related and constructive will not become homosexual; however, one must not get trapped by the fallacy of the converse, that is, a hostile, destructive father always produces a homosexual son
These reports have been criticized, particularly for confusing cause and effect. In other words, any tendency for gay males to bond more with their mothers than their fathers is more likely the result of homosexuality than the cause. The American Psychological Association has also criticized such reports, noting that the percentage of homosexuals is relatively constant across cultures, which is not what one would expect if parental influence were significant. The theory also fails to explain why homosexual acts were accepted among males in ancient Greece, pre-modern Japan, and other cultures, or why animals exhibit homosexuality. Animal biological research is beginning to parallel human research in its findings. The study of homosexual rams revealed that in homosexual rams, the analogous brain structure indicated to be involved in human homosexuality showed similar size differences to those in humans.
Behaviour modification
Some therapists, institutions, and groups contend they are able to assist homosexuals to overcome their homosexual tendencies. Most of these are conservative Christian organizations which interpret the Bible as holding homosexuality to be unnatural or sinful, and which consider homosexuality to be an undesired orientation. Reparative therapy is psychotherapy aimed at the elimination of homosexual attractions and is employed by people who claim that homosexuality is a disorder or a sin. A "transformational ministry" claims that homosexual behavior is essentially a sin that can be overcome through a religious approach employing repentance and faith.
There is no credible, scientific evidence supporting successful "treatment" of sexual orientation, and some persons have reported that great harm was inflicted on them by such "treatments". "Ex-gay" supporters point to others who they say have experienced what they consider success; however, most mainstream medical and psychological organizations reject such claims and consider attempts to change sexual orientation to be ineffective and potentially harmful.
Nature versus nurture
Considerable debate exists over whether predominantly biological or psychological factors produce sexual orientation in humans. Candidate factors include genes and the exposure of fetuses to certain hormones . Historically, Freud and many others psychologists, particularly in psychoanalytic or developmental traditions, speculated that formative childhood experiences helped produce sexual orientation; as an example Freud believed that all human teenagers are predominantly homosexual and transition to heterosexuality in adulthood; those who remain homosexual as adults he believed had experienced some traumatic event that arrested their sexual development; however, he did believe all adults, even those who had healthy sexual development still retained latent homosexuality to varying degrees. Although there is currently no general medical consensus, one theory is that biological factors — whether genetic or acquired
in utero — produce characteristically homosexual childhood experiences , or at the least significantly contribute to them.
Homosexuality and society
Societal attitudes towards same-sex relationships, reflected in the attitude of the general population, the state and the church, have varied over the centuries, and from place to place, from expecting and requiring all males to engage in relationships, to casual integration, through acceptance, to seeing the practice as a minor sin, repressing it through law enforcement and judicial mechanisms, to proscribing it under penalty of death.
Most nations do not impede consensual sex between unrelated individuals above the local
age of consent. Some jurisdictions further recognise identical rights, protections, and privileges for the family structures of same-sex couples, including
marriage. Some nations mandate that all individuals restrict themselves to heterosexual relationships — that is, in some jurisdictions homosexuality is illegal. Offenders face up to the death penalty in some fundamentalist Muslim areas such as
Iran and parts of
Nigeria. There are, however, often significant differences between official policy and real-world enforcement.
See Violence against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered.
Coming out
Many people who feel attracted to members of their own sex have a so-called coming out at some point in their lives. Generally, coming out is described in two phases. The first phase is the phase of "knowing oneself," and the realization or decision emerges that one is open to same-sex love. This is often described as an internal coming out. The second phase involves one's decision to come out to others, e.g. family, friends, and/or colleagues. This occurs with many people as early as age 11, but others do not clarify their sexual orientation until age 40 or older. Most have their coming out during school age, so sometime during the time of puberty. At this age, they may not trust or ask for help from others, especially when their orientation is not accepted in society. Sometimes their own parents are not even informed. Coming out can sometimes lead to a life crisis, which can elevate to suicidal thoughts or even committing suicide. Crisis centers in larger cities and information sites on the Internet can help these people to accept their homosexuality. In fact, the suicide rate is notably higher with pubescent homosexuals than their heterosexual peers.
Modern law
In most developed countries, same-sex relationships are accepted, and are accorded legal protection. Many governments have established formal structures for confirming legal relationships between people of the same sex.
In some cultures homosexuality it is still considered unnatural and has been outlawed . In some
Muslim nations it remains a
capital crime.
For example, the Supreme Court of Canada, citing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, has established the legality of same-sex marriage on the basis of human rights. Some people argue for social acceptance of same-sex relationships on the basis that homosexuals were born homosexual, but it is difficult for some people to change their moral stance on homosexuality. Some religious groups fear the slippery slope that same-sex tolerance is a step toward tolerance of other currently unaccepted practices such as polygamy and incest. Many people in religious groups recognize other people's rights to choose a same-sex relationship, but also believe that same-sex relationships are incompatible with their chosen religious practices. They often attempt to use other state-sanctioned punitive measures to discourage homosexuality, short of death or imprisonment. This includes attempts to rescind domestic partnership benefits through anti-gay-marriage initiatives with broad language.
Understudied phenomena
Despite the emollience of attitudes towards homosexuality and acceptance of it in some societies, in
psychology it is considered an 'understudied relationship'. In his book
Understudied Relationships, social psychologist S.W. Duck found that most mainstream research is predisposed towards studying only heterosexuality, in terms of relationships in contemporary Western cultures, implying that same-sex relationships are neglected and ignored by the majority of psychologists. More research since the 1990s has focused on homosexual relationships.
Political aspects
Scapegoating
Homosexuality has at times been used as a
scapegoat by governments facing problems. Notable examples include
Nazi Germany's treatment of homosexuality based on the understanding that it was a threat to masculinity as well as contaminating the "
Aryan race". During the early 14th century, accusations of homosexual behaviour were instrumental in disbanding the
Knights Templar under
Philip IV of France . In the 1950s, politicians in the United States tried to discredit Senator
Joseph McCarthy by noting
one of his aides was homosexual. A recent instance is the burning of 6,000 books of homoerotic poetry of 8th c. Persian-Arab poet
Abu Nuwas by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in January 2001, to placate Islamic fundamentalists.
Business and attitudes towards homosexuality
In countries where business structures have a significant degree of from a government, the companies have often been at the forefront in treating gay men and women equally. In the United States, the level of equal parity is much more common in business structures than governments. As of 2005 approximately 45% of companies within the Fortune 500 offered domestic partner benefits and nine of the top ten companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies.
Military
In the ancient world
Some
ancient societies, such as
Greece and
Japan, fostered strong bonds between men who served in the military. It was believed that a man who loved the man that stood beside him would fight harder and with greater morale. A classic example of a military force built upon this belief is the
Sacred Band of Thebes.
During the Middle Ages
The adoption of
Christianity by the
Roman Emperor
Constantine in the
fourth century and subsequent predominance of Christianity led to a decline in the prevalence of homosexual behavior in military forces. By the time of the
Crusades, the militaries of
Europe had largely switched gears, believing that homosexuality was sinful and therefore had no place in an army that served their perception of
God's will. The
Knights Templar, a prominent military order, was destroyed by accusations of
sodomy.
The
Arab world and
Asia, by contrast, did not adopt such strict views. A classic work of Middle Eastern literature known as
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights is a medieval Middle-Eastern [i] literary epic [i] ...
is believed to document several accounts of intimate relationships between men. Artwork that has survived from this period documents relationships between men and boys in both cultures.
In modern times
The modern world has brought about a fundamental shift in the acceptance of homosexual behavior.
Europe and
North America have seen growing acceptance of homosexuality as a result of modern
liberalism and the Gay Liberation movement. By contrast, many
Middle Eastern and
Central Asian countries have gone from tolerance to outright hostility. The only nation in the region with significantly different policies is
Israel.
Attitudes in Europe and North America vary, with some countries—like the
United Kingdom and the
Netherlands—accepting openly homosexual individuals into the armed forces, and others—like the
United States and many nations in
South America and the
Caribbean—either quieting or discharging homosexuals. The
United States is known for its “
Don't ask, don't tell” policy, which is seen as a compromise between acceptance and the tactics of marginalization and humiliation that had been used before.
Most nations that adhere to the strict interpretation of Sharia remove individuals from their armed forces who are believed to be homosexual, and may punish, torture, or subject them to the death penalty.
Youth groups
Scouting, a worldwide group of youth organisations, often emulate the attitude of their home country's military. Thus
the Scout Association in the UK welcomes gay members both as members and as leaders, while the
Boy Scouts of America expels them. However, the Scout Association of Malta, embraces gay members as members and leaders, even though the military does not have an official policy.
Religion
Groups not influenced by the
Abrahamic religions have sometimes regarded homosexuality as sacred, while a negative view of homosexuality has been common in the Abrahamic religions. In the wake of
colonialism and
imperialism undertaken by countries of the Abrahamic faiths some cultures have adopted new attitudes antagonistic towards homosexuality.
The world's largest organized body of religion, the
Roman Catholic Church, requires homosexuals to practice
chastity in the understanding that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered", and "contrary to the natural law". It insists that all are expected to only have heterosexual relations and only in the context of a marriage, describing homosexual tendencies as "a trial", and stressing that people with such tendencies "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." Distinguishing between "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" and those that are "only the expression of a transitory problem", the Vatican requires that any homosexual tendencies "must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate."
In brief,
Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic.
Sikhism has no written view on the matter, but Sikh society is generally ultra-masculine and conservative; toleration of any homosexual behaviour or orientation is bound to meet outrage or strong disapproval. However, other Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak's emphasis on universal equality and brotherhood is fundamentally in support of homosexuals' human rights.
Confucianism has allowed homosexual sex with the precondition of procreation.
Abrahamic religions have held varied views of homosexuality, depending on place, time and form of same-sex desire.
Islam regards love and desire for beautiful youths as a natural temptation for all men, sexual relations however as a transgression negatory of the natural role and aim of sexual activity.
Buddhism traditionally did not concern itself with the gender of the beloved. Contemporary Western Buddhists and many Japanese and Chinese schools hold very accepting views, something that is traditionally allowed when the relationship does not impede the birth of a child, while other Eastern Buddhists, possibly since colonial times, have adopted attitudes that scorn the practice.
Christianity has traditionally condemned deliberately non-procreative sex, and while attitudes have in some sectors been liberalised, the majority of denominations still view homosexual relationships as sinful.
Judaism, depending on the movement, is either liberal, conservative, or neutral on the subject. The Orthodox-Jewish tradition generally views homosexual sex as sinful, and homosexual attraction as out of the norm, while Reform and Reconstructionism are often fully accepting of gay attraction and sex. Conservative Judaism doesn't view attraction as sinful. Homosexual acts are just thought of as being equal to breaking any other of the mitzvot and therefore equally sinful. This movement, however, does not admit openly gay Jews as rabbis, nor does it perform commitment ceremonies. It is very open to it, and because of the movement's belief in an "evolving
Torah", the issue is very big in the movement today. Native American religions generally grant gender-variant individuals
