An aberration. An act to be reviled. A mortal sin punishable by death. Religious texts have not spoken well of homosexuality when they do speak of it, which—by the way—is infrequent. From Hinduism and Judaism to Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, every faith has a view of homosexuality. For the most part, the teachings and takeaways from these beliefs don’t bode well for gay men (most don’t mention Lesbians). The sacred really have it out for the profane.
Growing up gay comes with a lot of baggage: peer pressure, parental pressure and societal pressure—all on some level fueled and informed by religion. Whether someone adheres to religious doctrine in their own day-to-day living doesn’t seem to matter until the topic of homosexuality rears its head. Suddenly, everyone takes to the pulpit to share notions of homosexuality.
Invariably, the Leviticus card is played. It’s almost comic to hear someone who wouldn’t know scripture if it leapt up and bit them in the soul suddenly become an expert theologian when it comes to sacred text and homosexuality. However, most who start the verse in Leviticus that mentions homosexuality would be hard pressed to finish it in its entirety. But that’s what armchair preaching will get you.
Do queers create our own religion?
It’s no surprise that many gay people have disassociated themselves with religion altogether after years of being publicly decried and privately abused. The Pope makes no bones about taking potshots at gays when given the opportunity. Hey, we get it from the religious and secular worlds on a non-stop basis. Gays abandoning organized religion doesn’t surprise. However, gays embracing religion is a head-scratcher to many. Sort of like the Log Cabin Republicans. What’s up with that? Self-loathing? Denial? Conformity?
Why would a gay person want to belong to a religion that overtly rejects and reviles them, labels them a sinner or an evil force to be slain? What is it that gay believers get that supersedes the underlying contempt that comes from scripture, the pulpit and the flock? It seems out of step that a gay person would willingly participate in the Catholic Church, Temple or Mosque. Some gays who have not abandoned organized religion have turned to Buddhism and Hinduism to express their spirituality since these religions don’t single out and decry homosexuality in their text, per se. That’s not to say that followers and cultures built on these teachings haven’t adopted anti-gay attitudes. So, what came first, the homophobia or the homophobic?
Is homophobia nature or nurture?
For years, theologians, psychologists, sociologists and biologists have pondered and researched the question: is homosexuality nature or nurture? This has opened doors for more understanding and acceptance of queer people—it has also become fodder for those looking to fire a silver bullet at the “gay gene”. However, with many religious texts from different faiths having no mention of homosexuality, yet their followers decry homosexuality, I invert the question: Is homophobia nature or nurture?
One way that gay people—any people who don’t conform to organized religion for that matter—have managed to stay connected to the god force is by separating their spirituality from religion. The idea is: spirituality is innate; religion is a man-made manifestation of spirituality. Following that line of thought, do queers create our own religion? We created “Queer Nation” a few decades ago, why not a queer theology with its own doctrine and laws (think of the tax breaks!). Hey, if the Westboro Baptist Church can create its own violent doctrine in “God Hates Fags”, why can’t we counter that with a church that espouses “God Loves Gays”? Some say Toronto’s MCC has achieved a bit of that.
While we continue to grapple with our place in the world (depending on where we are in the world), we continue to wrestle with our spirituality and how to express it both internally and externally. Do gay people have a place in the churches, temples and mosques of the world? Can religion actually help stop homophobia? Are we destined to always run in opposition to one another? Time will tell. But one thing is sure, gay people are not without faith, belief or reverence. Some of us just pray in a different church and at a different altar.
Amen. Shalom. Namaste.
Andrew will be moderating a panel discussion about the relationship between queers and religion Tuesday, April 26 in the Village. All are welcome.
Bent Religion
7:00PM – 9:00PM
O’Grady’s Bar and Restaurant on Church
518 Church Street
Toronto, ON
