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Queer theology

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 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The article is full of jargon and personal opinion, and the article's premise seems unlikely/made up.. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2015)
Part of a series on
Christianity and
 sexual orientation
Christianity and homosexuality
 Christianity and transgenderism
 
History of Christianity and
 homosexuality
The Bible and homosexuality
 Queer theology
 Blessing of same-sex unions
 LGBT-affirming churches
 
Denominational positions
Anglican ·
 Baptist
 Eastern Orthodox
 Latter-day Saints
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist
 Metropolitan Community Church
 Presbyterian ·
 Quaker
 Roman Catholic
 United Church of Christ
 Uniting Church in Australia
 
Ordination of LGBT clergy
In the Roman Catholic priesthood
 
v ·
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 e
   
Queer Theology is theology being undertaken from the perspective of "Queer theory".[citation needed] The term is a neologism, originating in the 1990s:
"Queer" is a re-claimed identity that denotes interest in exploring the spectrum of gender, not denoting a particular place on a gender binary.[1]
A "pro-feminist gay theology" was proposed by J. M. Clark and G. McNeil in 1992, and a "queer theology" by Robert Goss in Jesus acted up: A gay and lesbian manifesto (1993).[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Introduction
2 Theologians 2.1 Marcella Althaus-Reid
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading

Introduction[edit]
Queer theology begins with an assumption that gender non-conformity and gay and lesbian desire have always been present in human history, and were present in the Bible. It is also a way of understanding the Bible as a source of stories about radical love.[3]
Theologians[edit]
Marcella Althaus-Reid[edit]
One proponent of queer theology is Marcella Althaus-Reid. She draws on Latin American liberation theology and interprets the Bible in a way that she sees as positive towards women, queer people, and sex.[4] She proposed a theology that centered marginalized people, including people in poverty and queer people. For Althaus-Reid, theology ought to be connected to the body and lived experience.
She put it this way:
″Indecent Sexual Theologies…may be effective as long as they represent the resurrection of the excessive in our contexts, and a passion for organizing the lusty transgressions of theological and political thought. The excessiveness of our hungry lives: our hunger for food, hunger for the touch of other bodies, for love and for God… [O]nly in the longing for a world of economic and sexual justice together, and not subordinated to one another, can the encounter with the divine take place. But this is an encounter to be found at the crossroads of desire, when one dares to leave the ideological order of the heterosexual pervasive normative. This is an encounter with indecency, and with the indecency of God and Christianity.″[5]
One theme in the theology of her "The Queer God" (Routledge, 2003) is the holiness of the gay club, as she explores the intersection and essential non-contradiction of a strong, vibrant faith life and sexual desire.[6][7] An example of finding otherness and desire in Biblical texts is her reading of Jeremiah 2:23-25 from the Hebrew:
"...a young camel deviating from her path: a wild she-ass accustomed to the wilderness, sniffing the wind in her lust. Who can repel her desire? And you said, No! I love strangers, the different, the unknown, the Other, and will follow them."[8]
Several theology schools offer courses in "Queer Theology" including Boston University School of Theology, Yale Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School, Vancouver School of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, Chicago Theological Seminary and Harvard Divinity School.[citation needed]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Homosexuality in the Bible
Religion and sexual orientation
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ This early attestation is found (in scare-quotes) in William Pinar, Queer theory in education, Taylor & Francis, 1998, ISBN 9780805829211 p. 96.
2.Jump up ^ cited after Gary D. Comstock and Susan E. Henking, eds. Que(e)Rying Religion: A Critical Anthology. Continuum International Publishing Group (1997). ISBN 9780826409249
3.Jump up ^ Patrick S. Cheng. Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology. Church Publishing (2011). ISBN 978-1-59627-136-4
4.Jump up ^ "Dr. Marcella Althaus-Reid", Religious Archives Network (on line).
5.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid, Indecent Theology, Routledge (2002) p. 200. ISBN 0203468953
6.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid. The Queer God. Routledge (2003). ISBN 041532324X
7.Jump up ^ Jay Emerson Johnson. A "Queer God"? Really? Remembering Marcella Althaus-Reid". Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Pacific School of Religion (March 5, 2009) -- on line.
8.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid. Indecent Theology: Theological Perversions in Sex, Gender and Politics. Routledge Chapman & Hall (2000). ISBN 0415236045
Further reading[edit]
Clark, John Michael (1997). Defying the Darkness: Gay Theology in the Shadows. Pilgrim Press. ISBN 9780829811636.
Cornwall, Susannah (2011). Controversies in Queer Theology. Controversies in contextual theology series. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. ISBN 9780334043553.
Hedges, Paul (2011). "Guanyin, Queer Theology, and Subversive Religiosity: an experiment in interreligious theology". In David Cheetham. Interreligious Hermeneutics in Pluralistic Europe: Between Texts and People. Rodopi. pp. 203–230.
Loughlin, Gerard, ed. (2009). Queer Theology: Rethinking the Western Body. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470766262.
Johnson, Jay Emerson (2014). Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness. Church Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781596272514.





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Queer theology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The article is full of jargon and personal opinion, and the article's premise seems unlikely/made up.. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2015)
Part of a series on
Christianity and
 sexual orientation
Christianity and homosexuality
 Christianity and transgenderism
 
History of Christianity and
 homosexuality
The Bible and homosexuality
 Queer theology
 Blessing of same-sex unions
 LGBT-affirming churches
 
Denominational positions
Anglican ·
 Baptist
 Eastern Orthodox
 Latter-day Saints
 Lutheran ·
 Methodist
 Metropolitan Community Church
 Presbyterian ·
 Quaker
 Roman Catholic
 United Church of Christ
 Uniting Church in Australia
 
Ordination of LGBT clergy
In the Roman Catholic priesthood
 
v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Queer Theology is theology being undertaken from the perspective of "Queer theory".[citation needed] The term is a neologism, originating in the 1990s:
"Queer" is a re-claimed identity that denotes interest in exploring the spectrum of gender, not denoting a particular place on a gender binary.[1]
A "pro-feminist gay theology" was proposed by J. M. Clark and G. McNeil in 1992, and a "queer theology" by Robert Goss in Jesus acted up: A gay and lesbian manifesto (1993).[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Introduction
2 Theologians 2.1 Marcella Althaus-Reid
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading

Introduction[edit]
Queer theology begins with an assumption that gender non-conformity and gay and lesbian desire have always been present in human history, and were present in the Bible. It is also a way of understanding the Bible as a source of stories about radical love.[3]
Theologians[edit]
Marcella Althaus-Reid[edit]
One proponent of queer theology is Marcella Althaus-Reid. She draws on Latin American liberation theology and interprets the Bible in a way that she sees as positive towards women, queer people, and sex.[4] She proposed a theology that centered marginalized people, including people in poverty and queer people. For Althaus-Reid, theology ought to be connected to the body and lived experience.
She put it this way:
″Indecent Sexual Theologies…may be effective as long as they represent the resurrection of the excessive in our contexts, and a passion for organizing the lusty transgressions of theological and political thought. The excessiveness of our hungry lives: our hunger for food, hunger for the touch of other bodies, for love and for God… [O]nly in the longing for a world of economic and sexual justice together, and not subordinated to one another, can the encounter with the divine take place. But this is an encounter to be found at the crossroads of desire, when one dares to leave the ideological order of the heterosexual pervasive normative. This is an encounter with indecency, and with the indecency of God and Christianity.″[5]
One theme in the theology of her "The Queer God" (Routledge, 2003) is the holiness of the gay club, as she explores the intersection and essential non-contradiction of a strong, vibrant faith life and sexual desire.[6][7] An example of finding otherness and desire in Biblical texts is her reading of Jeremiah 2:23-25 from the Hebrew:
"...a young camel deviating from her path: a wild she-ass accustomed to the wilderness, sniffing the wind in her lust. Who can repel her desire? And you said, No! I love strangers, the different, the unknown, the Other, and will follow them."[8]
Several theology schools offer courses in "Queer Theology" including Boston University School of Theology, Yale Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School, Vancouver School of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, Chicago Theological Seminary and Harvard Divinity School.[citation needed]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Homosexuality in the Bible
Religion and sexual orientation
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ This early attestation is found (in scare-quotes) in William Pinar, Queer theory in education, Taylor & Francis, 1998, ISBN 9780805829211 p. 96.
2.Jump up ^ cited after Gary D. Comstock and Susan E. Henking, eds. Que(e)Rying Religion: A Critical Anthology. Continuum International Publishing Group (1997). ISBN 9780826409249
3.Jump up ^ Patrick S. Cheng. Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology. Church Publishing (2011). ISBN 978-1-59627-136-4
4.Jump up ^ "Dr. Marcella Althaus-Reid", Religious Archives Network (on line).
5.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid, Indecent Theology, Routledge (2002) p. 200. ISBN 0203468953
6.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid. The Queer God. Routledge (2003). ISBN 041532324X
7.Jump up ^ Jay Emerson Johnson. A "Queer God"? Really? Remembering Marcella Althaus-Reid". Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Pacific School of Religion (March 5, 2009) -- on line.
8.Jump up ^ Marcella Althaus-Reid. Indecent Theology: Theological Perversions in Sex, Gender and Politics. Routledge Chapman & Hall (2000). ISBN 0415236045
Further reading[edit]
Clark, John Michael (1997). Defying the Darkness: Gay Theology in the Shadows. Pilgrim Press. ISBN 9780829811636.
Cornwall, Susannah (2011). Controversies in Queer Theology. Controversies in contextual theology series. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. ISBN 9780334043553.
Hedges, Paul (2011). "Guanyin, Queer Theology, and Subversive Religiosity: an experiment in interreligious theology". In David Cheetham. Interreligious Hermeneutics in Pluralistic Europe: Between Texts and People. Rodopi. pp. 203–230.
Loughlin, Gerard, ed. (2009). Queer Theology: Rethinking the Western Body. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470766262.
Johnson, Jay Emerson (2014). Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness. Church Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781596272514.





[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) topics

 






 










 






 































 






 




 
















 


 























 


 



 




 



















 


 









 





 




 







LGBT pride flag

 


 






 


 


 


 





 


 



 






 




 






 


 












 


 






 





 
















 







 




 







 


 











 


 










 




  


Categories: Queer theory
Christian theological movements
LGBT topics and Christianity
Neologisms









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Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches

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Part of a series on
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History of Christianity and
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The Bible and homosexuality
 Queer theology
 Blessing of same-sex unions
 LGBT-affirming churches
 
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The blessing of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. These disagreements are primarily centered on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While various Church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.


Contents  [hide]
1 Terminology
2 Theological differences between support and opposition 2.1 Views of those who support same-sex unions and/or marriages
3 Churches favorable to same-sex union and/or same-sex marriage 3.1 Episcopalian polities 3.1.1 Anglicanism 3.1.1.1 Anglican Church of Canada
3.1.1.2 Episcopal Church of the USA
3.1.1.3 England
3.1.1.4 Old Catholic, Reformed Catholic Churches and Liberal Catholic Church
3.1.2 Church of Sweden and Denmark
3.1.3 Argentina
3.1.4 Austria
3.1.5 Canada
3.1.6 Denmark
3.1.7 Germany
3.1.8 Iceland
3.1.9 Norway
3.1.10 Philippines
3.1.11 Sweden
3.1.12 United Kingdom
3.1.13 United States
3.2 Presbyterian polities 3.2.1 Church of Scotland
3.2.2 Presbyterian Church in Ireland
3.2.3 Presbyterian Church (USA)
3.3 Connexional polities 3.3.1 Methodism
3.4 Congregational polities 3.4.1 Baptist Churches
3.4.2 Quakers
3.4.3 United Church of Christ
3.4.4 Canadian Unitarian Council
3.4.5 Unitarian Universalist Association
3.4.6 Metropolitan Community Church
3.4.7 Mennonite Church
3.4.8 Pentecostalism
3.4.9 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
3.5 Mixed-polity and other polity 3.5.1 Moravian Church (North America)
3.5.2 Swedenborgianism
3.5.3 Uniting Church in Australia
3.5.4 Protestant Church in the Netherlands
3.5.5 United Church
3.5.6 New Apostolic Church

4 Debate on the meaning of 'Blessing' 4.1 Roman Catholic Church
5 Churches with no policy on the unions
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Terminology

 

 Blessing of a same-sex unionSame-sex union
Same-sex marriage
Theological differences between support and opposition
Views of those who support same-sex unions and/or marriages
Those Christians and Churches which support blessing of same-sex unions do so from several perspectives:
It is an affirmative good that stands alongside straight marriage and committed monastic celibacy as a revelation of God's self in the world.[1]
The logical coherence of the core Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection and the Ascension is improved through the integration of gay marriage into the Christian conception of marriage.[1]
Our understanding of marriage as a metaphor of Christ’s relationship with the Church is strengthened by assimilating gay marriage into that metaphor.[1]
Some scholars maintain that scripture in the original languages contains no prohibition of homosexuality, but does record same-sex marriage.[2] "But if we take a closer look, reading the scripture in the original Hebrew and Greek, we discover that God never condemned homosexuality, and that same-sex marriage existed in Bible times." [3] "To tell a homosexual that the Bible is Good News, (but that) it says that their ability to love on a one to one basis (mate level) means they are sinful and perverted in God's eyes is a gross contradiction in terms. What's more, God is not saying this to gay people. God's Word is this: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV). And that is the Good News for modern gays." [4]
The biblic references to homosexuality were uttered in the context of promiscuous same-sex practices of Hellenistic cultures (Paul) and cultures surrounding the people of Israel (Deut). This kind of sex without love was often practiced in lieu of going to female prostitutes, also by heterosexual men. It is a discriminating misconception of our times to transfer that prohibition of such promiscuous practice without love to what we discuss here: durable, long term, choosy same-sex unions.[5]
Churches favorable to same-sex union and/or same-sex marriage
Episcopalian polities
Anglicanism
In 2004, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, asked the Lambeth Commission on Communion to produce a report looking into the legal and theological implications flowing from decisions related to homosexuality that were apparently threatening the Anglican Communion, including decisions relating to the blessing of same-sex unions. Once published the Windsor Report led to the calling by the Lambeth Commission for a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, and recommended that bishops who have authorised such rites in the United States and Canada "be invited to express regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached by such authorisation." The report was roundly condemned by supporters of the gay and lesbian community, as well as by a number of theologians for its partiality.[6][7]
Anglican Church of Canada
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004 voted to defer a decision of same-sex blessings until 2007, but also to "Affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships".[8] In 2007, a resolution enabling diocesan bishops to authorize the blessing of same-gender unions narrowly failed, but a statement adopted by General Synod in 2010 "acknowledge[d] diverse pastoral practices as dioceses respond to their own missional contexts,"[need quotation to verify]effectively devolving decisions about blessings to local dioceses.
The Anglican Church of Canada does not distinguish theologically between a marriage solemnized in church and a civil marriage subsequently blessed by a priest. Currently, three dioceses – New Westminster, Niagara, and Montréal – extend the blessing of civil marriages to same-sex couples. Procedures for blessings are in development in Ottawa and Toronto. In 2010 the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada voted to study a proposal to bless only those marriages that have been civilly registered, even where marriage is reserved to heterosexual couples, abrogating the role of clergy as delegates of the provincial registrar altogether.
The blessing of same-sex unions became a subject of media attention in the Vancouver area in May, 2003 when Bishop Michael Ingham of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster announced that he had given priests in some parishes the authority to bless gay and lesbian unions.[8] Bishop Ingham issued a rite of blessing of people in committed same-sex unions on May 23, 2003.[9] This was done in response to requests by three consecutive Diocesan Synods, culminating in June, 2002. The diocese considers that the blessing of same-sex couples is one part of their work of community outreach and care for parishioners. The blessing is a way that some priests use to ensure that homosexual people who seek to be included in the Anglican Communion feel safe and respected.[10]The blessing is a “pastoral tool”.[10] Some priests in some parishes (six out of 80) bless permanent faithful relationships. Permission is granted by the bishop only when a priest requests it, and a parish has decided by majority vote, that they want to be a place of blessing. Ingham says of the practice: I insist only that those on all sides of the issue respect one another and that everyone should maintain the order of the church. Our goal in the Anglican Church in the Greater Vancouver area is to be a church that accommodates differences.[10]
In 2009, the Anglican Diocese of Niagara in southwestern Ontario became the second diocese to authorize the blessing of same-sex unions when Bishop Michael Bird approved a gender-neutral rite for the blessing of civil marriages. The rite will be permitted for use in consultation with the diocesan bishop beginning September 1, 2009.[11]
In 2009, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa authorized the blessing of same-sex unions in a single parish: the Church of St John the Evangelist. Rather than issuing a specific rite, Bishop Chapman authorized an existing rite already in use for the blessing of civil marriages between opposite-sex couples.[12]
In 2010, the Rt Rev'd Barry Clarke, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, authorized the blessing of same-sex unions. He issued a rite and guidelines to permit the blessing of civil marriages regardless of the gender of the spouses. The rite had been adapted from an existing rite already in use for the blessing of civil marriages between opposite-sex couples.[13]
A limited number of parishes in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto have been authorized to bless same-sex unions. Rather than crafting a specific rite of blessing, the Archbishop of Toronto issued guidelines setting rules and restrictions on blessings. Blessings must not resemble too closely a marriage rite, with the specific proviso that no form of blessing used for marriage in the official rites of the Anglican Church of Canada or other parts of the Anglican Communion may be used with same-sex couples.[14]
Episcopal Church of the USA
At its 2006 General Convention the Episcopal Church rejected a resolution allowing the solemnization of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is recognized by civil law.
In July 2009, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America adopted a resolution allowing individual bishops to choose whether or not to allow the blessing of same-sex unions within their bishoprics. The resolution was seen as a compromise between those who call for an official rite for the blessing of same-sex unions, and those who oppose any recognition of such unions. However, the resolution also left the door open for the creation of such an official rite in the future, calling on bishops to "collect and develop theological and liturgical resources" for possible use for such a purpose at the 2012 General Convention.[15][16]
On July 9, 2012, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution approving an official liturgy for blessing same-sex unions. This liturgy, called “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant” offers a blessing close to marriage, but the church is clear that it is not marriage. According to Rev. Ruth Meyers, chairwoman of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, “There are a lot of similarities. The couple give their consent to being joined in lifelong commitment, they exchange vows. There’s the possibility of exchanging rings, or, for couples who have been together for some time and already have rings, to have their rings blessed. There is a blessing over the couple. But we’re clear at this point that this is not a marriage because the Episcopal Church is not in agreement in its understanding of marriage.” The resolution enables priests to bestow the church’s blessing on gay couples even if they live in a state where same-sex marriage is illegal; however, bishops who do not approve of the liturgy can prohibit their priests from using it. The resolution is provisional and will be reviewed in three years.[17]
As of September 1, 2012, clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of New York have been authorized to officiate at same sex weddings.[18]
England
In 2013, Church of England indicated that it plans the blessing of same-sex unions.[19] It is, however, forbidden by law to conduct same-sex marriages within its churches.
Old Catholic, Reformed Catholic Churches and Liberal Catholic Church
Four churches of the Union of Utrecht, which shares full communion with the Anglican Churches through the Bonn Agreement, also permit such blessings: namely, Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (the mother church) permits blessings of gay civil marriages, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland,[20] and Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany permit blessings of homosexual civil unions. The Old Catholic Church of Austria also permits such blessings. Because of this (as well as the ordination of women), the Polish National Catholic Church (USA) seceded from the Union in 2004.
Many smaller denominations, such as the Eucharistic Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church (in Sweden)[21] and TOCCUSA[22] also solemnize same-sex marriages.
Church of Sweden and Denmark
The Lutheran Church of Sweden has performed full same-sex marriages beginning since November 2009. It previously blessed same-sex couples using a different ceremony.[23]
In November 2011, the Government of Denmark announced that there will be same-sex religious marriage available in the Church of Denmark as part of the broader legislative move to recognise same sex marriage[24] A similar debate is currently underway in the Church of Iceland following legislation to permit same sex marriage in Iceland.[25]



Argentina
The Danish Church in Buenos Aires performs marriages between same-sex couples.[26] In late 2006, the tabernacle performed the first religious wedding between a lesbian couple in Latin America.[27]
Austria
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church[28]
Reformed Church in Austria (since 1998)
Canada


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada has permitted the blessing of same-sex unions since July 2011. The Lutheran Church–Canada does not permit the blessing of same-sex unions. The LC-C stance is consonant with that of its American sister church, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
The governing council of The United Church of Canada welcomes same-sex marriage, but individual United Church congregations are responsible for making decisions locally. Marriages are performed with the permission and under the responsibility of the local congregation.[29]
Denmark
The Church of Denmark (in full communion with the Anglican Churches of the British Isles through the Porvoo Communion) performs blessings of same-sex couples.[30]
Germany
In addition, many Lutheran, United and Reformed churches within the Evangelical Church in Germany[31]
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau[32]
Protestant Church of Bremen[33]
Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick[34]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover
North Elbian Evangelical Church[35]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg[36]
Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia[37]
Protestant Church of Westphalia[38]
Protestant Church of the Palatinate[39]
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland[40]
Evangelical Church in Central Germany [41][42]
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck [43][44]
Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany[45]
Iceland
Within the Church of Iceland, the blessing of same-sex couples are allowed.
Norway
Church of Norway [46]
Philippines
Metropolitan Community Church of Quezon City (MCCQC), Metropolitan Community Church Makati (MCCMPH), and Metropolitan Community Church of Metro Baguio (MCCMB) officiates Holy Unions for same sex partners in the Philippines. the Metropolitan Community Church is an Ecumenical Christian Church for ALL people with a special ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. It welcomes everyone with the full love of Christ Jesus and walk with its people in its journey towards equality and social justice. Its affiliations in The Philippines are the Following MCC Quezon City, (1) MCC Makati, (2) MCC Metro Baguio, (3) MCC Olongapo, and (4)MCC Marikina.
Ekklesia Tou Theou (Church of God[dead link]), (Cavite, Philippines)is also conducting same sex unions in the Philippines.
Sweden
The Church of Sweden performs blessings of same-sex couples.[30] Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Sweden in May 2009, the Church of Sweden decided in October 2009 to start conducting same-sex weddings in their churches.[47]
United Kingdom
In 2011, the United Reformed Church allowed blessings of same-sex couples.[48]
United States
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America began officially allowing blessings of same-sex couples in late August, 2009—though there were no explicit prohibitions before this point. Studies and dialogue had been under way during the past decade and continued until the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, during which the ELCA passed a resolution by a vote of 619–402 reading “Resolved, that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.”[49] That Assembly also affirmed that sexual orientation, in itself, is not to be a qualification or exclusion for ordained ministry.[50] As marriage policy is a congregation matter in the ELCA, same-sex partnership blessings and marriages had been performed by many Lutheran pastors prior to the 2009 actions. In 1993 the ELCA Conference of Bishops stated it did not approve of such ceremonies, but made no comment about same-sex marriage. (The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the ELCA.)[51]
Lutheran congregations which so choose may register their public affirmation for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people may register with Lutherans Concerned/North America, a church advocacy group, as "Reconciling in Christ."[52] This registry includes not only congregations, but synods, organizations, Lutheran colleges, campus ministries, social ministry institutions, Lutheran health care organizations, campus ministries, church colleges, regional synods and districts, and other groups which openly welcome gays and lesbians in their communities. The national Lutheran organization which advocates for equality for gays and lesbians inside and outside the church is known as "Lutherans concerned North America".[53] Founded in 1974 Local chapters are found throughout the USA and Canada.
Presbyterian polities
Church of Scotland
The 2006 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted that blessing civil partnerships should be a matter of conscience for individual ministers. Conservatives in the Kirk argued that the reform would have to be ratified by local presbyteries.[54] When the 45 Presbyteries were consulted, only nine voted in favour of allowing ministers to bless civil-partnered (same-sex) couples, and the remaining 36 were against the innovation. Therefore, it was defeated, and is due to be addressed again at the 2013 General Assembly. At its 2011 General Assembly, the Church of Scotland voted to allow openly gay and lesbian Ministers and Diaconal ministers who live in civil unions, provided that they were already ordained and had declared their sexuality before the Scott Rennie case on 23 May 2009. There remains, however, a Moratorium (legal term for a ban) on accepting those in same-sex relationships for training, ordination or induction into the Ministry or Diaconate, which may be lifted by the General Assembly of 2013.[55] When asked to respond to the Scottish Government's consultation on same-sex marriage, the Church's Legal Questions Committee submitted a response which upheld a biblical and traditional understanding of marriage as a voluntary lifelong union between one man and one woman (December 2011). After this, the Church's first openly gay minister, Revd. Scott Rennie, claimed to the press that such ostracisation of homosexuals will empty churches.[56]
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
The presbyterian church in Ireland is strongly opposed to same sex marriage. [57]
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission ruled in 2006 that same-sex ceremonies are not forbidden, as long as they are not considered to be the same as marriage services.[58] Debate on the issue within the church evolved over the years. In 2000, the General Assembly had approved language for the church constitution that stated church teachings were that people were “to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness.," and barred church officers and property from being used for blessing or approval upon any other form of fidelity relationship, but ratification for this language was never obtained by the presbyteries. By 2014, the General Assembly passed an Authoritative Interpretation permitting pastors to sign marriage licences for same-gender couples where permitted by civil law in the states where their church was found, which took immediate effect.[59]
On March 17th, 2015, ratification by a majority of presbyteries was reached on a constitutional amendment passed by that same 2014 General Assembly, which broadened the definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship from only being between “a man and a woman,” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman,” thus giving official sanction to, while not making it mandatory for, any congregation's pastor to preside over and bless marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples.[60]
Connexional polities
Methodism
In 2005, the Methodist Church of Great Britain voted to allow a local option for ministers who wish to perform same-sex blessings, with a Church spokesperson stating that “We have decided, with the law changing in December, we as a Church need to provide guidance to our ministers, who will be allowed to take an individual decision as to whether or not they want to bless gay couples.”[61] However, in 2006, the Church reversed itself and prohibited the blessing of same-sex unions on or off church property.[62] Ministers are still at liberty to offer informal, private prayers for such couples.

Ambox current red.svg
 This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2013)
The United Methodist Church currently prohibits celebrations of same-sex unions by its elders and in its churches.[63] However, in May 2011 a resolution was passed in the Baltimore-Washington annual conference which seeks to change the church’s Book of Discipline to be amended “to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages and ceremonies in member churches in jurisdictions where legislatures already have approved gay marriage laws, such as the District.” A vote at the General Conference in 2012 is still required.[64]
Congregational polities
Baptist Churches
The Alliance of Baptists has in the past supported the legal right to marry;[65] its position on corollary church services is unclear.
Quakers
The first recorded same sex marriage by a Quaker meeting in the US was in 1987. In January, 1987, Morningside Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends became the first Quaker Meeting to take a same-sex marriage (using the word marriage, rather than "commitment ceremony") under its care with the marriage of John Bohne and William McCann on May 30, 1987.[66]
Same-sex couples have been married under the care of many "unprogrammed" Quaker meetings in Canada since 1992.[67] In Australia, Canberra Quaker meeting celebrated the marriage of two gay men on 15 April 2007.[68][69][70][71] Australian Quakers are prepared to celebrate same-sex marriages despite the lack of legal recognition.[72] See Quaker views of homosexuality
In 2009, the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man decided to authorise same-sex marriage, having previously performed blessings for same-sex civil partnerships.[73][74] In Australia, the 2010 Yearly Meeting called on the Federal Government to amend the Australian Marriage Act to give full and equal legal recognition to all marriages, regardless of the sexual orientation and gender of the partners. Australlian Quakers had been blessing same-sex unions since 1994.[75] The Canada Yearly Meeting stated in 2003 that Canadian Quakers "support the right of same-sex couples to a civil marriage and the extension of the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples." [76] Since then a number of same-sex marriages have been performed at Canadian Monthly Meetings. In New Zealand, the Aotearoa Quaker Meeting in 1995 pledged “to seek formal ways of recognizing a variety of commitments, including gay and lesbian partnerships.” [77]
United Church of Christ
Varies by church. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has passed a resolution affirming "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage".[78] At its 25th General Synod in 2005, the UCC passed the resolution, "Equal Marriage Rights for All".[79] However, the polity of the UCC is congregationalist, so of each church has a different way of operating. (The General Synod does not have authority over Local Churches to determine or enforce denominational doctrine)[80]
Canadian Unitarian Council
See also: Religious_views_on_same-sex_marriage § Unitarian_Universalists_and_Unitarians
See also: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
Canadian Unitarian churches perform same-sex marriage as well.[81]
Unitarian Universalist Association
See also: Religious views on same-sex marriage § Unitarian Universalists and Unitarians
See also: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
Unitarian Universalists perform same-sex marriages, and have supported marriage equality since 1973,[82] reaffirming with a formal resolution in 1996.[83]
Metropolitan Community Church
The predominantly gay Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches performs same-sex marriages.[84]
Mennonite Church
The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands offers marriage to both heterosexual and same-gender couples.[85]
Pentecostalism
Most Pentecostal churches do not affirm gay marriage. [86]
The Affirming Pentecostal Church International and the Global Alliance of Affirming Apostolic Pentecostals are US based denominations of Oneness Pentecostals that will perform weddings for both heterosexual and same-sex couples.[87]
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
In mainline Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) blessing of same-sex unions are allowed.[88][89]
Mixed-polity and other polity
Moravian Church (North America)
The Moravian Church in North America's Northern Province has passed several liberal resolutions on homosexuality, but has not yet been able to "address the issue of a marriage covenant between homosexual persons".[90]
Swedenborgianism
The Swedenborgian Church of North America allows ministers to choose whether to perform same-sex marriages.[91]
Uniting Church in Australia
In Australia the Uniting Church in Australia allows blessing of same-sex unions.[92]
Protestant Church in the Netherlands
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has chosen not to address marriage in its post-merger canon law; however, the by-laws of the church allow for the blessing of relationships outside of marriage.[93]
United Church
Due to its "local option", a number of congregations and ministers of the United Church of Canada (a merger of Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations in Canada following presbyterian polity) officiate at same-sex marriages, which are fully legal in Canada.
New Apostolic Church
Since 2011 in Europe the New Apostolic Church allows blessings in a prayer for same-sex unions.[94]
Debate on the meaning of 'Blessing'
By nature of this religious understanding of marriage, when churches use the term "Union" in a same-sex blessing ceremony, they may or may not be blessing this union in an equivalent way as they would bless a "marriage" as opposed to blessing the commitment between the two individuals. Some Christian bodies are exploring the manner in which same-sex couples could or should be blessed (or not) by the church.[95] Because same-sex religious unions are not widespread and because civil unions do not require religious officiation, documentation of the incidence of church blessing of same-sex couples is difficult.
Roman Catholic Church
During the 1990s, a discussion began in the Roman Catholic Church about blessings for same-sex unions. In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen in Germany, five same-sex unions received a blessing in German town of Mönchengladbach.[96] In 2007, one same-sex union received a blessing in German town of Wetzlar in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg.[97]
Churches with no policy on the unions
The United Church of Christ has no formal rules requiring or prohibiting solemnization of wedding vows, but owing to its Congregational polity and constitution,[98] each Local Church is "autonomous in the management of its own affairs" and has the "right to operate in the way customary to it"; it cannot be "abridge[d] or impair[ed]" by other UCC agencies, and so each congregation has the freedom to bless or prohibit any kind of marriage or relationship in whatever way they discern appropriate. Thus a congregation may choose at their discretion to solemnise same-sex marriages, to bless same-sex unions, or refuse to perform any ceremony for same-sex couples, or refuse to perform any kind of marriage for anyone. There are no available statistics on how many UCC congregations solemnize same-sex relationships, but there are documented cases where this happens[99] and documented cases where congregations have taken stands against marriage between same-gender couples.[100]
See also

Portal icon Christianity portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Adelphopoiesis ("brother-making")
List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
Status of same-sex marriage
Marriage privatization
List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality LGBT-affirming religious groups
References
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37.Jump up ^ Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (german)
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39.Jump up ^ Protestant Church of the Palatinate (german)[dead link]
40.Jump up ^ EKVW[dead link]
41.Jump up ^ Mitteldeutsche Zeitung:Gleichgeschlechtliche Paare können Verbindung segnen lassen (german)
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Further reading
The Diocese of New Westminster's Information Website on Same-Sex Blessings
Text of the Liturgy[dead link]
Anglican Communion – On public Rites of Blessing of same-sex unions
The Episcopal Church USA General Convention 2003 – Publications[dead link]
(German) Evangelical Church in Hesse[dead link]
Decision for blessing in Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northelbia (German)[dead link]
External links
The Ongoing Struggle within the Episcopal Church USA: ordination of openly gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions
Statement from the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire on the blessing of same-sex Unions[dead link]


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Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches

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Part of a series on
Christianity and
 sexual orientation
Christianity and homosexuality
 Christianity and transgenderism
 
History of Christianity and
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The Bible and homosexuality
 Queer theology
 Blessing of same-sex unions
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The blessing of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. These disagreements are primarily centered on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While various Church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.


Contents  [hide]
1 Terminology
2 Theological differences between support and opposition 2.1 Views of those who support same-sex unions and/or marriages
3 Churches favorable to same-sex union and/or same-sex marriage 3.1 Episcopalian polities 3.1.1 Anglicanism 3.1.1.1 Anglican Church of Canada
3.1.1.2 Episcopal Church of the USA
3.1.1.3 England
3.1.1.4 Old Catholic, Reformed Catholic Churches and Liberal Catholic Church
3.1.2 Church of Sweden and Denmark
3.1.3 Argentina
3.1.4 Austria
3.1.5 Canada
3.1.6 Denmark
3.1.7 Germany
3.1.8 Iceland
3.1.9 Norway
3.1.10 Philippines
3.1.11 Sweden
3.1.12 United Kingdom
3.1.13 United States
3.2 Presbyterian polities 3.2.1 Church of Scotland
3.2.2 Presbyterian Church in Ireland
3.2.3 Presbyterian Church (USA)
3.3 Connexional polities 3.3.1 Methodism
3.4 Congregational polities 3.4.1 Baptist Churches
3.4.2 Quakers
3.4.3 United Church of Christ
3.4.4 Canadian Unitarian Council
3.4.5 Unitarian Universalist Association
3.4.6 Metropolitan Community Church
3.4.7 Mennonite Church
3.4.8 Pentecostalism
3.4.9 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
3.5 Mixed-polity and other polity 3.5.1 Moravian Church (North America)
3.5.2 Swedenborgianism
3.5.3 Uniting Church in Australia
3.5.4 Protestant Church in the Netherlands
3.5.5 United Church
3.5.6 New Apostolic Church

4 Debate on the meaning of 'Blessing' 4.1 Roman Catholic Church
5 Churches with no policy on the unions
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Terminology

 

 Blessing of a same-sex unionSame-sex union
Same-sex marriage
Theological differences between support and opposition
Views of those who support same-sex unions and/or marriages
Those Christians and Churches which support blessing of same-sex unions do so from several perspectives:
It is an affirmative good that stands alongside straight marriage and committed monastic celibacy as a revelation of God's self in the world.[1]
The logical coherence of the core Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection and the Ascension is improved through the integration of gay marriage into the Christian conception of marriage.[1]
Our understanding of marriage as a metaphor of Christ’s relationship with the Church is strengthened by assimilating gay marriage into that metaphor.[1]
Some scholars maintain that scripture in the original languages contains no prohibition of homosexuality, but does record same-sex marriage.[2] "But if we take a closer look, reading the scripture in the original Hebrew and Greek, we discover that God never condemned homosexuality, and that same-sex marriage existed in Bible times." [3] "To tell a homosexual that the Bible is Good News, (but that) it says that their ability to love on a one to one basis (mate level) means they are sinful and perverted in God's eyes is a gross contradiction in terms. What's more, God is not saying this to gay people. God's Word is this: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV). And that is the Good News for modern gays." [4]
The biblic references to homosexuality were uttered in the context of promiscuous same-sex practices of Hellenistic cultures (Paul) and cultures surrounding the people of Israel (Deut). This kind of sex without love was often practiced in lieu of going to female prostitutes, also by heterosexual men. It is a discriminating misconception of our times to transfer that prohibition of such promiscuous practice without love to what we discuss here: durable, long term, choosy same-sex unions.[5]
Churches favorable to same-sex union and/or same-sex marriage
Episcopalian polities
Anglicanism
In 2004, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, asked the Lambeth Commission on Communion to produce a report looking into the legal and theological implications flowing from decisions related to homosexuality that were apparently threatening the Anglican Communion, including decisions relating to the blessing of same-sex unions. Once published the Windsor Report led to the calling by the Lambeth Commission for a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, and recommended that bishops who have authorised such rites in the United States and Canada "be invited to express regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached by such authorisation." The report was roundly condemned by supporters of the gay and lesbian community, as well as by a number of theologians for its partiality.[6][7]
Anglican Church of Canada
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004 voted to defer a decision of same-sex blessings until 2007, but also to "Affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships".[8] In 2007, a resolution enabling diocesan bishops to authorize the blessing of same-gender unions narrowly failed, but a statement adopted by General Synod in 2010 "acknowledge[d] diverse pastoral practices as dioceses respond to their own missional contexts,"[need quotation to verify]effectively devolving decisions about blessings to local dioceses.
The Anglican Church of Canada does not distinguish theologically between a marriage solemnized in church and a civil marriage subsequently blessed by a priest. Currently, three dioceses – New Westminster, Niagara, and Montréal – extend the blessing of civil marriages to same-sex couples. Procedures for blessings are in development in Ottawa and Toronto. In 2010 the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada voted to study a proposal to bless only those marriages that have been civilly registered, even where marriage is reserved to heterosexual couples, abrogating the role of clergy as delegates of the provincial registrar altogether.
The blessing of same-sex unions became a subject of media attention in the Vancouver area in May, 2003 when Bishop Michael Ingham of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster announced that he had given priests in some parishes the authority to bless gay and lesbian unions.[8] Bishop Ingham issued a rite of blessing of people in committed same-sex unions on May 23, 2003.[9] This was done in response to requests by three consecutive Diocesan Synods, culminating in June, 2002. The diocese considers that the blessing of same-sex couples is one part of their work of community outreach and care for parishioners. The blessing is a way that some priests use to ensure that homosexual people who seek to be included in the Anglican Communion feel safe and respected.[10]The blessing is a “pastoral tool”.[10] Some priests in some parishes (six out of 80) bless permanent faithful relationships. Permission is granted by the bishop only when a priest requests it, and a parish has decided by majority vote, that they want to be a place of blessing. Ingham says of the practice: I insist only that those on all sides of the issue respect one another and that everyone should maintain the order of the church. Our goal in the Anglican Church in the Greater Vancouver area is to be a church that accommodates differences.[10]
In 2009, the Anglican Diocese of Niagara in southwestern Ontario became the second diocese to authorize the blessing of same-sex unions when Bishop Michael Bird approved a gender-neutral rite for the blessing of civil marriages. The rite will be permitted for use in consultation with the diocesan bishop beginning September 1, 2009.[11]
In 2009, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa authorized the blessing of same-sex unions in a single parish: the Church of St John the Evangelist. Rather than issuing a specific rite, Bishop Chapman authorized an existing rite already in use for the blessing of civil marriages between opposite-sex couples.[12]
In 2010, the Rt Rev'd Barry Clarke, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, authorized the blessing of same-sex unions. He issued a rite and guidelines to permit the blessing of civil marriages regardless of the gender of the spouses. The rite had been adapted from an existing rite already in use for the blessing of civil marriages between opposite-sex couples.[13]
A limited number of parishes in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto have been authorized to bless same-sex unions. Rather than crafting a specific rite of blessing, the Archbishop of Toronto issued guidelines setting rules and restrictions on blessings. Blessings must not resemble too closely a marriage rite, with the specific proviso that no form of blessing used for marriage in the official rites of the Anglican Church of Canada or other parts of the Anglican Communion may be used with same-sex couples.[14]
Episcopal Church of the USA
At its 2006 General Convention the Episcopal Church rejected a resolution allowing the solemnization of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is recognized by civil law.
In July 2009, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America adopted a resolution allowing individual bishops to choose whether or not to allow the blessing of same-sex unions within their bishoprics. The resolution was seen as a compromise between those who call for an official rite for the blessing of same-sex unions, and those who oppose any recognition of such unions. However, the resolution also left the door open for the creation of such an official rite in the future, calling on bishops to "collect and develop theological and liturgical resources" for possible use for such a purpose at the 2012 General Convention.[15][16]
On July 9, 2012, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution approving an official liturgy for blessing same-sex unions. This liturgy, called “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant” offers a blessing close to marriage, but the church is clear that it is not marriage. According to Rev. Ruth Meyers, chairwoman of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, “There are a lot of similarities. The couple give their consent to being joined in lifelong commitment, they exchange vows. There’s the possibility of exchanging rings, or, for couples who have been together for some time and already have rings, to have their rings blessed. There is a blessing over the couple. But we’re clear at this point that this is not a marriage because the Episcopal Church is not in agreement in its understanding of marriage.” The resolution enables priests to bestow the church’s blessing on gay couples even if they live in a state where same-sex marriage is illegal; however, bishops who do not approve of the liturgy can prohibit their priests from using it. The resolution is provisional and will be reviewed in three years.[17]
As of September 1, 2012, clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of New York have been authorized to officiate at same sex weddings.[18]
England
In 2013, Church of England indicated that it plans the blessing of same-sex unions.[19] It is, however, forbidden by law to conduct same-sex marriages within its churches.
Old Catholic, Reformed Catholic Churches and Liberal Catholic Church
Four churches of the Union of Utrecht, which shares full communion with the Anglican Churches through the Bonn Agreement, also permit such blessings: namely, Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (the mother church) permits blessings of gay civil marriages, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland,[20] and Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany permit blessings of homosexual civil unions. The Old Catholic Church of Austria also permits such blessings. Because of this (as well as the ordination of women), the Polish National Catholic Church (USA) seceded from the Union in 2004.
Many smaller denominations, such as the Eucharistic Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church (in Sweden)[21] and TOCCUSA[22] also solemnize same-sex marriages.
Church of Sweden and Denmark
The Lutheran Church of Sweden has performed full same-sex marriages beginning since November 2009. It previously blessed same-sex couples using a different ceremony.[23]
In November 2011, the Government of Denmark announced that there will be same-sex religious marriage available in the Church of Denmark as part of the broader legislative move to recognise same sex marriage[24] A similar debate is currently underway in the Church of Iceland following legislation to permit same sex marriage in Iceland.[25]



Argentina
The Danish Church in Buenos Aires performs marriages between same-sex couples.[26] In late 2006, the tabernacle performed the first religious wedding between a lesbian couple in Latin America.[27]
Austria
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church[28]
Reformed Church in Austria (since 1998)
Canada


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada has permitted the blessing of same-sex unions since July 2011. The Lutheran Church–Canada does not permit the blessing of same-sex unions. The LC-C stance is consonant with that of its American sister church, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
The governing council of The United Church of Canada welcomes same-sex marriage, but individual United Church congregations are responsible for making decisions locally. Marriages are performed with the permission and under the responsibility of the local congregation.[29]
Denmark
The Church of Denmark (in full communion with the Anglican Churches of the British Isles through the Porvoo Communion) performs blessings of same-sex couples.[30]
Germany
In addition, many Lutheran, United and Reformed churches within the Evangelical Church in Germany[31]
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau[32]
Protestant Church of Bremen[33]
Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick[34]
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover
North Elbian Evangelical Church[35]
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg[36]
Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia[37]
Protestant Church of Westphalia[38]
Protestant Church of the Palatinate[39]
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland[40]
Evangelical Church in Central Germany [41][42]
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck [43][44]
Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany[45]
Iceland
Within the Church of Iceland, the blessing of same-sex couples are allowed.
Norway
Church of Norway [46]
Philippines
Metropolitan Community Church of Quezon City (MCCQC), Metropolitan Community Church Makati (MCCMPH), and Metropolitan Community Church of Metro Baguio (MCCMB) officiates Holy Unions for same sex partners in the Philippines. the Metropolitan Community Church is an Ecumenical Christian Church for ALL people with a special ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. It welcomes everyone with the full love of Christ Jesus and walk with its people in its journey towards equality and social justice. Its affiliations in The Philippines are the Following MCC Quezon City, (1) MCC Makati, (2) MCC Metro Baguio, (3) MCC Olongapo, and (4)MCC Marikina.
Ekklesia Tou Theou (Church of God[dead link]), (Cavite, Philippines)is also conducting same sex unions in the Philippines.
Sweden
The Church of Sweden performs blessings of same-sex couples.[30] Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Sweden in May 2009, the Church of Sweden decided in October 2009 to start conducting same-sex weddings in their churches.[47]
United Kingdom
In 2011, the United Reformed Church allowed blessings of same-sex couples.[48]
United States
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America began officially allowing blessings of same-sex couples in late August, 2009—though there were no explicit prohibitions before this point. Studies and dialogue had been under way during the past decade and continued until the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, during which the ELCA passed a resolution by a vote of 619–402 reading “Resolved, that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.”[49] That Assembly also affirmed that sexual orientation, in itself, is not to be a qualification or exclusion for ordained ministry.[50] As marriage policy is a congregation matter in the ELCA, same-sex partnership blessings and marriages had been performed by many Lutheran pastors prior to the 2009 actions. In 1993 the ELCA Conference of Bishops stated it did not approve of such ceremonies, but made no comment about same-sex marriage. (The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the ELCA.)[51]
Lutheran congregations which so choose may register their public affirmation for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people may register with Lutherans Concerned/North America, a church advocacy group, as "Reconciling in Christ."[52] This registry includes not only congregations, but synods, organizations, Lutheran colleges, campus ministries, social ministry institutions, Lutheran health care organizations, campus ministries, church colleges, regional synods and districts, and other groups which openly welcome gays and lesbians in their communities. The national Lutheran organization which advocates for equality for gays and lesbians inside and outside the church is known as "Lutherans concerned North America".[53] Founded in 1974 Local chapters are found throughout the USA and Canada.
Presbyterian polities
Church of Scotland
The 2006 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted that blessing civil partnerships should be a matter of conscience for individual ministers. Conservatives in the Kirk argued that the reform would have to be ratified by local presbyteries.[54] When the 45 Presbyteries were consulted, only nine voted in favour of allowing ministers to bless civil-partnered (same-sex) couples, and the remaining 36 were against the innovation. Therefore, it was defeated, and is due to be addressed again at the 2013 General Assembly. At its 2011 General Assembly, the Church of Scotland voted to allow openly gay and lesbian Ministers and Diaconal ministers who live in civil unions, provided that they were already ordained and had declared their sexuality before the Scott Rennie case on 23 May 2009. There remains, however, a Moratorium (legal term for a ban) on accepting those in same-sex relationships for training, ordination or induction into the Ministry or Diaconate, which may be lifted by the General Assembly of 2013.[55] When asked to respond to the Scottish Government's consultation on same-sex marriage, the Church's Legal Questions Committee submitted a response which upheld a biblical and traditional understanding of marriage as a voluntary lifelong union between one man and one woman (December 2011). After this, the Church's first openly gay minister, Revd. Scott Rennie, claimed to the press that such ostracisation of homosexuals will empty churches.[56]
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
The presbyterian church in Ireland is strongly opposed to same sex marriage. [57]
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission ruled in 2006 that same-sex ceremonies are not forbidden, as long as they are not considered to be the same as marriage services.[58] Debate on the issue within the church evolved over the years. In 2000, the General Assembly had approved language for the church constitution that stated church teachings were that people were “to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness.," and barred church officers and property from being used for blessing or approval upon any other form of fidelity relationship, but ratification for this language was never obtained by the presbyteries. By 2014, the General Assembly passed an Authoritative Interpretation permitting pastors to sign marriage licences for same-gender couples where permitted by civil law in the states where their church was found, which took immediate effect.[59]
On March 17th, 2015, ratification by a majority of presbyteries was reached on a constitutional amendment passed by that same 2014 General Assembly, which broadened the definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship from only being between “a man and a woman,” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman,” thus giving official sanction to, while not making it mandatory for, any congregation's pastor to preside over and bless marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples.[60]
Connexional polities
Methodism
In 2005, the Methodist Church of Great Britain voted to allow a local option for ministers who wish to perform same-sex blessings, with a Church spokesperson stating that “We have decided, with the law changing in December, we as a Church need to provide guidance to our ministers, who will be allowed to take an individual decision as to whether or not they want to bless gay couples.”[61] However, in 2006, the Church reversed itself and prohibited the blessing of same-sex unions on or off church property.[62] Ministers are still at liberty to offer informal, private prayers for such couples.

Ambox current red.svg
 This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2013)
The United Methodist Church currently prohibits celebrations of same-sex unions by its elders and in its churches.[63] However, in May 2011 a resolution was passed in the Baltimore-Washington annual conference which seeks to change the church’s Book of Discipline to be amended “to allow pastors to perform same-sex marriages and ceremonies in member churches in jurisdictions where legislatures already have approved gay marriage laws, such as the District.” A vote at the General Conference in 2012 is still required.[64]
Congregational polities
Baptist Churches
The Alliance of Baptists has in the past supported the legal right to marry;[65] its position on corollary church services is unclear.
Quakers
The first recorded same sex marriage by a Quaker meeting in the US was in 1987. In January, 1987, Morningside Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends became the first Quaker Meeting to take a same-sex marriage (using the word marriage, rather than "commitment ceremony") under its care with the marriage of John Bohne and William McCann on May 30, 1987.[66]
Same-sex couples have been married under the care of many "unprogrammed" Quaker meetings in Canada since 1992.[67] In Australia, Canberra Quaker meeting celebrated the marriage of two gay men on 15 April 2007.[68][69][70][71] Australian Quakers are prepared to celebrate same-sex marriages despite the lack of legal recognition.[72] See Quaker views of homosexuality
In 2009, the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man decided to authorise same-sex marriage, having previously performed blessings for same-sex civil partnerships.[73][74] In Australia, the 2010 Yearly Meeting called on the Federal Government to amend the Australian Marriage Act to give full and equal legal recognition to all marriages, regardless of the sexual orientation and gender of the partners. Australlian Quakers had been blessing same-sex unions since 1994.[75] The Canada Yearly Meeting stated in 2003 that Canadian Quakers "support the right of same-sex couples to a civil marriage and the extension of the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples." [76] Since then a number of same-sex marriages have been performed at Canadian Monthly Meetings. In New Zealand, the Aotearoa Quaker Meeting in 1995 pledged “to seek formal ways of recognizing a variety of commitments, including gay and lesbian partnerships.” [77]
United Church of Christ
Varies by church. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has passed a resolution affirming "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage".[78] At its 25th General Synod in 2005, the UCC passed the resolution, "Equal Marriage Rights for All".[79] However, the polity of the UCC is congregationalist, so of each church has a different way of operating. (The General Synod does not have authority over Local Churches to determine or enforce denominational doctrine)[80]
Canadian Unitarian Council
See also: Religious_views_on_same-sex_marriage § Unitarian_Universalists_and_Unitarians
See also: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
Canadian Unitarian churches perform same-sex marriage as well.[81]
Unitarian Universalist Association
See also: Religious views on same-sex marriage § Unitarian Universalists and Unitarians
See also: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
Unitarian Universalists perform same-sex marriages, and have supported marriage equality since 1973,[82] reaffirming with a formal resolution in 1996.[83]
Metropolitan Community Church
The predominantly gay Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches performs same-sex marriages.[84]
Mennonite Church
The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands offers marriage to both heterosexual and same-gender couples.[85]
Pentecostalism
Most Pentecostal churches do not affirm gay marriage. [86]
The Affirming Pentecostal Church International and the Global Alliance of Affirming Apostolic Pentecostals are US based denominations of Oneness Pentecostals that will perform weddings for both heterosexual and same-sex couples.[87]
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
In mainline Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) blessing of same-sex unions are allowed.[88][89]
Mixed-polity and other polity
Moravian Church (North America)
The Moravian Church in North America's Northern Province has passed several liberal resolutions on homosexuality, but has not yet been able to "address the issue of a marriage covenant between homosexual persons".[90]
Swedenborgianism
The Swedenborgian Church of North America allows ministers to choose whether to perform same-sex marriages.[91]
Uniting Church in Australia
In Australia the Uniting Church in Australia allows blessing of same-sex unions.[92]
Protestant Church in the Netherlands
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has chosen not to address marriage in its post-merger canon law; however, the by-laws of the church allow for the blessing of relationships outside of marriage.[93]
United Church
Due to its "local option", a number of congregations and ministers of the United Church of Canada (a merger of Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations in Canada following presbyterian polity) officiate at same-sex marriages, which are fully legal in Canada.
New Apostolic Church
Since 2011 in Europe the New Apostolic Church allows blessings in a prayer for same-sex unions.[94]
Debate on the meaning of 'Blessing'
By nature of this religious understanding of marriage, when churches use the term "Union" in a same-sex blessing ceremony, they may or may not be blessing this union in an equivalent way as they would bless a "marriage" as opposed to blessing the commitment between the two individuals. Some Christian bodies are exploring the manner in which same-sex couples could or should be blessed (or not) by the church.[95] Because same-sex religious unions are not widespread and because civil unions do not require religious officiation, documentation of the incidence of church blessing of same-sex couples is difficult.
Roman Catholic Church
During the 1990s, a discussion began in the Roman Catholic Church about blessings for same-sex unions. In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen in Germany, five same-sex unions received a blessing in German town of Mönchengladbach.[96] In 2007, one same-sex union received a blessing in German town of Wetzlar in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg.[97]
Churches with no policy on the unions
The United Church of Christ has no formal rules requiring or prohibiting solemnization of wedding vows, but owing to its Congregational polity and constitution,[98] each Local Church is "autonomous in the management of its own affairs" and has the "right to operate in the way customary to it"; it cannot be "abridge[d] or impair[ed]" by other UCC agencies, and so each congregation has the freedom to bless or prohibit any kind of marriage or relationship in whatever way they discern appropriate. Thus a congregation may choose at their discretion to solemnise same-sex marriages, to bless same-sex unions, or refuse to perform any ceremony for same-sex couples, or refuse to perform any kind of marriage for anyone. There are no available statistics on how many UCC congregations solemnize same-sex relationships, but there are documented cases where this happens[99] and documented cases where congregations have taken stands against marriage between same-gender couples.[100]
See also

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List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
Status of same-sex marriage
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References
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54.Jump up ^ Hamilton, Fiona (2006-05-28). "Row over samesex marriage rages on". The Times (London). Retrieved 2010-04-26.
55.Jump up ^ "Special Commission on Same-Sex Relationships and the Ministry - Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). The Church of Scotland.
56.Jump up ^ "Church of Scotland 2012 General Assembly: Gay marriage to expose Kirk divisions". Scotland on Sunday. 20 May 2012.
57.Jump up ^ https://www.presbyterianireland.org/News/Article/2013-(1)/Presbyterians-Make-Clear-Their-Opposition-To-Same?feed=cfd8e3f5-88c6-46c8-9f48-6f31a698b9b7
58.Jump up ^ wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Austin pastor won't be tried on gay 'marriage' accusation
59.Jump up ^ http://www.pc-biz.org/PC-Biz.WebApp_deploy/(S(zbcely2njokyzcp51e0oharv))/IOBView.aspx?m=ro&id=4599
60.Jump up ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/us/presbyterians-give-final-approval-for-same-sex-marriage.html
61.Jump up ^ Gledhill, Ruth (1 July 2005). "Methodists (in UK) will bless gays". The Times (of London) (News Corporation). Retrieved 2007-09-08.
62.Jump up ^ "British Methodists reject blessing of same-sex relationships". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2007-09-08.[dead link]
63.Jump up ^ "What is the denomination’s position on homosexuality?". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
64.Jump up ^ Pink News, May 2011 http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/01/united-methodist-church-votes-in-favour-of-same-sex-resolution/
65.Jump up ^ Same Sex Union
66.Jump up ^ Leuze, Sarah (May 2002). "Morningside Meeting: A Historical Sketch". Retrieved 22 August 2012.
67.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
68.Jump up ^ Canberra Quakers: Newsletter of the Religious Society of Friends Canberra Region, May 2007, p2
69.Jump up ^ First Quaker gay marriage in Australia
70.Jump up ^ Australian Quakers and homosexuality[dead link]
71.Jump up ^ Gay and lesbian people in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia[dead link]
72.Jump up ^ Quakers call for legal recognition of same sex marriages
73.Jump up ^ Guardian:Quakers make the right decision
74.Jump up ^ "Quakers 'to allow gay marriages'". BBC News. 2009-07-30.
75.Jump up ^ "Quakers call for legal recognition of same sex marriages". Newsmaker. 01/11/2010. Retrieved 07/10/2012. Check date values in: |date=, |accessdate= (help)
76.Jump up ^ Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers). "Letter to Members of the House of Commons and of the Senate". Retrieved 07/10/2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
77.Jump up ^ Religious Tolerance.org. "Statements by the Society of Friends (Quakers)". Retrieved 07/10/2012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
78.Jump up ^ http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/2005-equal-marriage-rights-for-all-1.pdf
79.Jump up ^ "Marriage Equality". Ucc.org. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
80.Jump up ^ UCC Constitution and Bylaws. Paragraph 9 in Article V (Local churches) of the UCC Constitution states that "The basic unit of the life and organization of the United Church of Christ is the Local Church." Paragraph 18 in the same article enshrines local church autonomy, and says: "Nothing in this constitution and the Bylaws of the United Church of Christ shall destroy or limit the right of each Local Church to continue to operate in the way customary to it; nor shall be construed as giving to the General Synod, or to any Conference or Association now, or at any future time, the power to abridge or impair the autonomy of any Local Church in the management of its own affairs."
81.Jump up ^ Weddings | Canadian Unitarian Council
82.Jump up ^ UUA: Marriage Equality
83.Jump up ^ UUA: Support of the Right to Marry for Same-Sex Couples – 1996 Resolution of Immediate of Witness
84.Jump up ^ MCC:Marriage=Equality[dead link]
85.Jump up ^ [2][dead link]
86.Jump up ^ "Otherwise, their beliefs and practices are similar to those of other conservative Christians. They strongly oppose abortion access, equality for sexual minorities, and same-sex marriage."
87.Jump up ^ GAAAP
88.Jump up ^ Welt.de:Lesbisches Paar heiratet nach 72 Jahren (german)
89.Jump up ^ Queer.de:Zum Heiraten ist es nie zu spät (german)
90.Jump up ^ [3][dead link]
91.Jump up ^ Swedenborg.org[dead link]
92.Jump up ^ UnitingNetworkAustralia
93.Jump up ^ ProtestantChurch.nl, the Church's official website
94.Jump up ^ NAK:Segensgebet für eingetragene Partnerschaften (german)
95.Jump up ^ Report to the General Convention on the Blessing of Same-Sex Relationships[dead link]
96.Jump up ^ Spiegel:Riskanter Segen für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare (German)
97.Jump up ^ Frankfurter Rundschau:Dakan muß gehen wegen Trauung eines homosexuellen Paares (German)
98.Jump up ^ See http://www.ucc.org/aboutus/constitution.htm#LOCAL
99.Jump up ^ [4][dead link]
100.Jump up ^ See http://www.southernconrenew.org/lex%20confession.html
Further reading
The Diocese of New Westminster's Information Website on Same-Sex Blessings
Text of the Liturgy[dead link]
Anglican Communion – On public Rites of Blessing of same-sex unions
The Episcopal Church USA General Convention 2003 – Publications[dead link]
(German) Evangelical Church in Hesse[dead link]
Decision for blessing in Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northelbia (German)[dead link]
External links
The Ongoing Struggle within the Episcopal Church USA: ordination of openly gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions
Statement from the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire on the blessing of same-sex Unions[dead link]


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Violence against LGBT people

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people can face violence motivated by hateful attitudes towards their sexuality or gender identity.[1] Violence may be executed by the state, as in laws prescribing corporal punishment for homosexual acts (see homosexuality laws), or by individuals engaging in intimidation, mobbing, assault, or lynching (see gay bashing, trans bashing). Violence targeted at people because of their perceived sexuality can be psychological or physical and can extend to murder. These actions may be motivated by homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and may be influenced by cultural, religious, or political mores and biases.
Currently, homosexual acts are legal in almost all Western countries, and in many of these countries violence against LGBT people is classified as a hate crime,[2] with such violence being often connected with conservative or religious leaning ideologies which condemn homosexuality, or being perpetrated by individuals who associate homosexuality to being weak, ill, feminine, or immoral. Outside the West, many countries, particularly those where the dominant religion is Islam, but also many countries in the Commonwealth (e.g. Uganda, Nigeria, Malaysia and Jamaica), most African (excluding South Africa) and some Asian countries (excluding Japan and Taiwan), and some former-Communist countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, such as Russia and Serbia, are currently very dangerous for LGBT people because of discrimination against homosexuals which influences both discriminatory legislation and physical violence.[3]
In Europe, the European Union's Employment Equality Framework Directive and Charter of Fundamental Rights offer some protection against sexuality-based discrimination.
Historically, state-sanctioned persecution of homosexuals was mostly limited to male homosexuality, termed "sodomy". During the medieval and early modern period, the penalty for sodomy was usually death. During the modern period (from the 19th century to the mid-20th century) in the Western world, the penalty was usually a fine or imprisonment.
As of 2009, there remain under 80 countries worldwide where homosexual acts remain illegal (notably throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and in most of Africa, but also in some of the Caribbean and Oceania) including five that carry the death penalty.[4]


Contents  [hide]
1 State-sanctioned violence 1.1 Historic 1.1.1 The Middle East
1.1.2 Europe
1.2 Contemporary
2 Criminal assault 2.1 Legislation against homophobic hate crimes
2.2 Alleged judicative bias
2.3 Attacks on gay pride parades
2.4 Advocacy in song lyrics
3 Motivations 3.1 Macho culture and social homophobia
3.2 Religious 3.2.1 Religious texts
3.2.2 Christianity
3.2.3 Islam
3.2.4 Judaism

4 See also
5 References
6 External links

State-sanctioned violence[edit]
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Historic[edit]

 

 The knight von Hohenberg and his squire, being burned at the stake for sodomy, Zurich 1482 (Zurich Central Library)
The Middle East[edit]
An early law against sexual intercourse between men is recorded in Leviticus by the Hebrew people, prescribing the death penalty. A violent law regarding homosexual rape is prescribed in the Middle Assyrian Law Codes (1075 BCE), stating: "If a man lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into a eunuch". This misinterpreted code doesn't condemn homosexuality;[5] it describes a situation where a man has forced sex upon another person, who then has the option of bringing a charge against him. The perpetrator is punished while the victim is not, therefore the crime is homosexual rape.[6]
In the account given in Tacitus Germania, the death penalty was reserved for two kinds of capital offenses: military treason or desertion was punished by hanging, and moral infamy (cowardice and homosexuality: ignavos et imbelles at corpore infames); Gordon translates corpore infames as "unnatural prostitutes"; Tacitus refers to male homosexuality, see David F. Greenberg, The construction of homosexuality, p. 242 f. Scholarship compares the later Germanic concept of Old Norse argr, Langobardic arga, which combines the meanings "effeminate, cowardly, homosexual", see Jaan Puhvel, 'Who were the Hittite hurkilas pesnes?' in: A. Etter (eds.), O-o-pe-ro-si (FS Risch), Walter de Gruyter, 1986, p. 154.
Europe[edit]
In Republican Rome, the poorly attested Lex Scantinia penalized an adult male for committing a sex crime (stuprum) against an underage male citizen (ingenuus). It is unclear whether the penalty was death or a fine. The law may also have been used to prosecute adult male citizens who willingly took a pathic role in same-sex acts, but prosecutions are rarely recorded and the provisions of the law are vague; as John Boswell has noted, "if there was a law against homosexual relations, no one in Cicero's day knew anything about it."[7] When the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, all male homosexual activity was increasingly repressed, often on pain of death.[8] In 342 CE, the Christian emperors Constantius and Constans declared same-sex marriage to be illegal.[9] Shortly after, in the year 390 CE, emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I and Arcadius declared homosexual sex to be illegal and those who were guilty of it were condemned to be publicly burned alive.[8] Emperor Justinian I (527–565 CE) made homosexuals a scapegoat for problems such as "famines, earthquakes, and pestilences."[10]
Laws and codes prohibiting homosexual practice were in force in Europe from the fourth[8] to the twentieth centuries, and Muslim countries have had similar laws from the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century up to and including the present day. Abbasid Baghdad, under the Caliph Al-Hadi (785–786 CE), punished homosexuality with death.
During the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of France and the City of Florence also instated the death penalty. In Florence, a young boy named Giovanni di Giovanni (1350–1365?) was castrated and burned between the thighs with a red-hot iron by court order under this law.[11][12] These punishments continued into the Renaissance, and spread to the Swiss canton of Zürich. Knight Richard von Hohenberg (died 1482) was burned at the stake together with his lover, his young squire, during this time. In France, French writer Jacques Chausson (1618–1661) was also burned alive for attempting to seduce the son of a nobleman.
In England, the Buggery Act of 1534 made sodomy and bestiality punishable by death. This act was replaced in 1828, but sodomy remained punishable by death under the new act until 1861. The last executions were in 1835.
In Nazi Germany, homosexuals were among the groups targeted by the Holocaust (See Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust). (In 1936, the homosexual Federico García Lorca was executed by right-wing rebels who became Franco's dictatorship in Spain, Hitler's ally.) Modern allies in Neonazis generally oppose homosexuality to the extent of supporting a renewed persecution the way it took place in Nazi Germany. Being homosexual is equated with being unmasculine and the German word ″Schwul″ ('gay') is used by German Neonazis as a curse word.[13]
Contemporary[edit]
Main article: LGBT rights by country or territory

 

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Worldwide laws regarding homosexual
 relationships and expression
     Same-sex marriage      Restricted freedom of expression
     Other type of partnership or unregistered cohabitation      Unenforced penalty
     Marriage recognized but not performed      Imprisonment
     Marriage recognized federally but not performed      Up to life in prison
     Same-sex unions not recognized      Death penalty
Click on map to view an enlarged version where rings in various locations become visible. These indicate places with local and/or case-by-case applications of law.

 

Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni being prepared for execution by hanging, in Iran
As of May 2011, 75 countries criminalize consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex.[14] They are punishable by death in eight countries:
Brunei
Iran:[15] Since 1979, the government has executed more than 4,000 people charged with homosexual acts.[16]
Mauritania
Qatar
Saudi Arabia: Although the maximum punishment for homosexuality is execution, the government tends to use other punishments (fines, prison sentence, and whipping), unless it feels that homosexuals have challenged state authority by engaging in LGBT social movements.[17]
Sudan
Yemen
Parts of Nigeria and Somalia[14]
Countries where homosexual acts are criminalized but not punished by death, by region, include:[18]
Africa
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria (death penalty in some states), Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia (death penalty in some states), South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Gaza Strip under Palestinian Authority
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
Oceania
Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands[19]
Afghanistan, where such acts remain punishable with fines and a prison sentence, dropped the death penalty after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, who had mandated it from 1996. India criminalized homosexuality until June 2, 2009, when the High Court of Delhi declared section 377 of the Indian Penal Code invalid.[19] India has reinstated its ban on homosexuality on December 11, 2013, making it a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment up to a life time.
Jamaica has some of the toughest sodomy laws in the world, with homosexual activity carrying a 10-year jail sentence.[20][20][21][22]
International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemn laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime.[23][24] Since 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also ruled that such laws violated the right to privacy guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[25][26][27]
See also: Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni
Criminal assault[edit]
Main articles: gay bashing and trans bashing
Further information: List of unlawfully killed transgender people
Even in countries where homosexuality is legal (most countries outside of Africa and the Middle East), there are reports of homosexual people being targeted with bullying or physical assault or even homicide.


Further information: Homophobic violence in Brazil
According to the Grupo Gay da Bahia, Brazil's oldest gay rights NGO, the rate of murders of homosexuals in Brazil is particularly high, with a reported 3,196 cases over the 30-year period of 1980 to 2009 (or about 0.7 cases per 100,000 population per annum).[28] Brazilian gay group Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) reported 190 documented alleged homophobic murders in Brazil in 2008, accounting for about 0.5% of intentional homicides in Brazil (homicide rate 22 per 100,000 population as of 2008). 64% of the victims were gay men, 32% were transvestites, and 4% were lesbians.[29] By comparison, the FBI reported five homophobic murders in the United States during 2008, corresponding to 0.03% of intentional homicides (homicide rate 5.4 per 100,000 population as of 2008). Homophobic murders in Brazil are sometimes referred to as homocausto or "homocaust", a portmanteau of homosexual and holocaust.
The numbers produced by the Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) have occasionally been contested on the grounds that they include all murders of LGBT people reported in the media — that is, not only those motivated by bias against homosexuals. Reinaldo de Azevedo, columnist of the right-wing Veja magazine, Brazil's most read weekly publication, called the GGB's methodology "unscientific" based on the above objection: that they make no distinction between murders motivated by bias and those that were not.[30] On the high level of murders of transsexuals, he suggested transsexuals' allegedly high involvement with the drug trade may expose them to higher levels of violence as compared to non-transgender homosexuals and heterosexuals. A Brazilian gay blog has investigated a sample of 30 murders of gay people reported on the media in 2009 — including some of those used by the GGB in its national statistic report. It determined that the "large majority" of them were committed by the homosexual partners of the victims or those who were otherwise in a relationship with them (e.g., male prostitutes), with some others being killed due to unpaid debts with gangs involved in drug trafficking.[31]
In many parts of the world, including much of the European Union and United States, acts of violence are legally classified as hate crimes, which entail harsher sentences if convicted. In some countries, this form of legislation extends to verbal abuse as well as physical violence.
Violent hate crimes against LGBT people tend to be especially brutal, even compared to other hate crimes: "an intense rage is present in nearly all homicide cases involving gay male victims". It is rare for a victim to just be shot; he is more likely to be stabbed multiple times, mutilated, and strangled. "They frequently involved torture, cutting, mutilation... showing the absolute intent to rub out the human being because of his (sexual) preference".[32] In a particularly brutal case in the United States, on March 14, 2007, in Wahneta, Florida, 25-year-old Ryan Keith Skipper was found dead from 20 stab wounds and a slit throat. His body had been dumped on a dark, rural road less than 2 miles from his home. His two alleged attackers, William David Brown, Jr., 20, and Joseph Eli Bearden, 21, were indicted for robbery and first-degree murder. Highlighting their malice and contempt for the victim, the accused killers allegedly drove around in Skipper's blood-soaked car and bragged of killing him. According to a sheriff's department affidavit, one of the men stated that Skipper was targeted because "he was a faggot."[33]
In Canada in 2008, police-reported data found that approximately 10% of all hate crimes in the country were motivated by sexual orientation. Of these, 56% were of a violent nature. In comparison, 38% of all racially motivated offenses were of a violent nature.[33]
In the same year in the United States, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, though 4,704 crimes were committed due to racial bias and 1,617 were committed due to sexual orientation, only one murder and one forcible rape were committed due to racial bias, whereas five murders and six rapes were committed based on sexual orientation.[34] In Northern Ireland in 2008, 160 homophobic incidents and 7 transphobic incidents were reported. Of those incidents, 68.4% were violent crimes; significantly higher than for any other bias category. By contrast, 37.4% of racially motivated crimes were of a violent nature.[33]
Legislation against homophobic hate crimes[edit]

Ambox current red.svg
 This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2013)
In the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, twelve have legislation specifically designed for bias based on sexual orientation (as opposed to generic anti-discrimination legislation) to be counted as aggravating circumstance in the commission of a crime.[citation needed]
The United States does not have federal legislation marking sexual orientation as criteria for hate crimes, but several states, including the District of Columbia, enforce harsher penalties for crimes where real or perceived sexual orientation may have been a motivator. Among these 12 countries as well, only the United States has criminal law that specifically mentions gender identity, and even then only in 11 states and the District of Colombia.[33] In November 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted 79-70 to remove "sexual orientation" from the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, a list of unjustified reasons for executions, replacing it with "discriminatory reasons on any basis".[35] The resolution specifically mentions a large number of groups, including race, religion, linguistic differences, refugees, street children and indigenous peoples.[36]
Legal and police response to these types of hate crimes is hard to gauge, however. Lack of reporting by authorities on the statistics of these crimes and under-reporting by the victims themselves are factors for this difficulty.[33] Often a victim will not report a crime as it will shed unwelcome light on their orientation and invite more victimization.[37]
Alleged judicative bias[edit]
Further information: Gay Panic Defense and Provocation (legal)
Legal defenses like the Gay Panic Defense allow for more lenient punishments for people accused of beating, torturing, or killing homosexuals because of their orientation. These arguments posit that the attacker was so enraged by their victim's advances as to cause temporary insanity, leaving them unable to stop themselves or tell right from wrong. In these cases, if the loss of faculties is proven, or sympathized to the jury, an initially severe sentence may be significantly reduced. In several common law countries, the mitigatory defense of provocation has been used in violent attacks against LGBT persons, which has led several Australian states and territories to modify their legislation, in order to prevent or reduce the using of this legal defense in cases of violent responses to non-violent homosexual advances.



"It's pretty disturbing that somebody that [kills] a person in cold blood gets out very quickly…."
Spencer Herbert, New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly[37]
There have been several highly publicized cases where people convicted of violence against LGBT people have received shorter sentences. One such case is that of Kenneth Brewer. On 30 September 1997, he met Stephen Bright at a local gay bar. He bought the younger man drinks and they later went back to Brewer's apartment. While there, Brewer made a sexual advance toward Bright, and Bright beat him to death. Bright was initially charged with second-degree murder, but he was eventually convicted of third-degree assault and was sentenced to one year in prison.[38][39] Cases like Bright's are not isolated. In 2001, Aaron Webster was beaten to death by a group of youths armed with baseball bats and a pool cue while hanging around an area of Stanley Park frequented by gay men. Ryan Cran was convicted of manslaughter in the case in 2004 and released on parole in 2009 after serving only 4 years of his six-year sentence.[37] Two youths were tried under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act and sentenced to three years after pleading guilty. A fourth assailant was acquitted.[37]
Judges are not immune to letting their own prejudices affect their judgment either. In 1988, Texas Judge Jack Hampton gave a man 30 years for killing two gay men, instead of the life sentence requested by the prosecutor. After handing down his judgment, he said: "I don't much care for queers cruising the streets picking up teenage boys ...[I] put prostitutes and gays at about the same level ... and I'd be hard put to give somebody life for killing a prostitute."[38]
In 1987, a Florida judge trying a case concerning the beating to death of a gay man asked the prosecutor, "That's a crime now, to beat up a homosexual?" The prosecutor responded, "Yes, sir. And it's also a crime to kill them." "Times have really changed," the judge replied. The judge, Daniel Futch, maintained that he was joking, but was removed from the case.[32][38]
Attacks on gay pride parades[edit]
LGBT Pride Parades often attract violence because of their public nature. Though many countries where such events take place attempt to provide police protection to participants, some would prefer that the parades not happen, and police either ignore or encourage violent protesters. The country of Moldova has shown particular contempt to marchers, shutting down official requests to hold parades and allowing protesters to intimidate and harm any who try to march anyway. In 2007, after being denied a request to hold a parade, a small group of LGBT people tried to hold a small gathering. They were surrounded by a group twice their size who shouted derogatory things at them and pelted them with eggs. The gathering proceeded even so, and they tried to lay flowers at the Monument to the Victims of Repression. They were denied the opportunity, however, by a large group of police claiming they needed permission from city hall.[33]
The following year, a parade was again attempted. A bus carried approximately 60 participants to the capital, but before they could disembark, an angry crowd surrounded the bus. They shouted things like "let's get them out and beat them up," and "beat them to death, don't let them escape" at the frightened passengers. The mob told the activists that if they wanted to leave the bus unharmed, they would have to destroy all of their pride materials. The passengers complied and the march was called off. All the while, police stood passively about 100 meters away, taking no action even though passengers claimed at least nine emergency calls were made to police while on the bus.[33][40][41]



"No one needs lesbians, no one will ever get you out of here."
Moscow police to women arrested at a demonstration[33]
Russia's officials are similarly adverse to Pride Parades. Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov has repeatedly banned marches, calling them "satanic".[42] Pride participants instead tried to peacefully assemble and deliver a petition to city hall regarding the right of assembly and freedom of expression. They were met by skinheads and other protesters, and police who had closed off the square and immediately arrested activists as they entered. As some were being arrested, other participants were attacked by protesters. Police did nothing. Around eleven women and two men were arrested and left in the heat, denied medical attention, and verbally abused by police officers. The officers told the women, "No one needs lesbians, no one will ever get you out of here." When participants were released from custody hours later, they were pelted by eggs and shouted at by protesters who had been waiting.[33][43]
Hungary, on the other hand, has tried to afford the best protection they can to marchers, but cannot stem the flow of violence. In 2008, hundreds of people participated in the Budapest Dignity March. Police, on alert due to attacks on two LGBT-affiliated businesses earlier in the week, erected high metal barriers on either side of the street the march was to take place on. Hundreds of angry protesters threw petrol bombs and rocks at police in retaliation. A police van was set on fire and two police officers were injured in the attacks. During the parade itself, protesters threw Molotov cocktails, eggs and firecrackers at marchers. At least eight participants were injured.[44] Forty-five people were detained in connection with the attacks, and observers called the spectacle "the worst violence during the dozen years the Gay Pride Parade has taken place in Budapest."[33][45]
Advocacy in song lyrics[edit]

 

Buju Banton, a Jamaican musician, performing in 2007.
As a result of the strong anti-homosexual culture in Jamaica, many reggae and dancehall artists, such as Buju Banton, Elephant Man, Sizzla, have published song lyrics advocating violence against homosexuals. Similarly, hip-hop music occasionally includes aggressively homophobic lyrics,[46] but has since appeared to reform.
Banton wrote a song when he was 15 years old that became a hit when he released it years later in 1992 called "Boom Bye Bye". The song is about violently murdering homosexuals and "advocated the shooting of gay men, pouring acid on them and burning them alive."[21] A song by Elephant Man proclaims: "When you hear a lesbian getting raped/It's not our fault ... Two women in bed/That's two sodomites who should be dead."[20]
Due to the violent, homophobic nature of some of their songs, several reggae artists have been investigated by police for promoting anti-gay violence. Some lyrics have been investigated by Scotland Yard, and Sizzla was barred from entering the United Kingdom in 2004 while being investigated for promoting murder through his music.[21][47]
Gay rights advocates have started the group Stop Murder Music to combat the promotion of hate and violence by artists. The group organized protests, causing some venues to refuse to allow the targeted artists to perform, and the loss of sponsors. In 2007, Stop Murder Music introduced the Reggae Compassionate Act, which states that "the artists promise not to produce music or make public statements inciting hatred against gay people. Neither can they authorise the re-release of previous homophobic songs." Several artists have signed the Act, including Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton,[21] but have later denied making any commitment to stop promoting homophobia.[20][48]
During the 1980s, North America's skinhead scene saw the development of viciously anti-gay music and the advocacy of anti-gay violence. This occurred with the ascendancy of neo-Nazi pop culture and racist hate-rock.
The lyrics to the song, "Tooling for Anus", by 80s Detroit hardcore band, The Meatmen, explicitly states "I'm not a fag and I'll never be, afraid to hit the can to take a pee, afraid some sissy'll grab my ass, I'll stick his face with broken glass" [49]
Today, fans of the Meatmen try to play down their legendary anti-gay activity, saying that it was all, purportedly, meant as a "joke".[50]
Michael Jackman, writer for Detroit's "Metro Times," did an interview with Meatmen singer Tesco Vee, who said that the song's origins dated to the late 1970s and early 1980s in Detroit, when hardcore punk bands, unable to get booked in bars and in a city lacking all-ages clubs, would do "punk nights" at gay men's bars, creating what Vee called a "worlds collide" sort of thing.[51]
However, Vee's story is belied by the fact that the band not only promoted hatred against gay men, but more aggressively against lesbians. The lyrics to the Meatmen's song "Lesbian Death Dirge" read, "Twisted women in a line. Emotionally traumatized, Mom and pop think you're slime, We'll steamroll you. You'll eat our poop. Look at those tracks, I'm gonna drive my motorcycle up those saggy glad bags, get your sh*t together, sucking a good stiff will do you good" [52] Despite all this, as well as the fact that Tesco Vee had performed a song called "Morrissey Must Die" about the Smiths' self-identified asexual frontman and referred to him as a "fag," they later contributed a cover of the song "How Soon Is Now?" on a Smiths tribute album.
Motivations[edit]
Main article: Homophobia
Macho culture and social homophobia[edit]


 This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2013)
The vast majority of homophobic criminal assault is perpetrated by male aggressors on male victims, and is connected to aggressive heterosexual machismo or male chauvinism. Theorists including Calvin Thomas and Judith Butler have suggested that homophobia can be rooted in an individual's fear of being identified as gay. Homophobia in men is correlated with insecurity about masculinity.[46][53][54] For this reason, allegedly homophobia is rampant in sports, and in the subculture of its supporters, that are considered stereotypically "male", such as football and rugby.[55]
These theorists have argued that a person who expresses homophobia does so not only to communicate their beliefs about the class of gay people, but also to distance themselves from this class and its social status. Thus, by distancing themselves from gay people, they are reaffirming their role as a heterosexual in a heteronormative culture, thereby attempting to prevent themselves from being labeled and treated as a gay person.
Various psychoanalytic theories explain homophobia as a threat to an individual's own same-sex impulses, whether those impulses are imminent or merely hypothetical. This threat causes repression, denial or reaction formation.[56]
Religious[edit]
See also: Religion and homosexuality and Religion and sexuality
Religious texts[edit]
Some verses of the Bible are often interpreted as forbidding homosexual relations.

And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
—Leviticus 20:13

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
—Leviticus 18:22
The above verses are the cause of tension between the devout of the Abrahamic religions and members of the LGBT community. It is viewed by many as an outright condemnation of homosexual acts between men, and, more commonly in ancient times than today, justification for violence.
In Religion Dispatches magazine, Candace Chellew-Hodge argues that the six or so verses that are often cited to condemn LGBT people are referring instead to "abusive sex." She states that the Bible has no condemnation for "loving, committed, gay and lesbian relationships" and that Jesus was silent on the subject.[57]
Christianity[edit]
See also: Christianity and homosexuality
In today's society, most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that same sex relationships and homosexual sex are sinful.[58][59] These denominations include the Roman Catholic Church,[59][60] the Eastern Orthodox church,[61] the Methodist Church,[58][62][63][64] and many other mainline denominations, such as the Reformed Church in America[65] and the American Baptist Church,[66] as well as Conservative Evangelical organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical Alliance,[67] and the Southern Baptist Convention.[68][69][70] Likewise, Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God,[71] as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovah's Witnesses and LDS Church, also take the position that homosexual activity is immoral.[72][73]
Some Christian groups advocate conversion therapy and promote ex-gay groups. One such group, Exodus International, argued that conversion therapy may be a useful tool for decreasing same-sex desires,[74] and, while former affiliates of Exodus continue with such views, Exodus has since repudiated the organization's mission [75] and apologised for the pain and hurt and promoting "sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents."[76][77] The medical and scientific consensus in the United States is that conversion therapy is likely harmful and should be avoided because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide.[78][79][80] There is a broad concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy itself causes social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about sexual orientation and the ability of gay, lesbian and bisexual people to lead happy, healthy lives.[78] This promotion of the idea that homosexuality is immoral and can be corrected may make would-be attackers of homosexuals feel justified in that they are "doing God's work" by ridding the world of LGBT people.[81]
Pope Benedict XVI, then the leader of the Roman Catholic Church stoked this sentiment as well, when he stated that "protecting" humanity from homosexuality was just as important as saving the world from climate change and that all relationships beyond traditional heterosexual ones are a "destruction of God's work".[81] Further, a Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".[81] While the Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction itself is not sinful, homosexual acts are "acts of grave depravity". Homosexual congregation members are to be accepted and not discriminated against, but are asked to remain celibate.[82]
Evangelicals in Africa sometimes use religion to justify violence against LGBT people and criminalizing homosexual behavior. Archbishops Peter Akinola of Nigeria and Henry Orombi of Uganda would not condemn violence against gays and lesbians when questioned on the issue at the Global Anglican Future Conference.[83] Mark Russell, Chief Executive of Church Army, expressed outrage over their resistance, stating "Quite honestly [refusal to condemn violence against gay people in their home countries] is disgraceful, it sullies their cause, and is totally un-Christian. You cannot justify violence in God's name. Period. [...] Those who perpetrate violence against gay people in Africa now can use this silence to justify their behaviour. Christians must speak up and say this is wrong."[83]
Islam[edit]
See also: Islam and homosexuality
The Qur'an, the book of Islam, cites the story of the "people of Lot" (also known as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah), destroyed by the wrath of Allah because they engaged in lustful carnal acts between men.
Scholars of Islam, such as Shaykh al-Islām Imam Malik, and Imam Shafi amongst others, ruled that Islam disallowed homosexuality and ordained capital punishment for a person guilty of it.[84]
The legal punishment for sodomy has varied among juristic schools: some prescribe capital punishment; while other prescribe a milder discretionary punishment. Homosexual activity is a crime and forbidden in most Muslim-majority countries. In some relatively secular Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia,[85] Jordan and Turkey, this is not the case.
The Qur'an, much like the Bible and Torah, has a vague condemnation of homosexuality and how it should be dealt with, leaving it open to interpretation. For this reason, Islamic jurists have turned to the collections of the hadith (sayings of Muhammad) and akhbar (accounts of his life). These, on the other hand, are perfectly clear and particularly harsh.[86] Ibn al-Jawzi[disambiguation needed] records Muhammad as cursing sodomites in several hadith, and recommending the death penalty for both the active and passive partners in same-sex acts.[87]
Sunan al-Tirmidhi again reports Muhammad as having prescribed the death penalty for both the active and the passive partner: "Whoever you find committing the sin of the people of Lot, kill them, both the one who does it and the one to whom it is done."[84] The overall moral or theological principle is that a person who performs such actions challenges the harmony of God's creation, and is therefore a revolt against God.[88]
Some imams still preach their views, stating that homosexuals and "women who act like men" should be executed under the Islamic law. Abu Usamah at Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham defended his words to followers by saying "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?"[89] Other leaders decry this sort of preaching.
Other contemporary Islamic views are that the ″crime of homosexuality is one of the greatest of crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds″.[90]
Judaism[edit]
See also: Judaism and homosexuality
In Judaism, the death penalty has not been used in practice for more than 2000 years, though many movements still view homosexual acts as sinful. Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is disagreement about which acts come under core prohibitions, all of Orthodox Judaism puts certain core homosexual acts, including male-male anal sex in the category of yehareg ve'al ya'avor—"die rather than transgress"—the small category of Biblically-prohibited acts (also including murder, idolatry, adultery, and incest) which an Orthodox Jew is obligated under the laws of Self-sacrifice under Jewish Law to die rather than do.
See also[edit]


Anti-LGBT slogans
Bash Back!
Biphobia
Brandon Teena
Corrective rape
Gay bashing
Gay panic defense
Genderism
Hate speech
Hate crime
Heterosexism
History of violence against LGBT people in the United Kingdom
History of violence against LGBT people in the United States

Homocaust
Homelessness among LGBT Youth in the United States
Lesbophobia
List of unlawfully killed transgender people
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Il Rosa Nudo (Naked Rose), a film by Giovanni Coda based on Pierre Seel's autobiography.
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References[edit]


 Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (January 2012)
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6.Jump up ^ Ibid, 468
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8.^ Jump up to: a b c (Theodosian Code 9.7.6): All persons who have the shameful custom of condemning a man's body, acting the part of a woman's to the sufferance of alien sex (for they appear not to be different from women), shall expiate a crime of this kind in avenging flames in the sight of the people.
9.Jump up ^ Theodosian Code 9.8.3: "When a man marries and is about to offer himself to men in womanly fashion (quum vir nubit in feminam viris porrecturam), what does he wish, when sex has lost all its significance; when the crime is one which it is not profitable to know; when Venus is changed to another form; when love is sought and not found? We order the statutes to arise, the laws to be armed with an avenging sword, that those infamous persons who are now, or who hereafter may be, guilty may be subjected to exquisite punishment.
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30.Jump up ^ UM VERMELHO-E-AZUL PARA DISSECAR UMA NOTÍCIA. OU COMO LER UMA FARSA ESTATÍSTICA. OU AINDA: TODO BRASILEIRO MERECE SER GAY (in Portuguese). Veja. 2009. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
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42.Jump up ^ Ireland, Doug (May 17, 2007). "Moscow Pride Banned Again". UK Gay News.
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57.Jump up ^ Religion Dispatches magazine, Candace Chellew-Hodge
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59.^ Jump up to: a b Excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
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76.Jump up ^ Snow, Justin (June 20, 2013). "'Ex-gay' ministry apologizes to LGBT community, shuts down". MetroWeekly. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
77.Jump up ^ Newcomb, Alyssa (June 20, 2013). "Exodus International: 'Gay Cure' Group Leader Shutting Down Ministry After Change of Heart". ABC News. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
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82.Jump up ^ "Vatican U.N. delegation calls for end to unjust discrimination against homosexuals". Catholic News Agency. December 19, 2008.
83.^ Jump up to: a b "Evangelical leader criticises failure to condemn violence against gays". Ekklesia. June 26, 2008.
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87.Jump up ^ Wafer, Jim (1997). Muhammad and Male Homosexuality. New York University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8147-7468-7. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
88.Jump up ^ Dynes, Wayne (1990). Encyclopaedia of Homosexuality. New York.
89.Jump up ^ Grew, Tony (September 1, 2008). "Violence against gays preached in British mosques claims new documentary". Pink News.
90.Jump up ^ The punishment for homosexuality
 Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 38622
External links[edit]
Barry Yeoman, Murder on the Mountain, Out Magazine
Gay Bashings In Schools- A survey released in 2006 shows that gay teens still experience homophobic attacks in their schools
Pictures from Belgrade (Serbian) Pride Parade 30 June 2001
Abuse is Not a Form of Love


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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people can face violence motivated by hateful attitudes towards their sexuality or gender identity.[1] Violence may be executed by the state, as in laws prescribing corporal punishment for homosexual acts (see homosexuality laws), or by individuals engaging in intimidation, mobbing, assault, or lynching (see gay bashing, trans bashing). Violence targeted at people because of their perceived sexuality can be psychological or physical and can extend to murder. These actions may be motivated by homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and may be influenced by cultural, religious, or political mores and biases.
Currently, homosexual acts are legal in almost all Western countries, and in many of these countries violence against LGBT people is classified as a hate crime,[2] with such violence being often connected with conservative or religious leaning ideologies which condemn homosexuality, or being perpetrated by individuals who associate homosexuality to being weak, ill, feminine, or immoral. Outside the West, many countries, particularly those where the dominant religion is Islam, but also many countries in the Commonwealth (e.g. Uganda, Nigeria, Malaysia and Jamaica), most African (excluding South Africa) and some Asian countries (excluding Japan and Taiwan), and some former-Communist countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, such as Russia and Serbia, are currently very dangerous for LGBT people because of discrimination against homosexuals which influences both discriminatory legislation and physical violence.[3]
In Europe, the European Union's Employment Equality Framework Directive and Charter of Fundamental Rights offer some protection against sexuality-based discrimination.
Historically, state-sanctioned persecution of homosexuals was mostly limited to male homosexuality, termed "sodomy". During the medieval and early modern period, the penalty for sodomy was usually death. During the modern period (from the 19th century to the mid-20th century) in the Western world, the penalty was usually a fine or imprisonment.
As of 2009, there remain under 80 countries worldwide where homosexual acts remain illegal (notably throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and in most of Africa, but also in some of the Caribbean and Oceania) including five that carry the death penalty.[4]


Contents  [hide]
1 State-sanctioned violence 1.1 Historic 1.1.1 The Middle East
1.1.2 Europe
1.2 Contemporary
2 Criminal assault 2.1 Legislation against homophobic hate crimes
2.2 Alleged judicative bias
2.3 Attacks on gay pride parades
2.4 Advocacy in song lyrics
3 Motivations 3.1 Macho culture and social homophobia
3.2 Religious 3.2.1 Religious texts
3.2.2 Christianity
3.2.3 Islam
3.2.4 Judaism

4 See also
5 References
6 External links

State-sanctioned violence[edit]
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Historic[edit]

 

 The knight von Hohenberg and his squire, being burned at the stake for sodomy, Zurich 1482 (Zurich Central Library)
The Middle East[edit]
An early law against sexual intercourse between men is recorded in Leviticus by the Hebrew people, prescribing the death penalty. A violent law regarding homosexual rape is prescribed in the Middle Assyrian Law Codes (1075 BCE), stating: "If a man lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into a eunuch". This misinterpreted code doesn't condemn homosexuality;[5] it describes a situation where a man has forced sex upon another person, who then has the option of bringing a charge against him. The perpetrator is punished while the victim is not, therefore the crime is homosexual rape.[6]
In the account given in Tacitus Germania, the death penalty was reserved for two kinds of capital offenses: military treason or desertion was punished by hanging, and moral infamy (cowardice and homosexuality: ignavos et imbelles at corpore infames); Gordon translates corpore infames as "unnatural prostitutes"; Tacitus refers to male homosexuality, see David F. Greenberg, The construction of homosexuality, p. 242 f. Scholarship compares the later Germanic concept of Old Norse argr, Langobardic arga, which combines the meanings "effeminate, cowardly, homosexual", see Jaan Puhvel, 'Who were the Hittite hurkilas pesnes?' in: A. Etter (eds.), O-o-pe-ro-si (FS Risch), Walter de Gruyter, 1986, p. 154.
Europe[edit]
In Republican Rome, the poorly attested Lex Scantinia penalized an adult male for committing a sex crime (stuprum) against an underage male citizen (ingenuus). It is unclear whether the penalty was death or a fine. The law may also have been used to prosecute adult male citizens who willingly took a pathic role in same-sex acts, but prosecutions are rarely recorded and the provisions of the law are vague; as John Boswell has noted, "if there was a law against homosexual relations, no one in Cicero's day knew anything about it."[7] When the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, all male homosexual activity was increasingly repressed, often on pain of death.[8] In 342 CE, the Christian emperors Constantius and Constans declared same-sex marriage to be illegal.[9] Shortly after, in the year 390 CE, emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I and Arcadius declared homosexual sex to be illegal and those who were guilty of it were condemned to be publicly burned alive.[8] Emperor Justinian I (527–565 CE) made homosexuals a scapegoat for problems such as "famines, earthquakes, and pestilences."[10]
Laws and codes prohibiting homosexual practice were in force in Europe from the fourth[8] to the twentieth centuries, and Muslim countries have had similar laws from the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century up to and including the present day. Abbasid Baghdad, under the Caliph Al-Hadi (785–786 CE), punished homosexuality with death.
During the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of France and the City of Florence also instated the death penalty. In Florence, a young boy named Giovanni di Giovanni (1350–1365?) was castrated and burned between the thighs with a red-hot iron by court order under this law.[11][12] These punishments continued into the Renaissance, and spread to the Swiss canton of Zürich. Knight Richard von Hohenberg (died 1482) was burned at the stake together with his lover, his young squire, during this time. In France, French writer Jacques Chausson (1618–1661) was also burned alive for attempting to seduce the son of a nobleman.
In England, the Buggery Act of 1534 made sodomy and bestiality punishable by death. This act was replaced in 1828, but sodomy remained punishable by death under the new act until 1861. The last executions were in 1835.
In Nazi Germany, homosexuals were among the groups targeted by the Holocaust (See Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust). (In 1936, the homosexual Federico García Lorca was executed by right-wing rebels who became Franco's dictatorship in Spain, Hitler's ally.) Modern allies in Neonazis generally oppose homosexuality to the extent of supporting a renewed persecution the way it took place in Nazi Germany. Being homosexual is equated with being unmasculine and the German word ″Schwul″ ('gay') is used by German Neonazis as a curse word.[13]
Contemporary[edit]
Main article: LGBT rights by country or territory

 

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Worldwide laws regarding homosexual
 relationships and expression
     Same-sex marriage      Restricted freedom of expression
     Other type of partnership or unregistered cohabitation      Unenforced penalty
     Marriage recognized but not performed      Imprisonment
     Marriage recognized federally but not performed      Up to life in prison
     Same-sex unions not recognized      Death penalty
Click on map to view an enlarged version where rings in various locations become visible. These indicate places with local and/or case-by-case applications of law.

 

Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni being prepared for execution by hanging, in Iran
As of May 2011, 75 countries criminalize consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex.[14] They are punishable by death in eight countries:
Brunei
Iran:[15] Since 1979, the government has executed more than 4,000 people charged with homosexual acts.[16]
Mauritania
Qatar
Saudi Arabia: Although the maximum punishment for homosexuality is execution, the government tends to use other punishments (fines, prison sentence, and whipping), unless it feels that homosexuals have challenged state authority by engaging in LGBT social movements.[17]
Sudan
Yemen
Parts of Nigeria and Somalia[14]
Countries where homosexual acts are criminalized but not punished by death, by region, include:[18]
Africa
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria (death penalty in some states), Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia (death penalty in some states), South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Gaza Strip under Palestinian Authority
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
Oceania
Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands[19]
Afghanistan, where such acts remain punishable with fines and a prison sentence, dropped the death penalty after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, who had mandated it from 1996. India criminalized homosexuality until June 2, 2009, when the High Court of Delhi declared section 377 of the Indian Penal Code invalid.[19] India has reinstated its ban on homosexuality on December 11, 2013, making it a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment up to a life time.
Jamaica has some of the toughest sodomy laws in the world, with homosexual activity carrying a 10-year jail sentence.[20][20][21][22]
International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemn laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime.[23][24] Since 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also ruled that such laws violated the right to privacy guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[25][26][27]
See also: Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni
Criminal assault[edit]
Main articles: gay bashing and trans bashing
Further information: List of unlawfully killed transgender people
Even in countries where homosexuality is legal (most countries outside of Africa and the Middle East), there are reports of homosexual people being targeted with bullying or physical assault or even homicide.


Further information: Homophobic violence in Brazil
According to the Grupo Gay da Bahia, Brazil's oldest gay rights NGO, the rate of murders of homosexuals in Brazil is particularly high, with a reported 3,196 cases over the 30-year period of 1980 to 2009 (or about 0.7 cases per 100,000 population per annum).[28] Brazilian gay group Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) reported 190 documented alleged homophobic murders in Brazil in 2008, accounting for about 0.5% of intentional homicides in Brazil (homicide rate 22 per 100,000 population as of 2008). 64% of the victims were gay men, 32% were transvestites, and 4% were lesbians.[29] By comparison, the FBI reported five homophobic murders in the United States during 2008, corresponding to 0.03% of intentional homicides (homicide rate 5.4 per 100,000 population as of 2008). Homophobic murders in Brazil are sometimes referred to as homocausto or "homocaust", a portmanteau of homosexual and holocaust.
The numbers produced by the Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) have occasionally been contested on the grounds that they include all murders of LGBT people reported in the media — that is, not only those motivated by bias against homosexuals. Reinaldo de Azevedo, columnist of the right-wing Veja magazine, Brazil's most read weekly publication, called the GGB's methodology "unscientific" based on the above objection: that they make no distinction between murders motivated by bias and those that were not.[30] On the high level of murders of transsexuals, he suggested transsexuals' allegedly high involvement with the drug trade may expose them to higher levels of violence as compared to non-transgender homosexuals and heterosexuals. A Brazilian gay blog has investigated a sample of 30 murders of gay people reported on the media in 2009 — including some of those used by the GGB in its national statistic report. It determined that the "large majority" of them were committed by the homosexual partners of the victims or those who were otherwise in a relationship with them (e.g., male prostitutes), with some others being killed due to unpaid debts with gangs involved in drug trafficking.[31]
In many parts of the world, including much of the European Union and United States, acts of violence are legally classified as hate crimes, which entail harsher sentences if convicted. In some countries, this form of legislation extends to verbal abuse as well as physical violence.
Violent hate crimes against LGBT people tend to be especially brutal, even compared to other hate crimes: "an intense rage is present in nearly all homicide cases involving gay male victims". It is rare for a victim to just be shot; he is more likely to be stabbed multiple times, mutilated, and strangled. "They frequently involved torture, cutting, mutilation... showing the absolute intent to rub out the human being because of his (sexual) preference".[32] In a particularly brutal case in the United States, on March 14, 2007, in Wahneta, Florida, 25-year-old Ryan Keith Skipper was found dead from 20 stab wounds and a slit throat. His body had been dumped on a dark, rural road less than 2 miles from his home. His two alleged attackers, William David Brown, Jr., 20, and Joseph Eli Bearden, 21, were indicted for robbery and first-degree murder. Highlighting their malice and contempt for the victim, the accused killers allegedly drove around in Skipper's blood-soaked car and bragged of killing him. According to a sheriff's department affidavit, one of the men stated that Skipper was targeted because "he was a faggot."[33]
In Canada in 2008, police-reported data found that approximately 10% of all hate crimes in the country were motivated by sexual orientation. Of these, 56% were of a violent nature. In comparison, 38% of all racially motivated offenses were of a violent nature.[33]
In the same year in the United States, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, though 4,704 crimes were committed due to racial bias and 1,617 were committed due to sexual orientation, only one murder and one forcible rape were committed due to racial bias, whereas five murders and six rapes were committed based on sexual orientation.[34] In Northern Ireland in 2008, 160 homophobic incidents and 7 transphobic incidents were reported. Of those incidents, 68.4% were violent crimes; significantly higher than for any other bias category. By contrast, 37.4% of racially motivated crimes were of a violent nature.[33]
Legislation against homophobic hate crimes[edit]

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In the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, twelve have legislation specifically designed for bias based on sexual orientation (as opposed to generic anti-discrimination legislation) to be counted as aggravating circumstance in the commission of a crime.[citation needed]
The United States does not have federal legislation marking sexual orientation as criteria for hate crimes, but several states, including the District of Columbia, enforce harsher penalties for crimes where real or perceived sexual orientation may have been a motivator. Among these 12 countries as well, only the United States has criminal law that specifically mentions gender identity, and even then only in 11 states and the District of Colombia.[33] In November 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted 79-70 to remove "sexual orientation" from the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, a list of unjustified reasons for executions, replacing it with "discriminatory reasons on any basis".[35] The resolution specifically mentions a large number of groups, including race, religion, linguistic differences, refugees, street children and indigenous peoples.[36]
Legal and police response to these types of hate crimes is hard to gauge, however. Lack of reporting by authorities on the statistics of these crimes and under-reporting by the victims themselves are factors for this difficulty.[33] Often a victim will not report a crime as it will shed unwelcome light on their orientation and invite more victimization.[37]
Alleged judicative bias[edit]
Further information: Gay Panic Defense and Provocation (legal)
Legal defenses like the Gay Panic Defense allow for more lenient punishments for people accused of beating, torturing, or killing homosexuals because of their orientation. These arguments posit that the attacker was so enraged by their victim's advances as to cause temporary insanity, leaving them unable to stop themselves or tell right from wrong. In these cases, if the loss of faculties is proven, or sympathized to the jury, an initially severe sentence may be significantly reduced. In several common law countries, the mitigatory defense of provocation has been used in violent attacks against LGBT persons, which has led several Australian states and territories to modify their legislation, in order to prevent or reduce the using of this legal defense in cases of violent responses to non-violent homosexual advances.



"It's pretty disturbing that somebody that [kills] a person in cold blood gets out very quickly…."
Spencer Herbert, New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly[37]
There have been several highly publicized cases where people convicted of violence against LGBT people have received shorter sentences. One such case is that of Kenneth Brewer. On 30 September 1997, he met Stephen Bright at a local gay bar. He bought the younger man drinks and they later went back to Brewer's apartment. While there, Brewer made a sexual advance toward Bright, and Bright beat him to death. Bright was initially charged with second-degree murder, but he was eventually convicted of third-degree assault and was sentenced to one year in prison.[38][39] Cases like Bright's are not isolated. In 2001, Aaron Webster was beaten to death by a group of youths armed with baseball bats and a pool cue while hanging around an area of Stanley Park frequented by gay men. Ryan Cran was convicted of manslaughter in the case in 2004 and released on parole in 2009 after serving only 4 years of his six-year sentence.[37] Two youths were tried under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act and sentenced to three years after pleading guilty. A fourth assailant was acquitted.[37]
Judges are not immune to letting their own prejudices affect their judgment either. In 1988, Texas Judge Jack Hampton gave a man 30 years for killing two gay men, instead of the life sentence requested by the prosecutor. After handing down his judgment, he said: "I don't much care for queers cruising the streets picking up teenage boys ...[I] put prostitutes and gays at about the same level ... and I'd be hard put to give somebody life for killing a prostitute."[38]
In 1987, a Florida judge trying a case concerning the beating to death of a gay man asked the prosecutor, "That's a crime now, to beat up a homosexual?" The prosecutor responded, "Yes, sir. And it's also a crime to kill them." "Times have really changed," the judge replied. The judge, Daniel Futch, maintained that he was joking, but was removed from the case.[32][38]
Attacks on gay pride parades[edit]
LGBT Pride Parades often attract violence because of their public nature. Though many countries where such events take place attempt to provide police protection to participants, some would prefer that the parades not happen, and police either ignore or encourage violent protesters. The country of Moldova has shown particular contempt to marchers, shutting down official requests to hold parades and allowing protesters to intimidate and harm any who try to march anyway. In 2007, after being denied a request to hold a parade, a small group of LGBT people tried to hold a small gathering. They were surrounded by a group twice their size who shouted derogatory things at them and pelted them with eggs. The gathering proceeded even so, and they tried to lay flowers at the Monument to the Victims of Repression. They were denied the opportunity, however, by a large group of police claiming they needed permission from city hall.[33]
The following year, a parade was again attempted. A bus carried approximately 60 participants to the capital, but before they could disembark, an angry crowd surrounded the bus. They shouted things like "let's get them out and beat them up," and "beat them to death, don't let them escape" at the frightened passengers. The mob told the activists that if they wanted to leave the bus unharmed, they would have to destroy all of their pride materials. The passengers complied and the march was called off. All the while, police stood passively about 100 meters away, taking no action even though passengers claimed at least nine emergency calls were made to police while on the bus.[33][40][41]



"No one needs lesbians, no one will ever get you out of here."
Moscow police to women arrested at a demonstration[33]
Russia's officials are similarly adverse to Pride Parades. Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov has repeatedly banned marches, calling them "satanic".[42] Pride participants instead tried to peacefully assemble and deliver a petition to city hall regarding the right of assembly and freedom of expression. They were met by skinheads and other protesters, and police who had closed off the square and immediately arrested activists as they entered. As some were being arrested, other participants were attacked by protesters. Police did nothing. Around eleven women and two men were arrested and left in the heat, denied medical attention, and verbally abused by police officers. The officers told the women, "No one needs lesbians, no one will ever get you out of here." When participants were released from custody hours later, they were pelted by eggs and shouted at by protesters who had been waiting.[33][43]
Hungary, on the other hand, has tried to afford the best protection they can to marchers, but cannot stem the flow of violence. In 2008, hundreds of people participated in the Budapest Dignity March. Police, on alert due to attacks on two LGBT-affiliated businesses earlier in the week, erected high metal barriers on either side of the street the march was to take place on. Hundreds of angry protesters threw petrol bombs and rocks at police in retaliation. A police van was set on fire and two police officers were injured in the attacks. During the parade itself, protesters threw Molotov cocktails, eggs and firecrackers at marchers. At least eight participants were injured.[44] Forty-five people were detained in connection with the attacks, and observers called the spectacle "the worst violence during the dozen years the Gay Pride Parade has taken place in Budapest."[33][45]
Advocacy in song lyrics[edit]

 

Buju Banton, a Jamaican musician, performing in 2007.
As a result of the strong anti-homosexual culture in Jamaica, many reggae and dancehall artists, such as Buju Banton, Elephant Man, Sizzla, have published song lyrics advocating violence against homosexuals. Similarly, hip-hop music occasionally includes aggressively homophobic lyrics,[46] but has since appeared to reform.
Banton wrote a song when he was 15 years old that became a hit when he released it years later in 1992 called "Boom Bye Bye". The song is about violently murdering homosexuals and "advocated the shooting of gay men, pouring acid on them and burning them alive."[21] A song by Elephant Man proclaims: "When you hear a lesbian getting raped/It's not our fault ... Two women in bed/That's two sodomites who should be dead."[20]
Due to the violent, homophobic nature of some of their songs, several reggae artists have been investigated by police for promoting anti-gay violence. Some lyrics have been investigated by Scotland Yard, and Sizzla was barred from entering the United Kingdom in 2004 while being investigated for promoting murder through his music.[21][47]
Gay rights advocates have started the group Stop Murder Music to combat the promotion of hate and violence by artists. The group organized protests, causing some venues to refuse to allow the targeted artists to perform, and the loss of sponsors. In 2007, Stop Murder Music introduced the Reggae Compassionate Act, which states that "the artists promise not to produce music or make public statements inciting hatred against gay people. Neither can they authorise the re-release of previous homophobic songs." Several artists have signed the Act, including Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton,[21] but have later denied making any commitment to stop promoting homophobia.[20][48]
During the 1980s, North America's skinhead scene saw the development of viciously anti-gay music and the advocacy of anti-gay violence. This occurred with the ascendancy of neo-Nazi pop culture and racist hate-rock.
The lyrics to the song, "Tooling for Anus", by 80s Detroit hardcore band, The Meatmen, explicitly states "I'm not a fag and I'll never be, afraid to hit the can to take a pee, afraid some sissy'll grab my ass, I'll stick his face with broken glass" [49]
Today, fans of the Meatmen try to play down their legendary anti-gay activity, saying that it was all, purportedly, meant as a "joke".[50]
Michael Jackman, writer for Detroit's "Metro Times," did an interview with Meatmen singer Tesco Vee, who said that the song's origins dated to the late 1970s and early 1980s in Detroit, when hardcore punk bands, unable to get booked in bars and in a city lacking all-ages clubs, would do "punk nights" at gay men's bars, creating what Vee called a "worlds collide" sort of thing.[51]
However, Vee's story is belied by the fact that the band not only promoted hatred against gay men, but more aggressively against lesbians. The lyrics to the Meatmen's song "Lesbian Death Dirge" read, "Twisted women in a line. Emotionally traumatized, Mom and pop think you're slime, We'll steamroll you. You'll eat our poop. Look at those tracks, I'm gonna drive my motorcycle up those saggy glad bags, get your sh*t together, sucking a good stiff will do you good" [52] Despite all this, as well as the fact that Tesco Vee had performed a song called "Morrissey Must Die" about the Smiths' self-identified asexual frontman and referred to him as a "fag," they later contributed a cover of the song "How Soon Is Now?" on a Smiths tribute album.
Motivations[edit]
Main article: Homophobia
Macho culture and social homophobia[edit]


 This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2013)
The vast majority of homophobic criminal assault is perpetrated by male aggressors on male victims, and is connected to aggressive heterosexual machismo or male chauvinism. Theorists including Calvin Thomas and Judith Butler have suggested that homophobia can be rooted in an individual's fear of being identified as gay. Homophobia in men is correlated with insecurity about masculinity.[46][53][54] For this reason, allegedly homophobia is rampant in sports, and in the subculture of its supporters, that are considered stereotypically "male", such as football and rugby.[55]
These theorists have argued that a person who expresses homophobia does so not only to communicate their beliefs about the class of gay people, but also to distance themselves from this class and its social status. Thus, by distancing themselves from gay people, they are reaffirming their role as a heterosexual in a heteronormative culture, thereby attempting to prevent themselves from being labeled and treated as a gay person.
Various psychoanalytic theories explain homophobia as a threat to an individual's own same-sex impulses, whether those impulses are imminent or merely hypothetical. This threat causes repression, denial or reaction formation.[56]
Religious[edit]
See also: Religion and homosexuality and Religion and sexuality
Religious texts[edit]
Some verses of the Bible are often interpreted as forbidding homosexual relations.

And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
—Leviticus 20:13

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
—Leviticus 18:22
The above verses are the cause of tension between the devout of the Abrahamic religions and members of the LGBT community. It is viewed by many as an outright condemnation of homosexual acts between men, and, more commonly in ancient times than today, justification for violence.
In Religion Dispatches magazine, Candace Chellew-Hodge argues that the six or so verses that are often cited to condemn LGBT people are referring instead to "abusive sex." She states that the Bible has no condemnation for "loving, committed, gay and lesbian relationships" and that Jesus was silent on the subject.[57]
Christianity[edit]
See also: Christianity and homosexuality
In today's society, most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that same sex relationships and homosexual sex are sinful.[58][59] These denominations include the Roman Catholic Church,[59][60] the Eastern Orthodox church,[61] the Methodist Church,[58][62][63][64] and many other mainline denominations, such as the Reformed Church in America[65] and the American Baptist Church,[66] as well as Conservative Evangelical organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical Alliance,[67] and the Southern Baptist Convention.[68][69][70] Likewise, Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God,[71] as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovah's Witnesses and LDS Church, also take the position that homosexual activity is immoral.[72][73]
Some Christian groups advocate conversion therapy and promote ex-gay groups. One such group, Exodus International, argued that conversion therapy may be a useful tool for decreasing same-sex desires,[74] and, while former affiliates of Exodus continue with such views, Exodus has since repudiated the organization's mission [75] and apologised for the pain and hurt and promoting "sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents."[76][77] The medical and scientific consensus in the United States is that conversion therapy is likely harmful and should be avoided because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide.[78][79][80] There is a broad concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy itself causes social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about sexual orientation and the ability of gay, lesbian and bisexual people to lead happy, healthy lives.[78] This promotion of the idea that homosexuality is immoral and can be corrected may make would-be attackers of homosexuals feel justified in that they are "doing God's work" by ridding the world of LGBT people.[81]
Pope Benedict XVI, then the leader of the Roman Catholic Church stoked this sentiment as well, when he stated that "protecting" humanity from homosexuality was just as important as saving the world from climate change and that all relationships beyond traditional heterosexual ones are a "destruction of God's work".[81] Further, a Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".[81] While the Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction itself is not sinful, homosexual acts are "acts of grave depravity". Homosexual congregation members are to be accepted and not discriminated against, but are asked to remain celibate.[82]
Evangelicals in Africa sometimes use religion to justify violence against LGBT people and criminalizing homosexual behavior. Archbishops Peter Akinola of Nigeria and Henry Orombi of Uganda would not condemn violence against gays and lesbians when questioned on the issue at the Global Anglican Future Conference.[83] Mark Russell, Chief Executive of Church Army, expressed outrage over their resistance, stating "Quite honestly [refusal to condemn violence against gay people in their home countries] is disgraceful, it sullies their cause, and is totally un-Christian. You cannot justify violence in God's name. Period. [...] Those who perpetrate violence against gay people in Africa now can use this silence to justify their behaviour. Christians must speak up and say this is wrong."[83]
Islam[edit]
See also: Islam and homosexuality
The Qur'an, the book of Islam, cites the story of the "people of Lot" (also known as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah), destroyed by the wrath of Allah because they engaged in lustful carnal acts between men.
Scholars of Islam, such as Shaykh al-Islām Imam Malik, and Imam Shafi amongst others, ruled that Islam disallowed homosexuality and ordained capital punishment for a person guilty of it.[84]
The legal punishment for sodomy has varied among juristic schools: some prescribe capital punishment; while other prescribe a milder discretionary punishment. Homosexual activity is a crime and forbidden in most Muslim-majority countries. In some relatively secular Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia,[85] Jordan and Turkey, this is not the case.
The Qur'an, much like the Bible and Torah, has a vague condemnation of homosexuality and how it should be dealt with, leaving it open to interpretation. For this reason, Islamic jurists have turned to the collections of the hadith (sayings of Muhammad) and akhbar (accounts of his life). These, on the other hand, are perfectly clear and particularly harsh.[86] Ibn al-Jawzi[disambiguation needed] records Muhammad as cursing sodomites in several hadith, and recommending the death penalty for both the active and passive partners in same-sex acts.[87]
Sunan al-Tirmidhi again reports Muhammad as having prescribed the death penalty for both the active and the passive partner: "Whoever you find committing the sin of the people of Lot, kill them, both the one who does it and the one to whom it is done."[84] The overall moral or theological principle is that a person who performs such actions challenges the harmony of God's creation, and is therefore a revolt against God.[88]
Some imams still preach their views, stating that homosexuals and "women who act like men" should be executed under the Islamic law. Abu Usamah at Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham defended his words to followers by saying "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?"[89] Other leaders decry this sort of preaching.
Other contemporary Islamic views are that the ″crime of homosexuality is one of the greatest of crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds″.[90]
Judaism[edit]
See also: Judaism and homosexuality
In Judaism, the death penalty has not been used in practice for more than 2000 years, though many movements still view homosexual acts as sinful. Orthodox Judaism generally prohibits homosexual conduct. While there is disagreement about which acts come under core prohibitions, all of Orthodox Judaism puts certain core homosexual acts, including male-male anal sex in the category of yehareg ve'al ya'avor—"die rather than transgress"—the small category of Biblically-prohibited acts (also including murder, idolatry, adultery, and incest) which an Orthodox Jew is obligated under the laws of Self-sacrifice under Jewish Law to die rather than do.
See also[edit]


Anti-LGBT slogans
Bash Back!
Biphobia
Brandon Teena
Corrective rape
Gay bashing
Gay panic defense
Genderism
Hate speech
Hate crime
Heterosexism
History of violence against LGBT people in the United Kingdom
History of violence against LGBT people in the United States

Homocaust
Homelessness among LGBT Youth in the United States
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List of unlawfully killed transgender people
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Il Rosa Nudo (Naked Rose), a film by Giovanni Coda based on Pierre Seel's autobiography.
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References[edit]


 Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (January 2012)
1.Jump up ^ Meyer, Doug (December 2012). "An Intersectional Analysis of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People's Evaluations of Anti-Queer Violence". Gender & Society 26 (6): 849–873. doi:10.1177/0891243212461299.
2.Jump up ^ Stotzer, R.: Comparison of love Crime Rates Across Protected and Unprotected Groups, Williams Institute, 2007–06. Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
3.Jump up ^ Stewart, Chuck (2010). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-34231-8.
4.Jump up ^ "New Benefits for Same-Sex Couples May Be Hard to Implement Abroad". ABC News. June 22, 2009. 2009 Report on State Sponsored Homophobia (2009), published by The International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association.
5.Jump up ^ Pritchard, p. 181.
6.Jump up ^ Ibid, 468
7.Jump up ^ John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century (University of Chicago Press, 1980), pp. 63, 67–68, quotation on p. 69. See also Craig Williams, Roman Homosexuality: Ideologies of Masculinity in Classical Antiquity (Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 116; Eva Cantarella, Bisexuality in the Ancient World (Yale University Press, 1992), p. 106ff.; Thomas A.J. McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome (Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 140–141; Amy Richlin, The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor (Oxford University Press, 1983, 1992), pp. 86, 224; Jonathan Walters, "Invading the Roman Body," in Roman Sexualites (Princeton University Press, 1997), pp. 33–35, noting particularly the overly broad definition of the Lex Scantinia by Adolf Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (American Philosophical Society, 1953, reprinted 1991), pp. 559 and 719. Freeborn Roman men could engage in sex with males of lower status, such as prostitutes and slaves, without moral censure or losing their perceived masculinity, as long as they took the active, penetrating role; see Sexuality in ancient Rome.
8.^ Jump up to: a b c (Theodosian Code 9.7.6): All persons who have the shameful custom of condemning a man's body, acting the part of a woman's to the sufferance of alien sex (for they appear not to be different from women), shall expiate a crime of this kind in avenging flames in the sight of the people.
9.Jump up ^ Theodosian Code 9.8.3: "When a man marries and is about to offer himself to men in womanly fashion (quum vir nubit in feminam viris porrecturam), what does he wish, when sex has lost all its significance; when the crime is one which it is not profitable to know; when Venus is changed to another form; when love is sought and not found? We order the statutes to arise, the laws to be armed with an avenging sword, that those infamous persons who are now, or who hereafter may be, guilty may be subjected to exquisite punishment.
10.Jump up ^ Justinian Novels 77, 144; Michael Brinkschröde, "Christian Homophobia: Four Central Discourses," in Combatting Homophobia: Experiences and Analyses Pertinent to Education (LIT Verlag, 2011), p. 166.
11.Jump up ^ Rocke, Michael (1996). Forbidden Friendships, Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence. Oxford University Press. pp. 24, 227, 356, 360. ISBN 0-19-512292-5.
12.Jump up ^ Meyer, Michael J (2000). Literature and Homosexuality. Rodopi. p. 206. ISBN 90-420-0519-X.
13.Jump up ^ Schwule Nazis? Ein brisantes Thema für die rechtsextreme Szene
14.^ Jump up to: a b "ILGA publishes 2010 report on State sponsored homophobia throughout the world". International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. 2010.
15.Jump up ^ Kennedy, Dominic (November 13, 2007). "Gays Deserve Torture, Death Penalty, Iranian Minister Says". The Times.
16.Jump up ^ "Homosexuality and Religion".
17.Jump up ^ "Is Beheading Really the Punishment for Homosexuality in Saudi Arabia?".
18.Jump up ^ 2011 Report on State-sponsored Homophobia
19.^ Jump up to: a b Ottosson, Daniel (May 2010). "State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults" (PDF). International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.
20.^ Jump up to: a b c d "Jamaica: Homophobia and hate crime is rife". Belfast Telegraph. September 12, 2009.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c d Funkeson, Kristina (August 9, 2007). "Dancehall star signs Reggae Compassionate Act". Freemuse.
22.Jump up ^ Padgett, Tim (April 12, 2006). "The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?". Time Magazine.
23.Jump up ^ Love, Hate and the Law: Decriminalizing Homosexuality; Amnesty International (2008)
24.Jump up ^ Burundi: Repeal Law Criminalizing Homosexuality; Human Rights Watch (24th April 2009)
25.Jump up ^ "United Nations: General assembly to address sexual orientation and gender identity – Statement affirms promise of Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (Press release). Amnesty International. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
26.Jump up ^ "UN: General Assembly statement affirms rights for all" (PDF) (Press release). Amnesty International. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
27.Jump up ^ Pleming, Sue (18 March 2009). "In turnaround, U.S. signs U.N. gay rights document". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
28.Jump up ^ "Número de assassinatos de gays no país cresceu 62% desde 2007, mas tema fica fora da campanha - Jornal O Globo". Oglobo.globo.com. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
29.Jump up ^ Gay-Bashing Murders Up 55 Percent (ipsnews.net, 22 April 2009)
30.Jump up ^ UM VERMELHO-E-AZUL PARA DISSECAR UMA NOTÍCIA. OU COMO LER UMA FARSA ESTATÍSTICA. OU AINDA: TODO BRASILEIRO MERECE SER GAY (in Portuguese). Veja. 2009. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
31.Jump up ^ "Homophobic" crimes. (in Portuguese). GAYS DE DIREITA. 2010. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
32.^ Jump up to: a b Altschiller, Donald (2005). "Hate Crimes: a reference handbook". ABC-CLIO. pp. 26–28.
33.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Stahnke, Tad et al. (2008). "Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Bias: 2008 Hate Crime Survey" (PDF). Human Rights First.
34.Jump up ^ "Hate Crime Statistics: Offense Type by Bias Motivation". Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2008.
35.Jump up ^ Geen, Jessica (November 18, 2010). "UN deletes gay reference from anti-execution measures". Pink News.
36.Jump up ^ "U.N. panel cuts gay reference from violence measure". U.S. Daily. November 17, 2010.
37.^ Jump up to: a b c d "Gay community troubled by release of killer in Stanley Park death". CBC News. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
38.^ Jump up to: a b c Stryker, Jeff (23 October 1998). "Asking for it". Salon Magazine.
39.Jump up ^ Lee, Cynthia (2003). Murder and the Reasonable Man: Passion and Fear in the Criminal Courtroom. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5115-2.
40.Jump up ^ Taylor, Christian (May 12, 2008). "Gay Pride Parade Trapped on Bus". SameSame.
41.Jump up ^ 67 GenderDoc-M (May 11, 2008). "Moldovan Gay Pride Threatened, Cops Refuse Protection for Marchers".
42.Jump up ^ Ireland, Doug (May 17, 2007). "Moscow Pride Banned Again". UK Gay News.
43.Jump up ^ "We Have the Upper Hand: Freedom of assembly in Russia and the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people". Human Rights Watch and ILGA-Europe. June 2007.
44.Jump up ^ Peto, Sandor and Krisztina Than (July 6, 2008). "Anti-gay violence mars Hungarian parade". The Star Online.
45.Jump up ^ Bos, Stefan (July 6, 2008). "Violent Protests Disrupt Hungary's Gay Rights Parade". VOA News.
46.^ Jump up to: a b "Homophobia and Hip-Hop". PBS. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
47.Jump up ^ "Coalition seeks ejection of reggae stars over anti-gay lyrics". CBC News. September 25, 2007.
48.Jump up ^ Grew, Tony (October 9, 2008). "Immigration minister criticised for letting homophobic artist into Canada". Pink News.
49.Jump up ^ "The Meatmen - Tooling For Anus Lyrics". Lyricsmania.com. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
50.Jump up ^ Jackman, Michael. "Music: True Grit". Metro Times. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
51.Jump up ^ ibid
52.Jump up ^ "The Music Made Me Do It : The Meatmen : Lesbian Death Dirge : Lyrics". Musicmademe.com. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
53.Jump up ^ Nancy J. Chodorow. Statement in a public forum on homophobia by The American Psychoanalytic Foundation, 1999
54.Jump up ^ Masculinity Challenged, Men Prefer War and SUVs
55.Jump up ^ "Fans' culture hard to change"
56.Jump up ^ West, D.J. Homosexuality re-examined. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8166-0812-1
57.Jump up ^ Religion Dispatches magazine, Candace Chellew-Hodge
58.^ Jump up to: a b "Human Sexuality". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
59.^ Jump up to: a b Excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
60.Jump up ^ "Criteria for the Discernment of Vocation for Persons with Homosexual Tendencies".
61.Jump up ^ "On Marriage, Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctity of Life".
62.Jump up ^ "Stances of Faiths on LGBT Issues: African Methodist Episcopal Church". The Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
63.Jump up ^ "The Christian Life - Christian Conduct". Free Methodist Church. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
64.Jump up ^ "British Methodists reject blessing of same-sex relationships". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
65.Jump up ^ "Summaries of General Synod Discussions and Actions on Homosexuality and the Rights of Homosexuals". Reformed Church in America. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
66.Jump up ^ "We Are American Baptists". American Baptist Churches USA. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
67.Jump up ^ "Evangelical Alliance (UK): Faith, Hope and Homosexuality" (PDF).
68.Jump up ^ "Position Statements/Sexuality".
69.Jump up ^ "Statement on Homosexuality".
70.Jump up ^ "Position Paper on Homosexuality".
71.Jump up ^ "Homosexuality" (PDF).
72.Jump up ^ "Homosexuality—How Can I Avoid It?". Awake!: 28–30. February 2007.
73.Jump up ^ "Same-Gender Attraction". LDS Newsroom.
74.Jump up ^ "Exodus International Policy Statements". Exodus International. Retrieved 04-07-2007. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
75.Jump up ^ Tenety, Elizabeth, "Exodus International, criticized for ‘reparative therapies’ for gay Christians, to shut down", Washington Post, June 20, 2013. Included link to video of Chambers' talk at Exodus' website. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
76.Jump up ^ Snow, Justin (June 20, 2013). "'Ex-gay' ministry apologizes to LGBT community, shuts down". MetroWeekly. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
77.Jump up ^ Newcomb, Alyssa (June 20, 2013). "Exodus International: 'Gay Cure' Group Leader Shutting Down Ministry After Change of Heart". ABC News. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
78.^ Jump up to: a b "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel". American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, The Interfaith Alliance, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association. 1999. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
79.Jump up ^ H., K. (15 January 1999). "APA Maintains Reparative Therapy Not Effective". Psychiatric News (news division of the American Psychiatric Association). Retrieved 2007-08-28.
80.Jump up ^ Luo, Michael (12 February 2007). "Some Tormented by Homosexuality Look to a Controversial Therapy". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
81.^ Jump up to: a b c Naughton, Philippe (December 23, 2008). "Pope accused of stoking homophobia after he equates homosexuality to climate change". The Times.
82.Jump up ^ "Vatican U.N. delegation calls for end to unjust discrimination against homosexuals". Catholic News Agency. December 19, 2008.
83.^ Jump up to: a b "Evangelical leader criticises failure to condemn violence against gays". Ekklesia. June 26, 2008.
84.^ Jump up to: a b "Homosexuality and Lesbianism: Sexual Perversions". IslamOnline.
85.Jump up ^ Rough Guide to South East Asia: Third Edition. Rough Guides Ltd. August 2005. p. 74. ISBN 1-84353-437-1.
86.Jump up ^ Bosworth, Ed. C. and E. van Donzel (1983). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden.
87.Jump up ^ Wafer, Jim (1997). Muhammad and Male Homosexuality. New York University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8147-7468-7. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
88.Jump up ^ Dynes, Wayne (1990). Encyclopaedia of Homosexuality. New York.
89.Jump up ^ Grew, Tony (September 1, 2008). "Violence against gays preached in British mosques claims new documentary". Pink News.
90.Jump up ^ The punishment for homosexuality
 Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 38622
External links[edit]
Barry Yeoman, Murder on the Mountain, Out Magazine
Gay Bashings In Schools- A survey released in 2006 shows that gay teens still experience homophobic attacks in their schools
Pictures from Belgrade (Serbian) Pride Parade 30 June 2001
Abuse is Not a Form of Love


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Religion and homosexuality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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See also: LGBT and religion topics

 

Conservative Christian protesters at a 2006 San Francisco Pride event
The relationship between religion and homosexuality can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and denominations, and regarding different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. Present day doctrines of the world's major religions vary vastly generally and by denomination on attitudes toward these sexual orientations.
Among those denominations that generally are negative towards these orientations, there are many different types of actions they may take: this can range from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality, to execution. Religious fundamentalism has been found to correlate positively with anti-homosexual bias.[1] Many argue that it is homosexual actions which are sinful, rather than the state of being homosexual itself. Several organizations exist that assert that conversion therapy can help diminish same-sex attraction.
However, some adherents of many religions view the two sexual orientations positively, and some religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages and support LGBT rights, and the amount of those that do are continuously increasing around the world as much of the developed world enacts laws supporting LGBT rights.
Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered, same-sex love and sexuality;[2][3] such mythologies and traditions can be found around the world.[4] For example, Hinduism does not view homosexuality as a religious sin.[5] In 2009, the Hindu Council UK became one of the first major religious organizations to support LGBT rights when they issued a statement "Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality".[6]
Regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both sacred texts and tradition for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of translations and interpretations are continually disputed.


Contents  [hide]
1 Views of specific religious groups 1.1 Abrahamic religions 1.1.1 Judaism
1.1.2 Christianity 1.1.2.1 Catholic Church
1.1.2.2 Mormonism
1.1.3 Islam
1.1.4 Bahá'í Faith
1.2 Indian religions 1.2.1 Hinduism
1.2.2 Buddhism
1.2.3 Sikhism
1.3 Zoroastrianism
1.4 East Asian religions 1.4.1 Confucianism
1.4.2 Taoism
1.5 Paganism
1.6 Neopagan religion 1.6.1 Wicca
1.7 Satanism
1.8 Unitarian Universalism
1.9 Humanism
2 Queer religions 2.1 Radical Faeries
3 Religious groups and public policy
4 See also
5 General references
6 References
7 External links

Views of specific religious groups[edit]
Abrahamic religions[edit]
The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have traditionally forbidden sodomy, believing and teaching that such behavior is sinful.[7][8] Today some denominations within these religions are accepting of homosexuality and inclusive of homosexual people, such as Reform Judaism, the United Church of Christ and the Metropolitan Community Church. Some Presbyterian and Anglican churches welcome members regardless of same-sex sexual practices, with some provinces allowing for the ordination and inclusion of gay and lesbian clerics, and affirmation of same-sex unions. Reform Judaism incorporates lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex marriage liturgies, while Reconstructionist Judaism and Conservative Judaism in the USA allows for lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex unions.[9]
Judaism[edit]
Main article: LGBT topics and Judaism
The Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is the primary source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that: "[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is a תועבה toeba ("abomination")" (Leviticus 18:22). (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the death penalty, although in practice rabbinic Judaism no longer believes it has the authority to implement death penalties.)
Orthodox Judaism views homosexual acts as sinful. In recent years, there has been approaches claiming only the sexual anal act is forbidden and considered abomination by the Torah, while the sexual orientation and even other sexual activities are not considered a sin. Conservative Judaism has engaged in an in-depth study of homosexuality since the 1990s with various rabbis presenting a wide array of responsa (papers with legal arguments) for communal consideration. The official position of the movement is to welcome homosexual Jews into their synagogues, and also campaign against any discrimination in civil law and public society, but also to uphold a ban on anal sex as a religious requirement.
Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom view homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexuality. Progressive Jewish authorities believe either that traditional laws against homosexuality are no longer binding or that they are subject to changes that reflect a new understanding of human sexuality. Some of these authorities rely on modern biblical scholarship suggesting that the prohibition in the Torah was intended to ban coercive or ritualized homosexual sex, such as those practices ascribed to Egyptian and Canaanite fertility cults and temple prostitution.[citation needed][10]
Christianity[edit]
Main article: Christianity and homosexuality


 This article should include a summary of Homosexuality and Christianity. See Wikipedia:Summary style for information on how to incorporate it into this article's main text. (June 2010)
Christian denominations hold a variety of views on the issue of homosexual activity, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance. Most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that homosexual acts are sinful.[11][12] These denominations include the Roman Catholic Church,[13] the Eastern Orthodox church,[14] the United Methodist Church,[11][15][16][17] and some other mainline denominations, such as the Reformed Church in America[18] and the American Baptist Church,[19] as well as Conservative Evangelical organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical Alliance,[20] and fundamentalist groups and churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention.[21][22][23] Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God,[24] as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, also take the position that homosexual sexual activity is sinful.[25][26]

 

 Religious protest of homosexuality in San Francisco
Some liberal Christians are supportive of homosexuals. Other Christian denominations do not view monogamous same sex relationships as bad or evil. These include the United Church of Canada, the United Church of Christ,[27] the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. In particular, the Metropolitan Community Church, a denomination of 40,000 members, was founded specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community, and is devoted to being open and affirming to LGBT people. The United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists also condone gay marriage, and some parts of the Anglican and Lutheran churches allow for the blessing of gay unions. Within the Anglican communion there are openly gay clergy; for example, Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool are openly homosexual bishops in the US Episcopal Church and Eva Brunne in Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Episcopal Church's recent actions vis-a-vis homosexuality have brought about increased ethical debate and tension within the Church of England and worldwide Anglican churches.
Passages from the Old Testament have been interpreted to argue that homosexuals should be punished with death, and AIDS has been portrayed by some fundamentalist sects such as Fred Phelps and Jerry Falwell as a punishment by God against homosexuals.[28] In the 20th century, theologians like Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann, Hans Küng, John Robinson, Bishop David Jenkins, Don Cupitt, Bishop Jack Spong challenged traditional theological positions and understandings of the Bible; following these developments some have suggested that passages have been mistranslated, are taken out of context, or that they do not refer to what we understand as "homosexuality."[29][30]
Some Protestant churches condemn same-sex sexual relations, based on scripture texts such as describing a man lying with another man (Leviticus 18:22), or (Romans1:26-27) as sinful acts. Where the Catholic view is founded on a natural law argument informed by scripture and proposed by Thomas Aquinas,[31] the traditional conservative Protestant view is based on an interpretation of scripture alone. Protestant conservatives also see homosexual relationships as an impediment to heterosexual relationships. They interpret some Biblical passages to be commandments to be heterosexually married.[32] Catholics, on the other hand, have accommodated unmarried people as priests, monks, nuns and single lay people for over a thousand years. A number of self-described gay and 'ex-gay' Christians have reported satisfaction in mixed-orientation marriages.[33][34][35]
Catholic Church[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church insists that those who are attracted to people of the same sex as well as anyone who is not married practice chastity.[36] The Catholic Church does not regard homosexual activity as a perfect expression of the marital sacrament which it teaches is only possible within a lifelong commitment of a marriage between a man and a woman. According to the Church's sexual ethics, homosexual activity falls short in the areas complementarity (male and female organs complement each other) and fecundity (openness to new life) of the sexual act.
Mormonism[edit]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that no one should arouse sexual feelings outside of marriage, including those towards members of the same sex.[37] The LDS church recognizes that feelings of same-sex attraction may not change or be overcome in this earth life, and expect all un-married members, gay or straight, to abstain from any and all sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage.[38] The LDS church maintains that feelings and inclinations toward the same sex (i.e. homosexual feelings or "temptations") are not inherently sinful, but engaging in homosexual behavior is in conflict with the “doctrinal principle, based on sacred scripture … that marriage between a man and a woman is essential to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” [39] Those who experience same-sex attraction should continually exercise self-control and reliance on the atonement of Jesus Christ in order to refrain from acting on such feelings.[40][41] The LDS church strongly opposes same-sex marriage and teaches that marriage is only to be between a man and a woman, and that this is essential to God's eternal plan.[42] For more information on this subject, see the LDS Church's website “Love One Another: A Discussion on Same-Sex Attraction”.[43] This site strives to address, through interviews and videos from Church leaders and members, the issue of same-sex attraction as it relates to individuals and affected family members.
Islam[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Islam
“ "Do you approach males among the worlds And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing." ”
—Quran , Surah 26 (165-166), trans. Sahih International
 

 

Youth seeking his father's advice on choosing a lover
 From the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love; See Homosexuality and Islam; The Smithsonian, Washington, DC.
All major Islamic schools disapprove of homosexuality,[44] Islam views same-sex desires as an unnatural temptation; and, sexual relations are seen as a transgression of the natural role and aim of sexual activity.[45] Islamic teachings (in the hadith tradition) presume same-sex attraction, extol abstention and (in the Qur'an) condemn consummation.
The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. There are, however, a few hadith mentioning homosexual behavior in women; The fuqaha’ are agreed that "there is no hadd punishment for lesbianism, because it is not zina. Rather a ta’zeer punishment must be imposed, because it is a sin..'".[46] Although punishment for lesbianism is rarely mentioned in the histories, al-Tabari records an example of the casual execution of a pair of lesbian slavegirls in the harem of al-Hadi, in a collection of highly critical anecdotes pertaining to that Caliph's actions as ruler.[47]
Islam allows and promotes filial love between siblings of the same sex. However, sexual activities between them are totally prohibited. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Daud, Al-Mutamid, Abu Nuwas and many others used this edict to write extensively and openly of brotherly love between men while proclaiming to be chaste.[citation needed]
Bahá'í Faith[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í law limits permissible sexual relations to those between a man and a woman in marriage. Believers are expected to abstain from sex outside matrimony.[citation needed] Bahá'ís do not, however, attempt to impose their moral standards on those who have not accepted the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.[citation needed] While requiring uprightness in all matters of morality, whether sexual or otherwise, the Bahá’í teachings also take account of human frailty and call for tolerance and understanding in regard to human failings. In this context, to regard homosexuals with prejudice would be contrary to the spirit of the Bahá’í teachings.[citation needed]
Indian religions[edit]
Among the religions that originated in India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, teachings regarding homosexuality are less clear than among the Abrahamic traditions, and religious authorities voice diverse opinions. In 2005, an authority figure of Sikhism condemned same-sex marriage and the practice of homosexuality. However, many people in Sikhism aren't against gay marriage.[48] Hinduism is diverse, with no supreme governing body, but the majority of swamis opposed same-sex relationships in a 2004 survey, and a minority supported them.[49] Ancient religious texts such as the Vedas often refer to people of a third gender known as hijra, who are neither female nor male. Some see this third gender as an ancient parallel to modern western lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex identities. However, this third sex is usually negatively valued as a pariah class in ancient texts.



"“India’s pre-colonial traditional as well as various localized folk traditions have taken a far healthier attitudes in dealing with sex-education, that may surprise many people on both sides of the fence of sex-education who want to map Indian culture with dominant Victorian male value system. Various folk deities and traditions emphasize fluid nature of gender and mythologies have stories that reinforce this idea. So a child growing up will not have a strong shock value or guilt feeling in relating to one’s own sexuality or others as gender-variants. Devi Mahatmya and Mahabharata are two such examples. Koothandavartemple festival in Tamil Nadu is another example of local folk tradition organically linked to the pan-Indian culture in dealing positively with creating awareness for and empowering gender-variants. These cultural possibilities need to be taken up and explored to create democratic social space for gender-minorities.[50] Indian culture is originally abundant with legends and mythologies where heroes and heroines have chosen various genders without guilt and their choices have been accepted and respected. Ironically, today the western nations are progressive in researching and educating about gender and sexuality expressions, while India, despite of It's rich cultural heritage respecting and accepting gender variations and choices are lagging behind and even lacking that sensitivity.Hindu society had a clear cut idea of all these people in the past. Now that we have put them under one label ‘LGBT’, there is lot more confusion and other identities have got hidden."[51]
— Gopi Shankar Madurai in National Queer Conference 2013 organised by Sappho for Equality.
Hinduism[edit]
Main articles: Homosexuality and Hinduism and LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

 

 Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in the form of Ardhanarisvara (half-man, half-woman)
Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Referring to the nature of Samsara, the Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' (perversity/diversity is what nature is all about, or, what seems un-natural is also natural).[52] Sexuality is rarely discussed openly in the modern Hindu society, and LGBT issues are largely a taboo subject — especially among the strongly religious. A "third gender" has been acknowledged within Hinduism since Vedic times. Several Hindu texts, such as Manu Smriti[53] and Sushruta Samhita, assert that some people are born with either mixed male and female natures, or sexually neuter, as a matter of natural biology. They worked as hairdressers, flower-sellers, servants, masseurs and prostitutes. Today, many people of a "third gender" (hijras) live throughout India, mostly on the margins of society.
Several Hindu religious laws contain injunctions against homosexual activity, while some Hindu theories doesn't condemn lesbian relations and some third-gendered individuals were highly regarded. Hindu groups are historically not unifyed regarding the issue of homosexuality, each one having a distinct doctrinal view.[54][55][56]
The Indian Kama Sutra, written in the 150 BC,[57] contains passages describing eunuchs or "third-sex" males performing oral sex on men.[58][59] Similarly, some medieval Hindu temples and artifacts openly depict both male homosexuality and lesbianism within their carvings, such as the temple walls at Khajuraho. Some infer from these images that at least part of the Hindu society and religion were previously more open to variations in human sexuality than they are at present.
In some Hindu sects (specially among the hijras), many divinities are androgynous. There are Hindu deities who are intersex (both male and female); who manifest in all three genders; who switch from male to female or from female to male; male deities with female moods and female deities with male moods; deities born from two males or from two females; deities born from a single male or single female; deities who avoid the opposite sex; deities with principal companions of the same sex, and so on. However, this is not accepted by the majority of Hindus, and is often considered heretical in nature. Those who do accept it justify with the belief that both God and nature are unlimitedly diverse and God is difficult to comprehend.
Several Hindu priests have performed same-sex marriages, arguing that love is the result of attachments from previous births and that marriage, as a union of spirit, is transcendental to gender.[60][61]
On July 2012 Gopi Shankar, a Gender activist and a student from The American College in Madurai coined the regional terms for genderqueer people in Tamil, Gopi said apart from male and female, there are more than 20 types of genders, such as transwoman, transmen, androgynous, pangender, trigender,, etc., and ancient India refers it as Trithiya prakirthi. After English, Tamil is the only language that has been given names for all the genders identified so far.[62][63][64]
It's often regarded that Hinduism doesn't condemn homosexuality.[65]
Buddhism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Buddhism
The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path, one should neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct."[66] However, "sexual misconduct" is such a broad term, and is subjected to interpretation relative to the social norms of the followers. In fact, Buddhism in its earliest form did not clearly define sexuality rules for lay followers, restricting the subject mostly for monks. Therefore the determination of whether or not homosexuality is acceptable for a layperson is not considered a religious matter by many Buddhists.[67]
Buddhism is often characterized as distrustful of sensual enjoyment and sexuality in general.[68] Traditionally, homosexual conduct and gender variance are seen as obstacles to spiritual progress in most schools of Buddhism; as such monks are expected to refrain from all sexual activity, and the Vinaya (the first book of the Tripitaka) specifically prohibits sexual intercourse, then further explain that both anal, oral as well as vaginal intercourse amount to sexual intercourse, which will result in permanent exclusion from Sangha.[69] A notable exception in the history of Buddhism occurred in Japan during the Edo period, in which male homosexuality, or more specifically, love between young novices and older monks, was celebrated.[70]
References to pandaka, a deviant sex/gender category that is usually interpreted to include homosexual males, can be found throughout the Pali canon as well as other Sanskrit scriptures.[71] Leonard Zwilling refers extensively to Buddhaghosa's Samantapasadika, where pandaka are described as being filled with defiled passions and insatiable lusts, and are dominated by their libido. Some texts of the Abhidharma state that a pandaka cannot achieve enlightenment in their own lifetime, (but must wait for rebirth as a "normal" man or woman) and Asanga and Vasubandhu discussed if a pandaka was able to be enlightened or not. According to one scriptural story, Ananda—Buddha's cousin and disciple—was a pandaka in one of his many previous lives.
Some later classic Buddhist masters and texts (from both Theravada and Mahayana schools) disallow contact between Buddhists and pandakas and classify homosexuality as sexual misconduct, including for lay followers.[72][73][74][75][76][77]
The third of the Five Precepts of Buddhism states that one is to refrain from sexual misconduct; this precept has sometimes been interpreted to include homosexuality. The Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism interprets sexual misconduct to include lesbian and gay sex, and indeed any sex other than penis-vagina intercourse, including oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation or other sexual activity with the hand; the only time sex is acceptable is when it performed for its natural purpose of procreation.[78] When interviewed by Canadian TV news anchor Evan Solomon on CBC News: Sunday about whether or not homosexuality is acceptable in Buddhism, the Dalai Lama responded that "it is sexual misconduct."[79] This was an echo of an earlier response in a 2004 Vancouver Sun interview when asked about homosexuality in Buddhism, where the Dalai Lama replied "for a Buddhist, the same sex, that is sexual misconduct".[80] However, the Dalai Lama supports human rights for all, "regardless of sexual orientation."[81]
In Thailand, traditional accounts propose that "homosexuality arises as a karmic consequence of violating Buddhist proscriptions against heterosexual misconduct. These karmic accounts describe homosexuality as a congenital condition which cannot be altered, at least in a homosexual person's current lifetime, and have been linked with calls for compassion and understanding from the non-homosexual populace."[68] However, Buddhist leaders in Thailand have also condemned homosexuality,[82] ousted monks accused of homosexual acts, and banned kathoey from ordination. As per BBC article 27 April 2009, Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedh is very concerned by flamboyant behavior of gay and transgender novices such as the wearing of make-up and tight or revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows. Phra Vajiramedhi acknowledged that it was difficult to exclude them from the monkhood - so he introduced Thailand's & Buddhism's "good manners" curriculum - the country's first.
A later Popular Japanese legend attributed the introduction of monastic homosexuality to Japan to Shingon founder Kukai, although scholars now dismiss the veracity of this assertion, pointing out his strict adherence to the Vinaya.[83][84][85] Nonetheless, the legend served to "affirm same sex relation between men and boys in seventeenth century Japan."[85][86] However, Japanese Buddhist scholar and author of Wild Azaleas Kitamura Kigin argued that there was a tendency in monasteries to avoid heterosexuality and to encourage homosexuality.[87]
Although Mahayana Buddhism has texts opposing homosexuality, the majority of its teachings assert that all beings who correctly practice the dharma may reach enlightenment, since all possess an innate Buddha nature. Enlightenment being achievable even in a single life.[88][89]
The capacity of Buddhism to reform itself and its great variety of distinct beliefs and schools, provide many liberal streams of Buddhism, which are accepting of all sexual orientations. Reformist Buddhism is predominant in the west and in some eastern cosmopolitan cities.
Sikhism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Sikhism
Sikhism has no written view on the matter, but in 2005, a Sikh religious authority described homosexuality as "against the Sikh religion and the Sikh code of conduct and totally against the laws of nature," and called on Sikhs to support laws against gay marriage.[90] Many Sikhs are against this view, however,[91] and state that the Sikh Scriptures promote equality and do not condemn homosexuality.[92]
Marriage in Sikhism is seen as a union of souls. In Sikhism, the soul is seen as genderless, and the outward appearance of human beings (man, woman) is a temporary state. Same-sex marriage advocates refer to this fact.[93]
Zoroastrianism[edit]
“ The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is a man that is a Daeva [demon]; this man is a worshipper of the Daevas, a male paramour of the Daevas ”
—Vendidad
 
The Vendidad, one of the later Zoroastrian texts composed in the Artificial Young Avestan language, has not been dated precisely. It is thought that some concepts of law, uncleanliness, dualism, and salvation were shared between the religions,[94] and subsequent interactions between the religions are documented by events such as the release of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity by Zoroastrian Cyrus the Great in 537 BC, and the Biblical account of the Magi visiting the infant Jesus. The Vendidad generally promotes procreation: "the man who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none." It details the penance for a worshipper who submits to sodomy under force as "Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana." (equal to the penalty for breaking a contract with the value of an ox),[95] and declares that for those participating voluntarily "For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever". However, those not practicing the Religion of Mazda were pardoned for past actions upon conversion.[96]
However, many Zoroastrians, termed "reformists", eschew the teachings of the Vendidad as corruptions of Zoroaster's original message,[97] claiming the rules do not conform with 'Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds', and therefore have no spiritual significance. Hence, many of these reformist Zoroastrians are openly accepting and supportive of the LGBT community and same-sex marriage.
East Asian religions[edit]
Among the Taoic religions of East Asia, such as Taoism, passionate homosexual expression is usually discouraged because it is believed to not lead to human fulfillment.[98]
Confucianism[edit]
Confucianism, being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. However, the ideology did emphasize male friendships, and Louis Crompton has argued that the "closeness of the master-disciple bond it fostered may have subtly facilitated homosexuality".[99] Homosexuality is not mentioned in the Analects of Confucius.[100] "Biting the bitter peel", a euphemism for homosexual relations, generally taken to mean anal sex, is mentioned as having been practiced by several individuals in the Classic of History as well as the Spring and Autumn Annals,[citation needed] both texts belonging to the Five Classics.
Taoism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Taoism
There is no single official position on homosexuality in Taoism, as the term Taoism is used to describe a number of disparate religious traditions. In a similar way to Buddhism, Taoist schools sought throughout history to define what would be sexual misconduct. Consequently, the literature of some schools included homosexuality as one of the forms of sexual misconduct.[101][102] However, homosexuality is not unknown in Taoist history, such as during the Tang dynasty when Taoist nuns exchanged love poems.[103] Attitudes about homosexuality within Taoism often reflect the values and sexual norms of broader Chinese society (see Homosexuality in China).
Paganism[edit]
Main article: LGBT themes in mythology
Neopagan religion[edit]
Wicca[edit]
The Wiccan Charge of the Goddess, one of the most famous texts in Neopaganism, states in the words of the Goddess, "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals".[104] In traditional forms of Wicca, such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca, magic is often performed between a man and a woman, and the "Great Rite" is a sex ritual performed between a Priest and Priestess representing the God and Goddess;[105] however, this is not generally seen as excluding homosexuals or magic between same-sex couples. Most groups still insist, however, that initiations be conferred from man to woman or woman to man. Any ritual sexual acts, whether actual or symbolic, take place between two consenting adults, normally a couple who are already lovers. See also LGBT topics and Wicca.
Satanism[edit]
Satanism, in the LaVey tradition, is open to all forms of sexual expression, and does not preclude homosexuality.[106]
Unitarian Universalism[edit]
Main article: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
The first ordained minister of a major religious sect in the U.S. or Canada to come out as gay was the UU Minister James Stoll in 1969.[107] There have been UUA resolutions supporting people regardless of sexual orientation since 1970. Unitarian Universalism was the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy; in 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.[108][109][110]
The Unitarian Universalist Association supports the freedom to marry[111] and compares resistance to it to the resistance to abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the end of anti-miscegenation laws.[112] Several congregations have undertaken a series of organizational, procedural and practical steps to become acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation": a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender (GLBT) members. UU ministers perform same-sex unions and now same-sex marriages where legal (and sometimes when not, as a form of civil protest). On 29 June 1984, the Unitarian Universalists became the first major church "to approve religious blessings on homosexual unions." Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level. Gay men and lesbians are also regularly ordained as ministers, and a number of gay and lesbian ministers have, themselves, now become legally married to their partners. In May 2004, Arlington Street Church was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. The official stance of the UUA is for the legalization of same-sex marriage—"Standing on the Side of Love." In 2004 UU Minister Rev. Debra Haffner of The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing published An Open Letter on Religious Leaders on Marriage Equality to affirm same-sex marriage from a multi-faith perspective.
Humanism[edit]
Humanism is a lifestance that supports full equality for LGBTQ individuals [113][114] including the right to marry.[115][116] Humanism and Its Aspirations, a statement of humanist principles from the American Humanist Association, states that "humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views...work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature's integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner."[117] The American Humanist Association provides a LGBT Humanist Pride award [118] and has funded a LGBT-inclusive prom for Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Mississippi.[119] The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association from the U.K. promotes “an awareness and understanding of the Humanist ethical outlook, bringing lesbian and gay rights issues to the attention of the public, and playing a full part in the campaign for lesbian and gay equality,” [120] and in 2009 they gave Stephen Fry an award “for his services to humanism and gay rights.” [121] The Galha LGBT Humanists "is a United Kingdom-based not-for-profit that campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights and promotes Humanism as an ethical worldview."[122]
Queer religions[edit]
Radical Faeries[edit]
The Radical Faeries are a worldwide queer spiritual movement, founded in 1979 in the United States.
Religious groups and public policy[edit]
Opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBT rights is often associated with conservative religious views. The American Family Association and other religious groups have promoted boycotts of corporations whose policies support the LGBT community.
In conservative Islamic nations, laws generally prohibit same-sex sexual behaviour, and interpretation of Sharia Law on male homosexuality carries the death penalty. This has been condemned as a violation of human rights by human rights organisation Amnesty International and by the writers of the Yogyakarta principles. With the signature of the USA in 2009, the proposed UN declaration on LGBT rights has now been signed by every European secular state and all western nations, as well as other countries—67 members of the UN in total. An opposing statement put forward by Muslim nations was signed by 57 member states, mostly in Africa and Asia. 68 out of the total 192 countries have not yet signed either statement. In 2011 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution initiated by South Africa supporting LBGT rights (See Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the United Nations)
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Culture war
LGBT rights by country or territory
Religion and sexuality
The Bible and homosexuality
General references[edit]
John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century, University Of Chicago Press, 1st ed. 1980 ISBN 0-226-06710-6, paperback November 2005 ISBN 0-226-06711-4
Dane S. Claussen, ed. Sex, Religion, Media, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. ISBN 0-7425-1558-3
Dag Øistein Endsjø, Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths, Reaktion Books 2011. ISBN 978-1-86189-815-9
Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C., (2015). Clinicians’ perspectives of religious families’ and gay men’s negotiation of sexual orientation disclosure and prejudice, Journal of Homosexuality, 62(3), 394-426.
Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C. (2014). Family Members’ Uses of Religion in Post–Coming-Out Conflicts With Their Gay Relative. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 6(1), 33-43. doi: 10.1037/a0035198
Johnson, P. and Vanderbeck, R.M. (2014) Law, Religion and Homosexuality, Abingdon: Routledge.
Mathew Kuefler (editor), The Boswell Thesis : Essays on Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, University Of Chicago Press, November 2005 ISBN 0-226-45741-9
Macnutt, Francis (2006) "Can Homosexuality Be Healed?" publisher 'Chosen Books', ISBN 0-8007-9409-5
Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" NYU Press New York 1997
Arlene Swidler: Homosexuality and World Religions. Valley Forge 1993. ISBN 1-56338-051-X
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, 1st ed. 1999, paperback 2004 ISBN 1-57731-480-8
Wafer, Jim (1991) "The Taste of Blood: Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomblé" UPP Philadelphia
Wafer, Jim (1997) "Muhammad and Male Homosexuality" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York
Wafer, Jim (1997) "The Symbolism of Male Love in Islamic Mysthical Literature" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York 1997
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79.Jump up ^ The Huffington Post, 07/13/09, Gay Marriage: What Would Buddha Do?, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-shaheen/gay-marriage-what-would-b_b_230855.html
80.Jump up ^ LifeSiteNews, 11/02/07/, The Dalai Lama, Like the Pope, Says Gay Sex is “Sexual Misconduct”, http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2007/nov/07110208
81.Jump up ^ "The Buddhist religion and homosexuality". Religioustolerance.org.
82.Jump up ^ Ibid.
83.Jump up ^ Leupp, Gary (1995). Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan. p. 31
84.Jump up ^ Faure, Bernard (1998). The Red Thread: Buddhist approaches to sexuality p. 209
85.^ Jump up to: a b Schalow, Paul Gordon. "Kukai and the Tradition of Male Love in Japanese Buddhism," in Cabezon, Jose Ignacio, Ed., Buddhism, Sexuality & Gender, State University of New York. p. 215.
86.Jump up ^ West, Donald James; Green, Richard (1997). Sociolegal Control of Homosexuality: Multi-nation Comparison. Springer. p. 68. ISBN 0-306-45532-3. "According to one legend, homosexuality was introduced into Japan in the ninth century by Shingon Buddhist monk, Kukai"
87.Jump up ^ Kumagusu, Miinakata; Ihara Saikaku (1996). Stephen D. Miller, ed. Partings at Dawn: An Anthology of Japanese Gay Literature. trans. Paul Gordon Schalow (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-940567-18-0. "The Buddha preached that Mount Imose (a metaphor for the love of women) was a place to be avoided, and thus priests of the dharma first entered this way as an outlet for their feelings, since their hearts were, after all, made of neither stone nor wood."
88.Jump up ^ Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. 2008. pp. 152
89.Jump up ^ Reeves 2008, p. 5
90.Jump up ^ World Sikh group against gay marriage bill, CBC News, Tuesday, 29 March 2005.
91.Jump up ^ "Sikhism and same Sex Marriages". sarbat.net. p. 1. Archived from the original on 3 October 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2010. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
92.Jump up ^ Naad, Project (2/9/2010). "Sikhism, Yoga and Sexuality" (PDF). Project Naad. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
93.Jump up ^ Naad, Project (2/9/2010). "Sikhism, Yoga and Sexuality" (PDF). Project Naad. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
94.Jump up ^ "How Persia created Judaism:Zoroastrian Influences on Judaism and Christianity (Part II) - Zoroastrianism: Theology".
95.Jump up ^ "Avesta: Vendidad (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses".
96.Jump up ^ "Avesta: Vendidad: Fargard 8. Funerals and purification, unlawful sex".
97.Jump up ^ "VENDIDAD - The Law Against Demons".
98.Jump up ^ Wawrytko, Sandra (1993). Homosexuality and Chinese and Japanese Religions in "Homosexuality and World Religions", edited by Arlene Swidler. Trinity Press International, 1993.
99.Jump up ^ Crompton, Louis. Homosexuality and Civilization. Harvard University Press. p. 221
100.Jump up ^ Jeffrey S. Siker, Homosexuality and Religion: an encyclopedia. page 210. 2007. ISBN 0-313-33088-3
101.Jump up ^ The Ultra Supreme Elder Lord's Scripture of Precepts(太上老君戒經), in "The Orthodox Tao Store" (正統道藏).
102.Jump up ^ The Great Dictionary of Taoism (道教大辭典), by Chinese Taoism Association, published in China in 1994, ISBN 7-5080-0112-5/B.054
103.Jump up ^ Homosexuality in China on glbtq.com.
104.Jump up ^ "Alternative Sexuality". Tangled Moon Coven. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
105.Jump up ^ "Sex, Wicca and the Great Rite". The Blade & Chalice. Spring 1993 (3).
106.Jump up ^ LaVey, Anton Szandor (1969). The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon Books. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-380-01539-9. OCLC 26042819. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
107.Jump up ^ "My Greatly Human Hometown Minister--James Lewis Stoll, 1936-1994"
108.Jump up ^ http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml
109.Jump up ^ Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns
110.Jump up ^ "The Unitarian Universalist Association and Homosexuality".
111.Jump up ^ UUA.org
112.Jump up ^ UUSM - Services & Sermons
113.Jump up ^ [1]
114.Jump up ^ [2]
115.Jump up ^ [3]
116.Jump up ^ [4]
117.Jump up ^ [5]
118.Jump up ^ http://lgbthumanists.org/blog/aha-awards-greta-christina-lgbt-humanist-of-the-year-award/
119.Jump up ^ http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2010/05/second-chance-prom-in-mississippi-great-success-humanists-say/
120.Jump up ^ http://www.lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gay_and_Lesbian_Humanist_Association
121.Jump up ^ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/11/16/stephen-fry-wins-gay-humanist-award/
122.Jump up ^ Galha LGBT Humanists
External links[edit]
Religion and homosexuality at DMOZ


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_homosexuality









 



Religion and homosexuality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

See also: LGBT and religion topics

 

Conservative Christian protesters at a 2006 San Francisco Pride event
The relationship between religion and homosexuality can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and denominations, and regarding different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. Present day doctrines of the world's major religions vary vastly generally and by denomination on attitudes toward these sexual orientations.
Among those denominations that generally are negative towards these orientations, there are many different types of actions they may take: this can range from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality, to execution. Religious fundamentalism has been found to correlate positively with anti-homosexual bias.[1] Many argue that it is homosexual actions which are sinful, rather than the state of being homosexual itself. Several organizations exist that assert that conversion therapy can help diminish same-sex attraction.
However, some adherents of many religions view the two sexual orientations positively, and some religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages and support LGBT rights, and the amount of those that do are continuously increasing around the world as much of the developed world enacts laws supporting LGBT rights.
Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered, same-sex love and sexuality;[2][3] such mythologies and traditions can be found around the world.[4] For example, Hinduism does not view homosexuality as a religious sin.[5] In 2009, the Hindu Council UK became one of the first major religious organizations to support LGBT rights when they issued a statement "Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality".[6]
Regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both sacred texts and tradition for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of translations and interpretations are continually disputed.


Contents  [hide]
1 Views of specific religious groups 1.1 Abrahamic religions 1.1.1 Judaism
1.1.2 Christianity 1.1.2.1 Catholic Church
1.1.2.2 Mormonism
1.1.3 Islam
1.1.4 Bahá'í Faith
1.2 Indian religions 1.2.1 Hinduism
1.2.2 Buddhism
1.2.3 Sikhism
1.3 Zoroastrianism
1.4 East Asian religions 1.4.1 Confucianism
1.4.2 Taoism
1.5 Paganism
1.6 Neopagan religion 1.6.1 Wicca
1.7 Satanism
1.8 Unitarian Universalism
1.9 Humanism
2 Queer religions 2.1 Radical Faeries
3 Religious groups and public policy
4 See also
5 General references
6 References
7 External links

Views of specific religious groups[edit]
Abrahamic religions[edit]
The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have traditionally forbidden sodomy, believing and teaching that such behavior is sinful.[7][8] Today some denominations within these religions are accepting of homosexuality and inclusive of homosexual people, such as Reform Judaism, the United Church of Christ and the Metropolitan Community Church. Some Presbyterian and Anglican churches welcome members regardless of same-sex sexual practices, with some provinces allowing for the ordination and inclusion of gay and lesbian clerics, and affirmation of same-sex unions. Reform Judaism incorporates lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex marriage liturgies, while Reconstructionist Judaism and Conservative Judaism in the USA allows for lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex unions.[9]
Judaism[edit]
Main article: LGBT topics and Judaism
The Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is the primary source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that: "[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is a תועבה toeba ("abomination")" (Leviticus 18:22). (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the death penalty, although in practice rabbinic Judaism no longer believes it has the authority to implement death penalties.)
Orthodox Judaism views homosexual acts as sinful. In recent years, there has been approaches claiming only the sexual anal act is forbidden and considered abomination by the Torah, while the sexual orientation and even other sexual activities are not considered a sin. Conservative Judaism has engaged in an in-depth study of homosexuality since the 1990s with various rabbis presenting a wide array of responsa (papers with legal arguments) for communal consideration. The official position of the movement is to welcome homosexual Jews into their synagogues, and also campaign against any discrimination in civil law and public society, but also to uphold a ban on anal sex as a religious requirement.
Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom view homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexuality. Progressive Jewish authorities believe either that traditional laws against homosexuality are no longer binding or that they are subject to changes that reflect a new understanding of human sexuality. Some of these authorities rely on modern biblical scholarship suggesting that the prohibition in the Torah was intended to ban coercive or ritualized homosexual sex, such as those practices ascribed to Egyptian and Canaanite fertility cults and temple prostitution.[citation needed][10]
Christianity[edit]
Main article: Christianity and homosexuality


 This article should include a summary of Homosexuality and Christianity. See Wikipedia:Summary style for information on how to incorporate it into this article's main text. (June 2010)
Christian denominations hold a variety of views on the issue of homosexual activity, ranging from outright condemnation to complete acceptance. Most Christian denominations welcome people attracted to the same sex, but teach that homosexual acts are sinful.[11][12] These denominations include the Roman Catholic Church,[13] the Eastern Orthodox church,[14] the United Methodist Church,[11][15][16][17] and some other mainline denominations, such as the Reformed Church in America[18] and the American Baptist Church,[19] as well as Conservative Evangelical organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical Alliance,[20] and fundamentalist groups and churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention.[21][22][23] Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God,[24] as well as Restorationist churches, like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, also take the position that homosexual sexual activity is sinful.[25][26]

 

 Religious protest of homosexuality in San Francisco
Some liberal Christians are supportive of homosexuals. Other Christian denominations do not view monogamous same sex relationships as bad or evil. These include the United Church of Canada, the United Church of Christ,[27] the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. In particular, the Metropolitan Community Church, a denomination of 40,000 members, was founded specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community, and is devoted to being open and affirming to LGBT people. The United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists also condone gay marriage, and some parts of the Anglican and Lutheran churches allow for the blessing of gay unions. Within the Anglican communion there are openly gay clergy; for example, Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool are openly homosexual bishops in the US Episcopal Church and Eva Brunne in Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Episcopal Church's recent actions vis-a-vis homosexuality have brought about increased ethical debate and tension within the Church of England and worldwide Anglican churches.
Passages from the Old Testament have been interpreted to argue that homosexuals should be punished with death, and AIDS has been portrayed by some fundamentalist sects such as Fred Phelps and Jerry Falwell as a punishment by God against homosexuals.[28] In the 20th century, theologians like Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann, Hans Küng, John Robinson, Bishop David Jenkins, Don Cupitt, Bishop Jack Spong challenged traditional theological positions and understandings of the Bible; following these developments some have suggested that passages have been mistranslated, are taken out of context, or that they do not refer to what we understand as "homosexuality."[29][30]
Some Protestant churches condemn same-sex sexual relations, based on scripture texts such as describing a man lying with another man (Leviticus 18:22), or (Romans1:26-27) as sinful acts. Where the Catholic view is founded on a natural law argument informed by scripture and proposed by Thomas Aquinas,[31] the traditional conservative Protestant view is based on an interpretation of scripture alone. Protestant conservatives also see homosexual relationships as an impediment to heterosexual relationships. They interpret some Biblical passages to be commandments to be heterosexually married.[32] Catholics, on the other hand, have accommodated unmarried people as priests, monks, nuns and single lay people for over a thousand years. A number of self-described gay and 'ex-gay' Christians have reported satisfaction in mixed-orientation marriages.[33][34][35]
Catholic Church[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church insists that those who are attracted to people of the same sex as well as anyone who is not married practice chastity.[36] The Catholic Church does not regard homosexual activity as a perfect expression of the marital sacrament which it teaches is only possible within a lifelong commitment of a marriage between a man and a woman. According to the Church's sexual ethics, homosexual activity falls short in the areas complementarity (male and female organs complement each other) and fecundity (openness to new life) of the sexual act.
Mormonism[edit]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that no one should arouse sexual feelings outside of marriage, including those towards members of the same sex.[37] The LDS church recognizes that feelings of same-sex attraction may not change or be overcome in this earth life, and expect all un-married members, gay or straight, to abstain from any and all sexual relations outside of heterosexual marriage.[38] The LDS church maintains that feelings and inclinations toward the same sex (i.e. homosexual feelings or "temptations") are not inherently sinful, but engaging in homosexual behavior is in conflict with the “doctrinal principle, based on sacred scripture … that marriage between a man and a woman is essential to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” [39] Those who experience same-sex attraction should continually exercise self-control and reliance on the atonement of Jesus Christ in order to refrain from acting on such feelings.[40][41] The LDS church strongly opposes same-sex marriage and teaches that marriage is only to be between a man and a woman, and that this is essential to God's eternal plan.[42] For more information on this subject, see the LDS Church's website “Love One Another: A Discussion on Same-Sex Attraction”.[43] This site strives to address, through interviews and videos from Church leaders and members, the issue of same-sex attraction as it relates to individuals and affected family members.
Islam[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Islam
“ "Do you approach males among the worlds And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing." ”
—Quran , Surah 26 (165-166), trans. Sahih International
 

 

Youth seeking his father's advice on choosing a lover
 From the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love; See Homosexuality and Islam; The Smithsonian, Washington, DC.
All major Islamic schools disapprove of homosexuality,[44] Islam views same-sex desires as an unnatural temptation; and, sexual relations are seen as a transgression of the natural role and aim of sexual activity.[45] Islamic teachings (in the hadith tradition) presume same-sex attraction, extol abstention and (in the Qur'an) condemn consummation.
The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. There are, however, a few hadith mentioning homosexual behavior in women; The fuqaha’ are agreed that "there is no hadd punishment for lesbianism, because it is not zina. Rather a ta’zeer punishment must be imposed, because it is a sin..'".[46] Although punishment for lesbianism is rarely mentioned in the histories, al-Tabari records an example of the casual execution of a pair of lesbian slavegirls in the harem of al-Hadi, in a collection of highly critical anecdotes pertaining to that Caliph's actions as ruler.[47]
Islam allows and promotes filial love between siblings of the same sex. However, sexual activities between them are totally prohibited. Ibn Hazm, Ibn Daud, Al-Mutamid, Abu Nuwas and many others used this edict to write extensively and openly of brotherly love between men while proclaiming to be chaste.[citation needed]
Bahá'í Faith[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í law limits permissible sexual relations to those between a man and a woman in marriage. Believers are expected to abstain from sex outside matrimony.[citation needed] Bahá'ís do not, however, attempt to impose their moral standards on those who have not accepted the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.[citation needed] While requiring uprightness in all matters of morality, whether sexual or otherwise, the Bahá’í teachings also take account of human frailty and call for tolerance and understanding in regard to human failings. In this context, to regard homosexuals with prejudice would be contrary to the spirit of the Bahá’í teachings.[citation needed]
Indian religions[edit]
Among the religions that originated in India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, teachings regarding homosexuality are less clear than among the Abrahamic traditions, and religious authorities voice diverse opinions. In 2005, an authority figure of Sikhism condemned same-sex marriage and the practice of homosexuality. However, many people in Sikhism aren't against gay marriage.[48] Hinduism is diverse, with no supreme governing body, but the majority of swamis opposed same-sex relationships in a 2004 survey, and a minority supported them.[49] Ancient religious texts such as the Vedas often refer to people of a third gender known as hijra, who are neither female nor male. Some see this third gender as an ancient parallel to modern western lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex identities. However, this third sex is usually negatively valued as a pariah class in ancient texts.



"“India’s pre-colonial traditional as well as various localized folk traditions have taken a far healthier attitudes in dealing with sex-education, that may surprise many people on both sides of the fence of sex-education who want to map Indian culture with dominant Victorian male value system. Various folk deities and traditions emphasize fluid nature of gender and mythologies have stories that reinforce this idea. So a child growing up will not have a strong shock value or guilt feeling in relating to one’s own sexuality or others as gender-variants. Devi Mahatmya and Mahabharata are two such examples. Koothandavartemple festival in Tamil Nadu is another example of local folk tradition organically linked to the pan-Indian culture in dealing positively with creating awareness for and empowering gender-variants. These cultural possibilities need to be taken up and explored to create democratic social space for gender-minorities.[50] Indian culture is originally abundant with legends and mythologies where heroes and heroines have chosen various genders without guilt and their choices have been accepted and respected. Ironically, today the western nations are progressive in researching and educating about gender and sexuality expressions, while India, despite of It's rich cultural heritage respecting and accepting gender variations and choices are lagging behind and even lacking that sensitivity.Hindu society had a clear cut idea of all these people in the past. Now that we have put them under one label ‘LGBT’, there is lot more confusion and other identities have got hidden."[51]
— Gopi Shankar Madurai in National Queer Conference 2013 organised by Sappho for Equality.
Hinduism[edit]
Main articles: Homosexuality and Hinduism and LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

 

 Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in the form of Ardhanarisvara (half-man, half-woman)
Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Referring to the nature of Samsara, the Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' (perversity/diversity is what nature is all about, or, what seems un-natural is also natural).[52] Sexuality is rarely discussed openly in the modern Hindu society, and LGBT issues are largely a taboo subject — especially among the strongly religious. A "third gender" has been acknowledged within Hinduism since Vedic times. Several Hindu texts, such as Manu Smriti[53] and Sushruta Samhita, assert that some people are born with either mixed male and female natures, or sexually neuter, as a matter of natural biology. They worked as hairdressers, flower-sellers, servants, masseurs and prostitutes. Today, many people of a "third gender" (hijras) live throughout India, mostly on the margins of society.
Several Hindu religious laws contain injunctions against homosexual activity, while some Hindu theories doesn't condemn lesbian relations and some third-gendered individuals were highly regarded. Hindu groups are historically not unifyed regarding the issue of homosexuality, each one having a distinct doctrinal view.[54][55][56]
The Indian Kama Sutra, written in the 150 BC,[57] contains passages describing eunuchs or "third-sex" males performing oral sex on men.[58][59] Similarly, some medieval Hindu temples and artifacts openly depict both male homosexuality and lesbianism within their carvings, such as the temple walls at Khajuraho. Some infer from these images that at least part of the Hindu society and religion were previously more open to variations in human sexuality than they are at present.
In some Hindu sects (specially among the hijras), many divinities are androgynous. There are Hindu deities who are intersex (both male and female); who manifest in all three genders; who switch from male to female or from female to male; male deities with female moods and female deities with male moods; deities born from two males or from two females; deities born from a single male or single female; deities who avoid the opposite sex; deities with principal companions of the same sex, and so on. However, this is not accepted by the majority of Hindus, and is often considered heretical in nature. Those who do accept it justify with the belief that both God and nature are unlimitedly diverse and God is difficult to comprehend.
Several Hindu priests have performed same-sex marriages, arguing that love is the result of attachments from previous births and that marriage, as a union of spirit, is transcendental to gender.[60][61]
On July 2012 Gopi Shankar, a Gender activist and a student from The American College in Madurai coined the regional terms for genderqueer people in Tamil, Gopi said apart from male and female, there are more than 20 types of genders, such as transwoman, transmen, androgynous, pangender, trigender,, etc., and ancient India refers it as Trithiya prakirthi. After English, Tamil is the only language that has been given names for all the genders identified so far.[62][63][64]
It's often regarded that Hinduism doesn't condemn homosexuality.[65]
Buddhism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Buddhism
The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path, one should neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct."[66] However, "sexual misconduct" is such a broad term, and is subjected to interpretation relative to the social norms of the followers. In fact, Buddhism in its earliest form did not clearly define sexuality rules for lay followers, restricting the subject mostly for monks. Therefore the determination of whether or not homosexuality is acceptable for a layperson is not considered a religious matter by many Buddhists.[67]
Buddhism is often characterized as distrustful of sensual enjoyment and sexuality in general.[68] Traditionally, homosexual conduct and gender variance are seen as obstacles to spiritual progress in most schools of Buddhism; as such monks are expected to refrain from all sexual activity, and the Vinaya (the first book of the Tripitaka) specifically prohibits sexual intercourse, then further explain that both anal, oral as well as vaginal intercourse amount to sexual intercourse, which will result in permanent exclusion from Sangha.[69] A notable exception in the history of Buddhism occurred in Japan during the Edo period, in which male homosexuality, or more specifically, love between young novices and older monks, was celebrated.[70]
References to pandaka, a deviant sex/gender category that is usually interpreted to include homosexual males, can be found throughout the Pali canon as well as other Sanskrit scriptures.[71] Leonard Zwilling refers extensively to Buddhaghosa's Samantapasadika, where pandaka are described as being filled with defiled passions and insatiable lusts, and are dominated by their libido. Some texts of the Abhidharma state that a pandaka cannot achieve enlightenment in their own lifetime, (but must wait for rebirth as a "normal" man or woman) and Asanga and Vasubandhu discussed if a pandaka was able to be enlightened or not. According to one scriptural story, Ananda—Buddha's cousin and disciple—was a pandaka in one of his many previous lives.
Some later classic Buddhist masters and texts (from both Theravada and Mahayana schools) disallow contact between Buddhists and pandakas and classify homosexuality as sexual misconduct, including for lay followers.[72][73][74][75][76][77]
The third of the Five Precepts of Buddhism states that one is to refrain from sexual misconduct; this precept has sometimes been interpreted to include homosexuality. The Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism interprets sexual misconduct to include lesbian and gay sex, and indeed any sex other than penis-vagina intercourse, including oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation or other sexual activity with the hand; the only time sex is acceptable is when it performed for its natural purpose of procreation.[78] When interviewed by Canadian TV news anchor Evan Solomon on CBC News: Sunday about whether or not homosexuality is acceptable in Buddhism, the Dalai Lama responded that "it is sexual misconduct."[79] This was an echo of an earlier response in a 2004 Vancouver Sun interview when asked about homosexuality in Buddhism, where the Dalai Lama replied "for a Buddhist, the same sex, that is sexual misconduct".[80] However, the Dalai Lama supports human rights for all, "regardless of sexual orientation."[81]
In Thailand, traditional accounts propose that "homosexuality arises as a karmic consequence of violating Buddhist proscriptions against heterosexual misconduct. These karmic accounts describe homosexuality as a congenital condition which cannot be altered, at least in a homosexual person's current lifetime, and have been linked with calls for compassion and understanding from the non-homosexual populace."[68] However, Buddhist leaders in Thailand have also condemned homosexuality,[82] ousted monks accused of homosexual acts, and banned kathoey from ordination. As per BBC article 27 April 2009, Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedh is very concerned by flamboyant behavior of gay and transgender novices such as the wearing of make-up and tight or revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows. Phra Vajiramedhi acknowledged that it was difficult to exclude them from the monkhood - so he introduced Thailand's & Buddhism's "good manners" curriculum - the country's first.
A later Popular Japanese legend attributed the introduction of monastic homosexuality to Japan to Shingon founder Kukai, although scholars now dismiss the veracity of this assertion, pointing out his strict adherence to the Vinaya.[83][84][85] Nonetheless, the legend served to "affirm same sex relation between men and boys in seventeenth century Japan."[85][86] However, Japanese Buddhist scholar and author of Wild Azaleas Kitamura Kigin argued that there was a tendency in monasteries to avoid heterosexuality and to encourage homosexuality.[87]
Although Mahayana Buddhism has texts opposing homosexuality, the majority of its teachings assert that all beings who correctly practice the dharma may reach enlightenment, since all possess an innate Buddha nature. Enlightenment being achievable even in a single life.[88][89]
The capacity of Buddhism to reform itself and its great variety of distinct beliefs and schools, provide many liberal streams of Buddhism, which are accepting of all sexual orientations. Reformist Buddhism is predominant in the west and in some eastern cosmopolitan cities.
Sikhism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Sikhism
Sikhism has no written view on the matter, but in 2005, a Sikh religious authority described homosexuality as "against the Sikh religion and the Sikh code of conduct and totally against the laws of nature," and called on Sikhs to support laws against gay marriage.[90] Many Sikhs are against this view, however,[91] and state that the Sikh Scriptures promote equality and do not condemn homosexuality.[92]
Marriage in Sikhism is seen as a union of souls. In Sikhism, the soul is seen as genderless, and the outward appearance of human beings (man, woman) is a temporary state. Same-sex marriage advocates refer to this fact.[93]
Zoroastrianism[edit]
“ The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is a man that is a Daeva [demon]; this man is a worshipper of the Daevas, a male paramour of the Daevas ”
—Vendidad
 
The Vendidad, one of the later Zoroastrian texts composed in the Artificial Young Avestan language, has not been dated precisely. It is thought that some concepts of law, uncleanliness, dualism, and salvation were shared between the religions,[94] and subsequent interactions between the religions are documented by events such as the release of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity by Zoroastrian Cyrus the Great in 537 BC, and the Biblical account of the Magi visiting the infant Jesus. The Vendidad generally promotes procreation: "the man who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none." It details the penance for a worshipper who submits to sodomy under force as "Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana." (equal to the penalty for breaking a contract with the value of an ox),[95] and declares that for those participating voluntarily "For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever". However, those not practicing the Religion of Mazda were pardoned for past actions upon conversion.[96]
However, many Zoroastrians, termed "reformists", eschew the teachings of the Vendidad as corruptions of Zoroaster's original message,[97] claiming the rules do not conform with 'Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds', and therefore have no spiritual significance. Hence, many of these reformist Zoroastrians are openly accepting and supportive of the LGBT community and same-sex marriage.
East Asian religions[edit]
Among the Taoic religions of East Asia, such as Taoism, passionate homosexual expression is usually discouraged because it is believed to not lead to human fulfillment.[98]
Confucianism[edit]
Confucianism, being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. However, the ideology did emphasize male friendships, and Louis Crompton has argued that the "closeness of the master-disciple bond it fostered may have subtly facilitated homosexuality".[99] Homosexuality is not mentioned in the Analects of Confucius.[100] "Biting the bitter peel", a euphemism for homosexual relations, generally taken to mean anal sex, is mentioned as having been practiced by several individuals in the Classic of History as well as the Spring and Autumn Annals,[citation needed] both texts belonging to the Five Classics.
Taoism[edit]
Main article: Homosexuality and Taoism
There is no single official position on homosexuality in Taoism, as the term Taoism is used to describe a number of disparate religious traditions. In a similar way to Buddhism, Taoist schools sought throughout history to define what would be sexual misconduct. Consequently, the literature of some schools included homosexuality as one of the forms of sexual misconduct.[101][102] However, homosexuality is not unknown in Taoist history, such as during the Tang dynasty when Taoist nuns exchanged love poems.[103] Attitudes about homosexuality within Taoism often reflect the values and sexual norms of broader Chinese society (see Homosexuality in China).
Paganism[edit]
Main article: LGBT themes in mythology
Neopagan religion[edit]
Wicca[edit]
The Wiccan Charge of the Goddess, one of the most famous texts in Neopaganism, states in the words of the Goddess, "all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals".[104] In traditional forms of Wicca, such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca, magic is often performed between a man and a woman, and the "Great Rite" is a sex ritual performed between a Priest and Priestess representing the God and Goddess;[105] however, this is not generally seen as excluding homosexuals or magic between same-sex couples. Most groups still insist, however, that initiations be conferred from man to woman or woman to man. Any ritual sexual acts, whether actual or symbolic, take place between two consenting adults, normally a couple who are already lovers. See also LGBT topics and Wicca.
Satanism[edit]
Satanism, in the LaVey tradition, is open to all forms of sexual expression, and does not preclude homosexuality.[106]
Unitarian Universalism[edit]
Main article: Unitarian Universalism and LGBT topics
The first ordained minister of a major religious sect in the U.S. or Canada to come out as gay was the UU Minister James Stoll in 1969.[107] There have been UUA resolutions supporting people regardless of sexual orientation since 1970. Unitarian Universalism was the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy; in 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.[108][109][110]
The Unitarian Universalist Association supports the freedom to marry[111] and compares resistance to it to the resistance to abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and the end of anti-miscegenation laws.[112] Several congregations have undertaken a series of organizational, procedural and practical steps to become acknowledged as a "Welcoming Congregation": a congregation which has taken specific steps to welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender (GLBT) members. UU ministers perform same-sex unions and now same-sex marriages where legal (and sometimes when not, as a form of civil protest). On 29 June 1984, the Unitarian Universalists became the first major church "to approve religious blessings on homosexual unions." Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront of the work to make same-sex marriages legal in their local states and provinces, as well as on the national level. Gay men and lesbians are also regularly ordained as ministers, and a number of gay and lesbian ministers have, themselves, now become legally married to their partners. In May 2004, Arlington Street Church was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States. The official stance of the UUA is for the legalization of same-sex marriage—"Standing on the Side of Love." In 2004 UU Minister Rev. Debra Haffner of The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing published An Open Letter on Religious Leaders on Marriage Equality to affirm same-sex marriage from a multi-faith perspective.
Humanism[edit]
Humanism is a lifestance that supports full equality for LGBTQ individuals [113][114] including the right to marry.[115][116] Humanism and Its Aspirations, a statement of humanist principles from the American Humanist Association, states that "humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views...work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature's integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner."[117] The American Humanist Association provides a LGBT Humanist Pride award [118] and has funded a LGBT-inclusive prom for Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Mississippi.[119] The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association from the U.K. promotes “an awareness and understanding of the Humanist ethical outlook, bringing lesbian and gay rights issues to the attention of the public, and playing a full part in the campaign for lesbian and gay equality,” [120] and in 2009 they gave Stephen Fry an award “for his services to humanism and gay rights.” [121] The Galha LGBT Humanists "is a United Kingdom-based not-for-profit that campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights and promotes Humanism as an ethical worldview."[122]
Queer religions[edit]
Radical Faeries[edit]
The Radical Faeries are a worldwide queer spiritual movement, founded in 1979 in the United States.
Religious groups and public policy[edit]
Opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBT rights is often associated with conservative religious views. The American Family Association and other religious groups have promoted boycotts of corporations whose policies support the LGBT community.
In conservative Islamic nations, laws generally prohibit same-sex sexual behaviour, and interpretation of Sharia Law on male homosexuality carries the death penalty. This has been condemned as a violation of human rights by human rights organisation Amnesty International and by the writers of the Yogyakarta principles. With the signature of the USA in 2009, the proposed UN declaration on LGBT rights has now been signed by every European secular state and all western nations, as well as other countries—67 members of the UN in total. An opposing statement put forward by Muslim nations was signed by 57 member states, mostly in Africa and Asia. 68 out of the total 192 countries have not yet signed either statement. In 2011 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution initiated by South Africa supporting LBGT rights (See Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the United Nations)
See also[edit]

Portal icon Religion portal
Portal icon LGBT portal
Culture war
LGBT rights by country or territory
Religion and sexuality
The Bible and homosexuality
General references[edit]
John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century, University Of Chicago Press, 1st ed. 1980 ISBN 0-226-06710-6, paperback November 2005 ISBN 0-226-06711-4
Dane S. Claussen, ed. Sex, Religion, Media, Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. ISBN 0-7425-1558-3
Dag Øistein Endsjø, Sex and Religion: Teachings and Taboos in the History of World Faiths, Reaktion Books 2011. ISBN 978-1-86189-815-9
Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C., (2015). Clinicians’ perspectives of religious families’ and gay men’s negotiation of sexual orientation disclosure and prejudice, Journal of Homosexuality, 62(3), 394-426.
Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C. (2014). Family Members’ Uses of Religion in Post–Coming-Out Conflicts With Their Gay Relative. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 6(1), 33-43. doi: 10.1037/a0035198
Johnson, P. and Vanderbeck, R.M. (2014) Law, Religion and Homosexuality, Abingdon: Routledge.
Mathew Kuefler (editor), The Boswell Thesis : Essays on Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, University Of Chicago Press, November 2005 ISBN 0-226-45741-9
Macnutt, Francis (2006) "Can Homosexuality Be Healed?" publisher 'Chosen Books', ISBN 0-8007-9409-5
Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" NYU Press New York 1997
Arlene Swidler: Homosexuality and World Religions. Valley Forge 1993. ISBN 1-56338-051-X
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, New World Library, 1st ed. 1999, paperback 2004 ISBN 1-57731-480-8
Wafer, Jim (1991) "The Taste of Blood: Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomblé" UPP Philadelphia
Wafer, Jim (1997) "Muhammad and Male Homosexuality" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York
Wafer, Jim (1997) "The Symbolism of Male Love in Islamic Mysthical Literature" in "Islamic Homosexualities: culture, history, and literature" by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (eds.), NYU Press New York 1997
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90.Jump up ^ World Sikh group against gay marriage bill, CBC News, Tuesday, 29 March 2005.
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92.Jump up ^ Naad, Project (2/9/2010). "Sikhism, Yoga and Sexuality" (PDF). Project Naad. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
93.Jump up ^ Naad, Project (2/9/2010). "Sikhism, Yoga and Sexuality" (PDF). Project Naad. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010. Check date values in: |date= (help)
94.Jump up ^ "How Persia created Judaism:Zoroastrian Influences on Judaism and Christianity (Part II) - Zoroastrianism: Theology".
95.Jump up ^ "Avesta: Vendidad (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses".
96.Jump up ^ "Avesta: Vendidad: Fargard 8. Funerals and purification, unlawful sex".
97.Jump up ^ "VENDIDAD - The Law Against Demons".
98.Jump up ^ Wawrytko, Sandra (1993). Homosexuality and Chinese and Japanese Religions in "Homosexuality and World Religions", edited by Arlene Swidler. Trinity Press International, 1993.
99.Jump up ^ Crompton, Louis. Homosexuality and Civilization. Harvard University Press. p. 221
100.Jump up ^ Jeffrey S. Siker, Homosexuality and Religion: an encyclopedia. page 210. 2007. ISBN 0-313-33088-3
101.Jump up ^ The Ultra Supreme Elder Lord's Scripture of Precepts(太上老君戒經), in "The Orthodox Tao Store" (正統道藏).
102.Jump up ^ The Great Dictionary of Taoism (道教大辭典), by Chinese Taoism Association, published in China in 1994, ISBN 7-5080-0112-5/B.054
103.Jump up ^ Homosexuality in China on glbtq.com.
104.Jump up ^ "Alternative Sexuality". Tangled Moon Coven. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
105.Jump up ^ "Sex, Wicca and the Great Rite". The Blade & Chalice. Spring 1993 (3).
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107.Jump up ^ "My Greatly Human Hometown Minister--James Lewis Stoll, 1936-1994"
108.Jump up ^ http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/185789.shtml
109.Jump up ^ Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns
110.Jump up ^ "The Unitarian Universalist Association and Homosexuality".
111.Jump up ^ UUA.org
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119.Jump up ^ http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2010/05/second-chance-prom-in-mississippi-great-success-humanists-say/
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External links[edit]
Religion and homosexuality at DMOZ


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Transgenderism and religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Religious views on transgender people)
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 The Indian transgender Hijras or Aravanis – ritually marry the Hindu god Aravan and then mourn his ritual death (seen) in an 18-day festival in Koovagam, India.
The relationship between transgender and religion varies widely around the world. Religions range from condemning any gender-variant behaviour, to honoring transgender people as religious leaders. Views within a single religion can vary considerably.


Contents  [hide]
1 Abrahamic religions 1.1 Judaism
1.2 Christianity
1.3 Islam
1.4 Baha'i Faith
2 Dharmic religions 2.1 Hinduism
2.2 Buddhism
3 Shinto
4 Confucianism
5 Chinese religions
6 African religious beliefs
7 Australian Aboriginal
8 Pacific Islands
9 Neopagan religion
10 Classical myth
11 Further reading
12 See also
13 References
14 External links

Abrahamic religions[edit]
Abrahamic religions have creation stories in which God creates people, "male and female".[1][2] This is sometimes interpreted as a divine mandate against gender variance.[citation needed] The Torah contains specific prohibitions on cross-dressing[3] and damaged genitals.[4]
Judaism[edit]
The term saris, generally translated to English as "eunuch" or "chamberlain",[5] appears 45 times in the Tanakh. It frequently refers to a trusted but gender variant person who was delegated authority by a powerful person.[6] It is unclear whether most were in fact castrated.[6] In Isaiah 56 God promises eunuchs who keep the Sabbath and hold fast to his covenant that he will build an especially good monument in heaven for them, to make up for their childlessness.[7]
Orthodoxy asserts that sex/gender is an innate and eternal category based on verses in the Book of Genesis about Adam and Eve and the creation of maleness and femaleness.[1] Sex-change operations involving the removal of genital organs are forbidden on the basis of the prohibition against “anything which is mauled, crushed, torn or cut” (Lev. 22:24). A further prohibition in Deut. 22:5, proscribes not only cross-dressing but any action uniquely identified with the opposite sex, and this would also apply to an operation to transform sexual characteristics.[8]
There are, nevertheless, Orthodox authorities who recognize the efficacy of sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in changing halachic sex designation.[9] In 2007 Joy Ladin became the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox institution (Stern College for Women in Manhattan).[10][11]
Conservative Judaism has mixed views on transgender people. In 2003, the CJLS approved a rabbinic ruling that concluded that sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is permissible as a treatment of gender dysphoria, and that a transgender person's sex status under Jewish law is changed by SRS.[12] There have not yet been any openly transgender rabbis or rabbinical students affiliated with Conservative Judaism. However, Emily Aviva Kapor, who had been ordained privately by a Conservadox rabbi in 2005, began living as a woman in 2012, thus becoming the first openly transgender female rabbi in all of Judaism.[13] The Jewish Theological Seminary, one of three Conservative movement schools, openly admits students of all sexual orientations and gender identities for rabbinical training and ordination. [14]
Reform Judaism has expressed positive views on transgender people. Reform Judaism's Central Conference of American Rabbis first addressed the issue of transgender Jews in 1978, when they deemed it permissible for a person who has undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) to be married according to Jewish tradition.[15][16] In 1990, the Central Conference of American Rabbis declared that people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) may convert to Judaism.[17] In 2002 at the Reform seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Rabbi Margaret Wenig organized the first school-wide seminar at any rabbinical school which addressed the psychological, legal, and religious issues affecting people who are transsexual or intersex.[18] In 2003 Reuben Zellman became the first openly transgender person accepted to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; he was ordained there in 2010.[19][20][21] Also in 2003, the Union for Reform Judaism retroactively applied its pro-rights policy on gays and lesbians to the transgender and bisexual communities, issuing a resolution titled, "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities." [15][22] Also in 2003, Women of Reform Judaism issued a statement describing their support for human and civil rights and the struggles of the transgender and bisexual communities, and saying, "Women of Reform Judaism accordingly: Calls for civil rights protections from all forms of discrimination against bisexual and transgender individuals; Urges that such legislation allows transgender individuals to be seen under the law as the gender by which they identify; and Calls upon sisterhoods to hold informative programs about the transgender and bisexual communities." [23] In 2006 Elliot Kukla, who had come out as transgender six months before his ordination, became the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[19] In 2007 the Union for Reform Judaism issued a new edition of Kulanu, their resource manual for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion, which for the first time included a blessing sanctifying the sex-change process. It was written by Elliot Kukla at the request of a friend of his who was transgender.[24] Also in 2007, David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center called for a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.[25]
Reconstructionist Judaism has expressed positive views on transgender people.[26] In 2003 the Reform rabbi Margaret Wenig organized the first school-wide seminar at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College which addressed the psychological, legal. and religious issues affecting people who are transsexual or intersex.[18] In 2013 the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association issued a resolution stating in part, "Therefore be it resolved that the RRA [Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association] directs its executive director and board to move forward, in cooperation with the RRC [Reconstructionist Rabbinical College] and all relevant associated entities, in educating RRA members about issues of gender identity, to urge the Reconstructionist movement to similarly educate its constituency and to adopt policies that will do all that is possible to provide full employment opportunities for transgender and gender nonconforming rabbis, and to explore how the Reconstructionist movement can best influence the wider Jewish and non-Jewish world to [be] welcoming and inclusive of all people, regardless of gender identity." [27]
In 1998, after she won the Eurovision song competition, a serious religious debate was held as to whether, and how, Dana International should pray in a synagogue, with one rabbinical authority concluding that Dana should be counted in a minyan as a man, but could not sing in front of the community since she was also a woman, according to the rabbi, and that would violate the Orthodox rule of kol isha. [28]
Several non-denominational Jewish groups provide resources for transgender people. Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life published an LGBTQ Resource Guide in 2007.[29] Jewish Mosaic has published interpretations of Jewish texts that affirm transgender identities.[30]
Christianity[edit]
Main article: Christianity and transgenderism
The New Testament expresses more ambiguity about gender-variant identities than the Old Testament does, presenting eunuchs (Greek eunochos, similar to Hebrew saris) as acceptable candidates for evangelism and baptism, as demonstrated in the account of the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch.[31] While answering questions about marriage and divorce, Jesus says that "there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."[32] Discussion has occurred about the significance of the selection of the Ethiopian eunuch as being an early gentile convert to Christianity: the inclusion of a eunuch, representing a sexual minority, similar to some included under today's category of transgender, in the context of the time.[33]
Some Christian denominations accept transgender people as members and clergy. Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979),[34] and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973).[35][36] In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.[37] In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.[37] In 2003 the United Church of Christ General Synod called for full inclusion of transgender persons.[38] In 2005 Sarah Jones became the first openly transgender person ordained by the Church of England as a priest.[39][40][41] In 2008, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council ruled that openly transgender pastor Drew Phoenix could keep his position.[42] At the UMC General Conference the same year, several petitions that would have forbidden transgender clergy and added anti-transgender language to the Book of Discipline were rejected.[43] In 2012 the Episcopal Church in the United States approved a change to their nondiscrimination canons to include gender identity and expression.[44] In 2013 Shannon Kearns became the first openly transgender person ordained by the North American Old Catholic Church.[45] He was ordained in Minneapolis.[45] In 2014 Megan Rohrer became the first openly transgender leader of a Lutheran congregation (specifically, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Francisco.) [46]
In contrast, a 2000 document from the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concludes that the sex-change procedures do not change a person's gender in the eyes of the Church. "The key point", that document states, "is that the transsexual surgical operation is so superficial and external that it does not change the personality. If the person was a male, he remains male. If she was female, she remains female."[47] The document also concludes that a "sex-change" operation could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases, but that in any case transgendered people cannot validly marry.[48] Pope Benedict XVI denounced gender theory, warning that it blurs the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race.[49] He warned against the manipulation that takes place in national and international forums when the term "gender" is altered. "What is often expressed and understood by the term 'gender,' is definitively resolved in the self-emancipation of the human being from creation and the Creator", he warned. "Man wants to create himself, and to decide always and exclusively on his own about what concerns him." The Pontiff said this is man living "against truth, against the creating Spirit".[50]
Catholics, nevertheless, have held a range of positions regarding transgender issues. Theologian James Whitehead, for instance, has said, “The kind of transition that trans people are talking about is very similar to the journey of faith through darkness and desert that people have been making for thousands of years.”[51]
In 2006 Albert Mohler, then president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said "Only God has the right to determine gender", adding, "any attempt to alter that creation is an act of rebellion against God."[52][53] He also stated, "Christians are obligated to find our definitions … in the Bible. What the activists want to call 'sex-reassignment surgery' must be seen as a form of bodily mutilation rather than gender correction. The chromosomes will continue to tell the story...Gender is not under our control after all. When a nation's moral rebellion comes down to this level of confusion, we are already in big trouble. A society that can't distinguish between men and women is not likely to find moral clarity in any other area of life."[53] In 2014, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution at its annual meeting stating that "God's design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female" and that "gender identity is determined by biological sex, not by one's self-perception".[54] Furthermore, the resolution opposes hormone therapy, transition-related care, and anything else that would "alter one's bodily identity", as well as opposing government efforts to "validate transgender identity as morally praiseworthy".[54] Instead, the resolution asks transgender people to "trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the Gospel".[54]
Islam[edit]
In Islam, the term mukhannathun is used to describe gender-variant people, usually male-to-female transsexuals. Neither this term nor the equivalent for "eunuch" occurs in the Qur'an, but the term does appear in the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, which have a secondary status to the central text. Within Islam, there is a tradition on the elaboration and refinement of extended religious doctrines through scholarship. This doctrine contains a trans-positive passage by the scholar and hadith collector An-Nawawi:

A mukhannath is the one ("male") who carries in his movements, in his appearance and in his language the characteristics of a woman. There are two types; the first is the one in whom these characteristics are innate, he did not put them on by himself, and therein is no guilt, no blame and no shame, as long as he does not perform any (illicit) act or exploit it for money (prostitution etc.). The second type acts like a woman out of immoral purposes and he is the sinner and blameworthy.
[citation needed]
Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. It is sanctioned as a supposed "cure" for homosexuality, which is punishable by death under Iranian law. The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.[55]
The status of mukhannathun in Islam has been partially based on their inability to have penetrative sex with women, whether by inclination or due to anatomic interventions. They were allowed into harems but ejected if they displayed sexual interest in women.[56] In some historical periods (when sanctions against gender variance were on the rise) castration was required, but some mukhannathun reacted positively rather than negatively.[57][need quotation to verify]
Baha'i Faith[edit]
In the Baha'i Faith, transgender people can gain recognition in their gender if they have medically transitioned under the direction of medical professionals, and if they have sex reassignment surgery (SRS). After SRS, they are considered transitioned, they may have a Baha'i marriage.[58]
Dharmic religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]
Main article: LGBT topics and Hinduism
The traditional religion of the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, has long standing, historically robust identity for gender variance that functions as a kind of caste. The general term is Hijira but different regions with completely different languages have other terms for roughly homologous cases with details that vary, for example another caste that works the same way is Arvani. These castes typically have very low status and it is considered a tragedy for a child to end up this way. In some parts of India these castes have special legal status whereby their members are the only people in the population who may legally engage in prosititution – and they are, in some senses, expected to earn their living this way.[citation needed]
Hindu philosophy has the concept of a third sex or third gender (tritiya-prakriti – literally, "third nature"). This category includes a wide range of people with mixed male and female natures such as homosexuals, transsexuals, bisexuals, the intersexed, and so on.[59] Such persons were not considered fully male or female in traditional Hinduism, being a combination of both. They are mentioned as third sex by nature (birth)[60] and were not expected to behave like ordinary men and women. They often kept their own societies or town quarters, performed specific occupations (such as masseurs, hairdressers, flower-sellers, domestic servants, etc.) and were generally attributed a semi-divine status. Their participation in religious ceremonies, especially as crossdressing dancers and devotees of certain temple gods/goddesses, is considered inauspicious in traditional Hinduism. Some Hindus believe that third-sex people have special powers allowing them to bless or curse others. However, these beliefs are not upheld in all divisions of Hinduism. In Hinduism, the universal creation is honored as unlimitedly diverse and the recognition of a third sex is simply one more aspect of this understanding.[61]
Buddhism[edit]
Most Buddhist scripture does not distinguish same-sex sexual activity from heterosexual activity, both being seen as non-conducive to spiritual growth.[62]
In Thai Buddhism, being katoey (an umbrella term that roughly maps to a range of things from MtF transsexualism to male homosexuality) is seen as being part of one's karma if it should be the case for a person. The response is one of "pity" rather than "blame". Katoey are generally seen as not likely to form lasting relationships with men, and the lay explanation of their karma is that they are working out debts from adulterous behavior in past lives. In the past they disrupted marriages, and now they are doomed to never marry.[63]
In Thailand, katoey are still not allowed to legally become female or marry a man. Same-sex marriage is not possible in Thailand. Transgender women however can marry their European partners, if that is legislatively possible in their partner's country, and leave Thailand.
In Theravada Buddhism monks take vows of celibacy, and self-control over sexual impulses is idealized as part of the path to Nirvana. In the 1980s, in response to growing awareness of the AIDS crisis, some Buddhist writers drew on Buddhist teachings to argue that homosexual behavior was unnatural and unethical and demonstrated a lack of self-control. However, other Buddhist scholars have argued that karmic debt only accumulates around heterosexual immorality when patriarchal notions of male ownership of female sexuality are disrupted (for example, pre-marital sex is "theft of virginity" by a man from the woman's father). According to this view, the difficulties and pain of gender variant lives are part of how this debt is paid off in subsequent lives and as such it incurs no additional karmic debt.[64]
Shinto[edit]
Shinto kami associated with same-sex love or gender variance include: Shirabyōshi, female or transgender kami, represented as half-human, half-snake. They are linked to Shinto priests of the same name, who are usually female (or occasionally transgender) and perform ritual dances in traditional men's clothing;[65] Oyamakui, a transgender mountain spirit that protects industry and childbearing;[66] and Inari, the kami of agriculture and rice, who is depicted as various genders, the most common representations being a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva.[67] Inari is further associated with foxes and Kitsune, shapeshifting fox trickster spirits. Kitsune sometimes disguise themselves as women, independent of their true gender, in order to trick human men into sexual relations with them.[68] Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.[69]
Confucianism[edit]
One issue that Confucianism is quite clear on is the importance of filial piety with an accompanying tradition of ancestor worship. People are supposed to respect and obey their parents, get married, and have children who extend their family lines. Gender variant people who are physically capable of living up to this standard would be generally encouraged to enter a marital relationship, have children, and be discreet about any additional relationships (for example homosexual partners) on the side, if absolutely necessary. Transsexualism is obviously not consistent with this scheme.
Chinese religions[edit]
Eunuchs, male-bodied people castrated for royal services, existed in China from 1700 BC until 1924 AD.[70] This social role had a long history, with a continuous community, and a highly public role. Before being castrated a Chinese eunuch would be asked if he "would ever regret being castrated" and if the answer was "no" then surgery would take place. It's an open question as to who would answer this way and why. The historical status of Chinese eunuchs was a curious mixture of extreme weakness and great power. The allure of power and influence were sometimes offered as excuses for the decision to become a eunuch. It has been speculated that Chinese monarchs trusted their eunuchs because the inability to have children left them with no motivation to seek power or riches.[71] It is not clear to what extent eunuchs were transgender or otherwise gender-variant, but the history of eunuchs in Chinese culture is important to its views on transgender people.
African religious beliefs[edit]
The Akan people of Ghana have a pantheon of gods that includes personifications of celestial bodies. These personification manifest as androgynous and transgender deities, and include Abrao (Jupiter),[72] Aku (Mercury),[73] and Awo (Moon).[74]
According to the creation myth of the Dogon-people the first 8 people on the earth, 4 men and 4 women, started the 8 Dogon families through a special arrangement with Amman where they could fertilize themselves, being dual and bisexual. [75]
The mythology of the Shona people of Zimbabwe is ruled over by an androgynous creator god called Mwari, who occasionally splits into separate male and female aspects.[76]
Australian Aboriginal[edit]
The rainbow serpent god Ungud has been described as androgynous. Shaman identify their erect penises with Ungud, and his androgyny inspires some to undergo ceremonial subincision of the penis.[77] Angamunggi is another rainbow-serpent god, worshipped as a "giver of life".[78]
Other Australian mythological beings include Labarindja, blue-skinned wild women or "demon women" with hair the colour of smoke.[79] Stories about them show them to be completely uninterested in romance or sex with men, and any man forcing his attention upon them could die, due the "evil magic in their vaginas". They are sometimes depicted as gynandrous or intersex, having both a penis and a vagina. Ths is represented in ritual by having their part played by men in women's clothes.[80]
Pacific Islands[edit]
Third gender, or gender variant, spiritual intermediaries are found in many pacific island cultures, including the bajasa of the Toradja Bare'e people of Celebes, the bantut of the Taosug people of the south Philippines, and the bayoguin of the pre-Christian Philippines. These shamans are typically biologically male but display feminine behaviours and appearance, and are often homoerotically inclined.[81][82][83] The pre-Christian Philippines had a polytheistic religion, which included the hermaphroditic gods Bathala and Malyari, whose names means "Man and Woman in One" and "Powerful One" respectively; these gods are worshipped by the Bayagoin.[84][85]
The Big Nambas of Vanuatu have the concept of divinely approved-of homoerotic relationships between men, with the older partner called the "dubut". This name is derived from the word for shark, referring to the patronage of the shark-human hydrid creator god Qat.[86]
Among their pantheon of deities, the Ngaju Dayak of Borneo worship Mahatala-Jata, an androgynous god. The male part of this god is Mahatala, who rules the Upperworld, and is depicted as a hornbill living above the clouds on a mountain-top; the female part is Jata, who rules the Underworld from under the sea in the form of a water-snake. These two manifestations are linked via a jewel-encrusted bridge that is seen in the physical world as a rainbow. Mahatala-Jata is served by "balian", female hierodules, and "basir" transgender shamans metaphorically described as "water snakes which are at the same time hornbills".[87]
Similar transgender shamans, the "manang bali" (which literally means a transformed shaman from a male into a woman), are found in the Iban Dayak people in the Borneo Island such as in Sarawak. Manang bali is the third and highest degree of shamanism after accomplishing the second degree of manang mansau (cooked shaman) and the first degree of manang mataq (uncooked shamana). The initiation ceremony for becoming a manang bali is called "Manang bangun manang enjun" which can be literally translated as the Awakened shaman, shaken shaman.[88] After this ceremony, a manang bali dresses and acts like women and have homoerotic relationships. This makes them both the target of ridicule and respected as a spiritual intermediary. Boys fated to become manang bali may first dream of becoming a woman and also of being summoned by the god of medicine Menjaya Raja Manang or the goddess Ini Inee or Ini Andan who is regarded the natural-born healer and the god of justice.[89] Menjaya Raja Manang began existence as a malegod, until their brother Sengalang Burong's wife became extremely sick. This prompted Menjaya into becoming the world's first healer, allowing him to cure his sister-in-law, but this treatment also resulted in Menjaya changing into a woman or androgynous being.[90] Menjaya was consecrated as the first manang bali by his own sister, Ini Inee Ini Andan in the first ever awakening-shaking ceremony and the first healing by a name-changing "belian" curing rite.
Neopagan religion[edit]
See also: LGBT topics and Wicca
[icon] This section requires expansion. (August 2009)
In most branches of Wicca, a person's sexual orientation is not considered an issue, provided that individual relationships are healthy and loving. Transgender people are generally magickal people, according to Karla McLaren in her Energetic Boundaries study guide. Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.[91] Many transgender Neopagans were initially attracted to Neopagan religions because of this inclusion.
However, there are some Neopagan groups that do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices.[92] Also, some separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individuals share certain spiritual qualities derived from genetic or biological sex.[92] Dianic Wicca is an example of such a separatist group.[93]
Classical myth[edit]
Main article: LGBT themes in mythology
The patron god of intersex and transgender people is Dionysus, a god gestated in the thigh of his father Zeus, after his mother died from being overwhelmed by Zeus's true form.[94] Aphroditus was an androgynous Aphrodite from Cyprus, with a religious cult in which worshipers cross-dressed,[95] in later mythology became known as Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite who merged bodies with the water nymph Salmacis, transforming him into an androgynous being. In Phrygia there was Agdistis, a hermaphroditic being created when Zeus unwittingly impregnated Gaia. The gods feared Agdistis and Dionysus castrated her, she then became the goddess Cybele.[96]
In addition, Norse Gods were capable of changing gender at will, for example Loki, the trickster god, frequently disguised himself as a woman and gave birth to a foal while in the form of a white mare, after a sexual encounter with the stallion Svaðilfari. Comparison of a man to a child-bearing woman was a common insult in Scandinavia, and the implication that Loki may be bisexual was considered an insult.[97]
Human fertility was a major aspect of Egyptian mythology, and was often entwined with the crop fertility provided by annual flooding of the river Nile.[98] This connection was shown in iconography of Nile-gods, such as Hapy, god of the Nile River, and Wadj-wer, god of the Nile Delta, who although male were depicted with female attributes such as pendulous breasts, symbolizing the fertility the river provides.[99]
Further reading[edit]
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community by Noach Dzmura (Jun 1, 2010)
Gender Identity In Halakhic Discourse by Charlotte Fonrobert, part of Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
Transitional Belief: Christianity as Viewed through the Lens of a Transgender Believer by Mr. Ashley Ford (Jul 12, 2013)
See also[edit]

Portal icon Transgender portal
Portal icon Religion portal
Religion and homosexuality
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59.Jump up ^ Pattanaik, Devdutt (2002). The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore. Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1560231806.
60.Jump up ^ "Chapter 3:49". The Laws of Manu. Translated by George Bühler.
61.Jump up ^ Wilhelm, Amara Das (2003). Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex. Philadelphia: Xlibris. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-4535-0317-1.
62.Jump up ^ Greenberg, Yudit Kornberg, ed. (2007). "Homosexuality in Buddhism". Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 303. ISBN 978-1-85109-981-8.
63.Jump up ^ Matzner, Andrew (2000). "14 Questions". Golden Scene.
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65.Jump up ^ Conner, Randy P.; Sparks, David Hatfield; Sparks, Mariya (1998). "Shirabyoshi". Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit. p. 305. ISBN 0-304-70423-7.
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67.Jump up ^ Smyers, Karen Ann (1999). The fox and the jewel : shared and private meanings in contemporary Japanese inari worship. Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaií Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780824820589.
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78.Jump up ^ Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 58, "Angamunggi"
79.Jump up ^ Róheim (2008), p. 388 May 2014
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90.Jump up ^ Conner & Sparks (1998), p. 230, "Menjaya Raja Manang"
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98.Jump up ^ Zimmerman, Bonnie; Haggerty, George E. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures. Taylor & Francis. p. 527. ISBN 978-0-8153-1920-7.
99.Jump up ^ Conner & Sparks (1998), p.170, "Hapy"
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Transgenderism and religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Religious views on transgender people)
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 The Indian transgender Hijras or Aravanis – ritually marry the Hindu god Aravan and then mourn his ritual death (seen) in an 18-day festival in Koovagam, India.
The relationship between transgender and religion varies widely around the world. Religions range from condemning any gender-variant behaviour, to honoring transgender people as religious leaders. Views within a single religion can vary considerably.


Contents  [hide]
1 Abrahamic religions 1.1 Judaism
1.2 Christianity
1.3 Islam
1.4 Baha'i Faith
2 Dharmic religions 2.1 Hinduism
2.2 Buddhism
3 Shinto
4 Confucianism
5 Chinese religions
6 African religious beliefs
7 Australian Aboriginal
8 Pacific Islands
9 Neopagan religion
10 Classical myth
11 Further reading
12 See also
13 References
14 External links

Abrahamic religions[edit]
Abrahamic religions have creation stories in which God creates people, "male and female".[1][2] This is sometimes interpreted as a divine mandate against gender variance.[citation needed] The Torah contains specific prohibitions on cross-dressing[3] and damaged genitals.[4]
Judaism[edit]
The term saris, generally translated to English as "eunuch" or "chamberlain",[5] appears 45 times in the Tanakh. It frequently refers to a trusted but gender variant person who was delegated authority by a powerful person.[6] It is unclear whether most were in fact castrated.[6] In Isaiah 56 God promises eunuchs who keep the Sabbath and hold fast to his covenant that he will build an especially good monument in heaven for them, to make up for their childlessness.[7]
Orthodoxy asserts that sex/gender is an innate and eternal category based on verses in the Book of Genesis about Adam and Eve and the creation of maleness and femaleness.[1] Sex-change operations involving the removal of genital organs are forbidden on the basis of the prohibition against “anything which is mauled, crushed, torn or cut” (Lev. 22:24). A further prohibition in Deut. 22:5, proscribes not only cross-dressing but any action uniquely identified with the opposite sex, and this would also apply to an operation to transform sexual characteristics.[8]
There are, nevertheless, Orthodox authorities who recognize the efficacy of sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in changing halachic sex designation.[9] In 2007 Joy Ladin became the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox institution (Stern College for Women in Manhattan).[10][11]
Conservative Judaism has mixed views on transgender people. In 2003, the CJLS approved a rabbinic ruling that concluded that sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is permissible as a treatment of gender dysphoria, and that a transgender person's sex status under Jewish law is changed by SRS.[12] There have not yet been any openly transgender rabbis or rabbinical students affiliated with Conservative Judaism. However, Emily Aviva Kapor, who had been ordained privately by a Conservadox rabbi in 2005, began living as a woman in 2012, thus becoming the first openly transgender female rabbi in all of Judaism.[13] The Jewish Theological Seminary, one of three Conservative movement schools, openly admits students of all sexual orientations and gender identities for rabbinical training and ordination. [14]
Reform Judaism has expressed positive views on transgender people. Reform Judaism's Central Conference of American Rabbis first addressed the issue of transgender Jews in 1978, when they deemed it permissible for a person who has undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) to be married according to Jewish tradition.[15][16] In 1990, the Central Conference of American Rabbis declared that people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) may convert to Judaism.[17] In 2002 at the Reform seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Rabbi Margaret Wenig organized the first school-wide seminar at any rabbinical school which addressed the psychological, legal, and religious issues affecting people who are transsexual or intersex.[18] In 2003 Reuben Zellman became the first openly transgender person accepted to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; he was ordained there in 2010.[19][20][21] Also in 2003, the Union for Reform Judaism retroactively applied its pro-rights policy on gays and lesbians to the transgender and bisexual communities, issuing a resolution titled, "Support for the Inclusion and Acceptance of the Transgender and Bisexual Communities." [15][22] Also in 2003, Women of Reform Judaism issued a statement describing their support for human and civil rights and the struggles of the transgender and bisexual communities, and saying, "Women of Reform Judaism accordingly: Calls for civil rights protections from all forms of discrimination against bisexual and transgender individuals; Urges that such legislation allows transgender individuals to be seen under the law as the gender by which they identify; and Calls upon sisterhoods to hold informative programs about the transgender and bisexual communities." [23] In 2006 Elliot Kukla, who had come out as transgender six months before his ordination, became the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[19] In 2007 the Union for Reform Judaism issued a new edition of Kulanu, their resource manual for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inclusion, which for the first time included a blessing sanctifying the sex-change process. It was written by Elliot Kukla at the request of a friend of his who was transgender.[24] Also in 2007, David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center called for a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.[25]
Reconstructionist Judaism has expressed positive views on transgender people.[26] In 2003 the Reform rabbi Margaret Wenig organized the first school-wide seminar at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College which addressed the psychological, legal. and religious issues affecting people who are transsexual or intersex.[18] In 2013 the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association issued a resolution stating in part, "Therefore be it resolved that the RRA [Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association] directs its executive director and board to move forward, in cooperation with the RRC [Reconstructionist Rabbinical College] and all relevant associated entities, in educating RRA members about issues of gender identity, to urge the Reconstructionist movement to similarly educate its constituency and to adopt policies that will do all that is possible to provide full employment opportunities for transgender and gender nonconforming rabbis, and to explore how the Reconstructionist movement can best influence the wider Jewish and non-Jewish world to [be] welcoming and inclusive of all people, regardless of gender identity." [27]
In 1998, after she won the Eurovision song competition, a serious religious debate was held as to whether, and how, Dana International should pray in a synagogue, with one rabbinical authority concluding that Dana should be counted in a minyan as a man, but could not sing in front of the community since she was also a woman, according to the rabbi, and that would violate the Orthodox rule of kol isha. [28]
Several non-denominational Jewish groups provide resources for transgender people. Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life published an LGBTQ Resource Guide in 2007.[29] Jewish Mosaic has published interpretations of Jewish texts that affirm transgender identities.[30]
Christianity[edit]
Main article: Christianity and transgenderism
The New Testament expresses more ambiguity about gender-variant identities than the Old Testament does, presenting eunuchs (Greek eunochos, similar to Hebrew saris) as acceptable candidates for evangelism and baptism, as demonstrated in the account of the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch.[31] While answering questions about marriage and divorce, Jesus says that "there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."[32] Discussion has occurred about the significance of the selection of the Ethiopian eunuch as being an early gentile convert to Christianity: the inclusion of a eunuch, representing a sexual minority, similar to some included under today's category of transgender, in the context of the time.[33]
Some Christian denominations accept transgender people as members and clergy. Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979),[34] and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973).[35][36] In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.[37] In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.[37] In 2003 the United Church of Christ General Synod called for full inclusion of transgender persons.[38] In 2005 Sarah Jones became the first openly transgender person ordained by the Church of England as a priest.[39][40][41] In 2008, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council ruled that openly transgender pastor Drew Phoenix could keep his position.[42] At the UMC General Conference the same year, several petitions that would have forbidden transgender clergy and added anti-transgender language to the Book of Discipline were rejected.[43] In 2012 the Episcopal Church in the United States approved a change to their nondiscrimination canons to include gender identity and expression.[44] In 2013 Shannon Kearns became the first openly transgender person ordained by the North American Old Catholic Church.[45] He was ordained in Minneapolis.[45] In 2014 Megan Rohrer became the first openly transgender leader of a Lutheran congregation (specifically, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Francisco.) [46]
In contrast, a 2000 document from the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concludes that the sex-change procedures do not change a person's gender in the eyes of the Church. "The key point", that document states, "is that the transsexual surgical operation is so superficial and external that it does not change the personality. If the person was a male, he remains male. If she was female, she remains female."[47] The document also concludes that a "sex-change" operation could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases, but that in any case transgendered people cannot validly marry.[48] Pope Benedict XVI denounced gender theory, warning that it blurs the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race.[49] He warned against the manipulation that takes place in national and international forums when the term "gender" is altered. "What is often expressed and understood by the term 'gender,' is definitively resolved in the self-emancipation of the human being from creation and the Creator", he warned. "Man wants to create himself, and to decide always and exclusively on his own about what concerns him." The Pontiff said this is man living "against truth, against the creating Spirit".[50]
Catholics, nevertheless, have held a range of positions regarding transgender issues. Theologian James Whitehead, for instance, has said, “The kind of transition that trans people are talking about is very similar to the journey of faith through darkness and desert that people have been making for thousands of years.”[51]
In 2006 Albert Mohler, then president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said "Only God has the right to determine gender", adding, "any attempt to alter that creation is an act of rebellion against God."[52][53] He also stated, "Christians are obligated to find our definitions … in the Bible. What the activists want to call 'sex-reassignment surgery' must be seen as a form of bodily mutilation rather than gender correction. The chromosomes will continue to tell the story...Gender is not under our control after all. When a nation's moral rebellion comes down to this level of confusion, we are already in big trouble. A society that can't distinguish between men and women is not likely to find moral clarity in any other area of life."[53] In 2014, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution at its annual meeting stating that "God's design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female" and that "gender identity is determined by biological sex, not by one's self-perception".[54] Furthermore, the resolution opposes hormone therapy, transition-related care, and anything else that would "alter one's bodily identity", as well as opposing government efforts to "validate transgender identity as morally praiseworthy".[54] Instead, the resolution asks transgender people to "trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the Gospel".[54]
Islam[edit]
In Islam, the term mukhannathun is used to describe gender-variant people, usually male-to-female transsexuals. Neither this term nor the equivalent for "eunuch" occurs in the Qur'an, but the term does appear in the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, which have a secondary status to the central text. Within Islam, there is a tradition on the elaboration and refinement of extended religious doctrines through scholarship. This doctrine contains a trans-positive passage by the scholar and hadith collector An-Nawawi:

A mukhannath is the one ("male") who carries in his movements, in his appearance and in his language the characteristics of a woman. There are two types; the first is the one in whom these characteristics are innate, he did not put them on by himself, and therein is no guilt, no blame and no shame, as long as he does not perform any (illicit) act or exploit it for money (prostitution etc.). The second type acts like a woman out of immoral purposes and he is the sinner and blameworthy.
[citation needed]
Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. It is sanctioned as a supposed "cure" for homosexuality, which is punishable by death under Iranian law. The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.[55]
The status of mukhannathun in Islam has been partially based on their inability to have penetrative sex with women, whether by inclination or due to anatomic interventions. They were allowed into harems but ejected if they displayed sexual interest in women.[56] In some historical periods (when sanctions against gender variance were on the rise) castration was required, but some mukhannathun reacted positively rather than negatively.[57][need quotation to verify]
Baha'i Faith[edit]
In the Baha'i Faith, transgender people can gain recognition in their gender if they have medically transitioned under the direction of medical professionals, and if they have sex reassignment surgery (SRS). After SRS, they are considered transitioned, they may have a Baha'i marriage.[58]
Dharmic religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]
Main article: LGBT topics and Hinduism
The traditional religion of the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, has long standing, historically robust identity for gender variance that functions as a kind of caste. The general term is Hijira but different regions with completely different languages have other terms for roughly homologous cases with details that vary, for example another caste that works the same way is Arvani. These castes typically have very low status and it is considered a tragedy for a child to end up this way. In some parts of India these castes have special legal status whereby their members are the only people in the population who may legally engage in prosititution – and they are, in some senses, expected to earn their living this way.[citation needed]
Hindu philosophy has the concept of a third sex or third gender (tritiya-prakriti – literally, "third nature"). This category includes a wide range of people with mixed male and female natures such as homosexuals, transsexuals, bisexuals, the intersexed, and so on.[59] Such persons were not considered fully male or female in traditional Hinduism, being a combination of both. They are mentioned as third sex by nature (birth)[60] and were not expected to behave like ordinary men and women. They often kept their own societies or town quarters, performed specific occupations (such as masseurs, hairdressers, flower-sellers, domestic servants, etc.) and were generally attributed a semi-divine status. Their participation in religious ceremonies, especially as crossdressing dancers and devotees of certain temple gods/goddesses, is considered inauspicious in traditional Hinduism. Some Hindus believe that third-sex people have special powers allowing them to bless or curse others. However, these beliefs are not upheld in all divisions of Hinduism. In Hinduism, the universal creation is honored as unlimitedly diverse and the recognition of a third sex is simply one more aspect of this understanding.[61]
Buddhism[edit]
Most Buddhist scripture does not distinguish same-sex sexual activity from heterosexual activity, both being seen as non-conducive to spiritual growth.[62]
In Thai Buddhism, being katoey (an umbrella term that roughly maps to a range of things from MtF transsexualism to male homosexuality) is seen as being part of one's karma if it should be the case for a person. The response is one of "pity" rather than "blame". Katoey are generally seen as not likely to form lasting relationships with men, and the lay explanation of their karma is that they are working out debts from adulterous behavior in past lives. In the past they disrupted marriages, and now they are doomed to never marry.[63]
In Thailand, katoey are still not allowed to legally become female or marry a man. Same-sex marriage is not possible in Thailand. Transgender women however can marry their European partners, if that is legislatively possible in their partner's country, and leave Thailand.
In Theravada Buddhism monks take vows of celibacy, and self-control over sexual impulses is idealized as part of the path to Nirvana. In the 1980s, in response to growing awareness of the AIDS crisis, some Buddhist writers drew on Buddhist teachings to argue that homosexual behavior was unnatural and unethical and demonstrated a lack of self-control. However, other Buddhist scholars have argued that karmic debt only accumulates around heterosexual immorality when patriarchal notions of male ownership of female sexuality are disrupted (for example, pre-marital sex is "theft of virginity" by a man from the woman's father). According to this view, the difficulties and pain of gender variant lives are part of how this debt is paid off in subsequent lives and as such it incurs no additional karmic debt.[64]
Shinto[edit]
Shinto kami associated with same-sex love or gender variance include: Shirabyōshi, female or transgender kami, represented as half-human, half-snake. They are linked to Shinto priests of the same name, who are usually female (or occasionally transgender) and perform ritual dances in traditional men's clothing;[65] Oyamakui, a transgender mountain spirit that protects industry and childbearing;[66] and Inari, the kami of agriculture and rice, who is depicted as various genders, the most common representations being a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva.[67] Inari is further associated with foxes and Kitsune, shapeshifting fox trickster spirits. Kitsune sometimes disguise themselves as women, independent of their true gender, in order to trick human men into sexual relations with them.[68] Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.[69]
Confucianism[edit]
One issue that Confucianism is quite clear on is the importance of filial piety with an accompanying tradition of ancestor worship. People are supposed to respect and obey their parents, get married, and have children who extend their family lines. Gender variant people who are physically capable of living up to this standard would be generally encouraged to enter a marital relationship, have children, and be discreet about any additional relationships (for example homosexual partners) on the side, if absolutely necessary. Transsexualism is obviously not consistent with this scheme.
Chinese religions[edit]
Eunuchs, male-bodied people castrated for royal services, existed in China from 1700 BC until 1924 AD.[70] This social role had a long history, with a continuous community, and a highly public role. Before being castrated a Chinese eunuch would be asked if he "would ever regret being castrated" and if the answer was "no" then surgery would take place. It's an open question as to who would answer this way and why. The historical status of Chinese eunuchs was a curious mixture of extreme weakness and great power. The allure of power and influence were sometimes offered as excuses for the decision to become a eunuch. It has been speculated that Chinese monarchs trusted their eunuchs because the inability to have children left them with no motivation to seek power or riches.[71] It is not clear to what extent eunuchs were transgender or otherwise gender-variant, but the history of eunuchs in Chinese culture is important to its views on transgender people.
African religious beliefs[edit]
The Akan people of Ghana have a pantheon of gods that includes personifications of celestial bodies. These personification manifest as androgynous and transgender deities, and include Abrao (Jupiter),[72] Aku (Mercury),[73] and Awo (Moon).[74]
According to the creation myth of the Dogon-people the first 8 people on the earth, 4 men and 4 women, started the 8 Dogon families through a special arrangement with Amman where they could fertilize themselves, being dual and bisexual. [75]
The mythology of the Shona people of Zimbabwe is ruled over by an androgynous creator god called Mwari, who occasionally splits into separate male and female aspects.[76]
Australian Aboriginal[edit]
The rainbow serpent god Ungud has been described as androgynous. Shaman identify their erect penises with Ungud, and his androgyny inspires some to undergo ceremonial subincision of the penis.[77] Angamunggi is another rainbow-serpent god, worshipped as a "giver of life".[78]
Other Australian mythological beings include Labarindja, blue-skinned wild women or "demon women" with hair the colour of smoke.[79] Stories about them show them to be completely uninterested in romance or sex with men, and any man forcing his attention upon them could die, due the "evil magic in their vaginas". They are sometimes depicted as gynandrous or intersex, having both a penis and a vagina. Ths is represented in ritual by having their part played by men in women's clothes.[80]
Pacific Islands[edit]
Third gender, or gender variant, spiritual intermediaries are found in many pacific island cultures, including the bajasa of the Toradja Bare'e people of Celebes, the bantut of the Taosug people of the south Philippines, and the bayoguin of the pre-Christian Philippines. These shamans are typically biologically male but display feminine behaviours and appearance, and are often homoerotically inclined.[81][82][83] The pre-Christian Philippines had a polytheistic religion, which included the hermaphroditic gods Bathala and Malyari, whose names means "Man and Woman in One" and "Powerful One" respectively; these gods are worshipped by the Bayagoin.[84][85]
The Big Nambas of Vanuatu have the concept of divinely approved-of homoerotic relationships between men, with the older partner called the "dubut". This name is derived from the word for shark, referring to the patronage of the shark-human hydrid creator god Qat.[86]
Among their pantheon of deities, the Ngaju Dayak of Borneo worship Mahatala-Jata, an androgynous god. The male part of this god is Mahatala, who rules the Upperworld, and is depicted as a hornbill living above the clouds on a mountain-top; the female part is Jata, who rules the Underworld from under the sea in the form of a water-snake. These two manifestations are linked via a jewel-encrusted bridge that is seen in the physical world as a rainbow. Mahatala-Jata is served by "balian", female hierodules, and "basir" transgender shamans metaphorically described as "water snakes which are at the same time hornbills".[87]
Similar transgender shamans, the "manang bali" (which literally means a transformed shaman from a male into a woman), are found in the Iban Dayak people in the Borneo Island such as in Sarawak. Manang bali is the third and highest degree of shamanism after accomplishing the second degree of manang mansau (cooked shaman) and the first degree of manang mataq (uncooked shamana). The initiation ceremony for becoming a manang bali is called "Manang bangun manang enjun" which can be literally translated as the Awakened shaman, shaken shaman.[88] After this ceremony, a manang bali dresses and acts like women and have homoerotic relationships. This makes them both the target of ridicule and respected as a spiritual intermediary. Boys fated to become manang bali may first dream of becoming a woman and also of being summoned by the god of medicine Menjaya Raja Manang or the goddess Ini Inee or Ini Andan who is regarded the natural-born healer and the god of justice.[89] Menjaya Raja Manang began existence as a malegod, until their brother Sengalang Burong's wife became extremely sick. This prompted Menjaya into becoming the world's first healer, allowing him to cure his sister-in-law, but this treatment also resulted in Menjaya changing into a woman or androgynous being.[90] Menjaya was consecrated as the first manang bali by his own sister, Ini Inee Ini Andan in the first ever awakening-shaking ceremony and the first healing by a name-changing "belian" curing rite.
Neopagan religion[edit]
See also: LGBT topics and Wicca
[icon] This section requires expansion. (August 2009)
In most branches of Wicca, a person's sexual orientation is not considered an issue, provided that individual relationships are healthy and loving. Transgender people are generally magickal people, according to Karla McLaren in her Energetic Boundaries study guide. Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.[91] Many transgender Neopagans were initially attracted to Neopagan religions because of this inclusion.
However, there are some Neopagan groups that do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices.[92] Also, some separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individuals share certain spiritual qualities derived from genetic or biological sex.[92] Dianic Wicca is an example of such a separatist group.[93]
Classical myth[edit]
Main article: LGBT themes in mythology
The patron god of intersex and transgender people is Dionysus, a god gestated in the thigh of his father Zeus, after his mother died from being overwhelmed by Zeus's true form.[94] Aphroditus was an androgynous Aphrodite from Cyprus, with a religious cult in which worshipers cross-dressed,[95] in later mythology became known as Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite who merged bodies with the water nymph Salmacis, transforming him into an androgynous being. In Phrygia there was Agdistis, a hermaphroditic being created when Zeus unwittingly impregnated Gaia. The gods feared Agdistis and Dionysus castrated her, she then became the goddess Cybele.[96]
In addition, Norse Gods were capable of changing gender at will, for example Loki, the trickster god, frequently disguised himself as a woman and gave birth to a foal while in the form of a white mare, after a sexual encounter with the stallion Svaðilfari. Comparison of a man to a child-bearing woman was a common insult in Scandinavia, and the implication that Loki may be bisexual was considered an insult.[97]
Human fertility was a major aspect of Egyptian mythology, and was often entwined with the crop fertility provided by annual flooding of the river Nile.[98] This connection was shown in iconography of Nile-gods, such as Hapy, god of the Nile River, and Wadj-wer, god of the Nile Delta, who although male were depicted with female attributes such as pendulous breasts, symbolizing the fertility the river provides.[99]
Further reading[edit]
Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community by Noach Dzmura (Jun 1, 2010)
Gender Identity In Halakhic Discourse by Charlotte Fonrobert, part of Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
Transitional Belief: Christianity as Viewed through the Lens of a Transgender Believer by Mr. Ashley Ford (Jul 12, 2013)
See also[edit]

Portal icon Transgender portal
Portal icon Religion portal
Religion and homosexuality
References[edit]
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External links[edit]
The workgroup transgender, religion, philosophy of life and ethics
A Church that Cares and Accepts
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Criticism of atheism

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Atheism
The Greek word "atheoi" ("[those who are] without God") as it appears on the early 3rd-century Papyrus 46


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Criticism of atheismis criticismof the concepts, validity, or impact of atheism, including associated political and social implications. Criticisms include arguments based on theisticpositions, arguments pertaining to moralityor what are thought to be the effects of atheism on the individual, or of the assumptions, scientific or otherwise, that underpin atheism. Criticism of atheism is complicated by the fact that there exist multiple definitions and concepts of atheism (and little consensus among atheists), including practical atheism, theoretical atheism, negative and positive atheism, implicit and explicit atheism, and strong and weak atheism, with critics not always specifying the subset of atheism being criticized.[citation needed]
Various agnosticsand theists[who?]have criticised atheism for being an unscientific, or overly dogmatic and definitive position to hold, some with the argument that 'absence of evidence cannot be equated with evidence for absence'. The philosopher Alvin Plantingaargues that a failure of theistic argumentsmight conceivably be good grounds for agnosticism, but not for atheism, and points to the observation of an apparently "fine-tuned Universe" as more likely to be explained by theism than atheism. Oxford Professor of Mathematics John Lennoxholds that atheism is an inferior world view to that of theism, and attributes to C.S. Lewisthe best formulation of Merton's Thesisthat science sits more comfortably with theistic notions, on the basis that Men became scientific in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th century "Because they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver.' In other words, it was belief in God that was the motor that drove modern science." The leading American geneticist Francis Collinsalso cites Lewis as persuasive in convincing him that theism is the more rational world view than atheism.
Other criticisms focus on perceived effects on morality and social cohesion. The Enlightenmentphilosopher Voltaire, a deist, queried the implications of godlessness in a disorderly world ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him"). The father of Classical Liberalism, John Locke, believed that the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos. Edmund Burke, a name associated with both modern conservatismand liberalism, saw religion as the basis of civil society and wrote that "man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long". Pope Pius XIwrote that Communist atheism was aimed at "upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization". In the 1990s, Pope John Paul IIcriticised a spreading "practical atheism" as clouding the "religious and moral sense of the human heart" and leading to societies which struggle to maintain harmony.[1]
The advocacy of atheism by some of the more violent exponents of the French Revolution, the subsequent militancy of Marxist-Leninist atheism, and prominence of atheism in totalitarianstates formed in the 20th century is often cited in critical assessments of the implications of atheism. In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke railed against "atheistical fanaticism". The 1937 papal encyclical Divini Redemptorisdenounced the atheism of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, which was later influential in the establishment of state atheismacross Eastern Europe and elsewhere, including Mao Zedong's China, Communist North Korea and Pol Pot's Cambodia. Critics of atheism often associate the actions of 20th-century state atheism with broader atheism in their critiques. Various poets, novelists and lay theologianshave also criticized atheism, among them G. K. Chestertonand C.S. Lewis. A maxim popularly attributed to Chesterton holds that "He who does not believe in God will believe in anything."[2]


Contents [hide]
1Definitions and concepts of atheism
2Atheism and the individual
3Morality
4Atheism as faith
5Catholic perspective
6Historical criticism
7Atheism and politics7.1Early twentieth century
7.2After World War II
8Atheism and science
9New Atheism
10See also
11References

Definitions and concepts of atheism[edit]
Atheism is the absence of belief that any deities exist,[3][4]the position that there are no deities,[5]or the rejection of beliefin the existence of deities,[6]
Atheists cite a lack of empirical evidencefor the existence of deities.[7]Rationales for not believing in any deity include the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Other arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. In general, atheists regard the arguments for the existence of God as unconvincing or flawed.[8]
Agnostic atheistscontend that there are insufficient grounds for strong atheism, the position that no deities exist,[9]but at the same time believe that there are insufficient grounds for belief in deities.
Ignosticspropose that every other theological position (including agnosticismand atheism) assumes too much about the concept of Godand that the question of the existence of God is meaningless.[citation needed]
Atheism and the individual[edit]




Blaise Pascalfirst explained his wagerin Pensées(1669)
In his Pensées, Blaise Pascalcriticizes atheists for not seeing signs of God's will.[10]He also formulated Pascal's Wager, which posits that there is more to be gained from wagering on the existence of God than from atheism, and that a rational person should live as though God exists, even though the truth of the matter cannot actually be known. Criticism of Pascal's Wager began in his own day, and came from both atheists and the religious establishment. A common objection to Pascal's wager was noted by Voltaire, a Deist, known as the argument from inconsistent revelations. Voltaire rejected the notion that the wager was 'proof of god' as "indecent and childish", adding, "the interest I have to believe a thing is no proof that such a thing exists."[11]
In a global study on atheism, sociologist Phil Zuckerman noted that though there are positive correlations with societal health among organically atheist nations, countries with higher levels of atheism also had the highest suicide rates compared to countries with lower levels of atheism. He concludes that correlations does not necessarily indicate causation in either case.[12]An article in the American Journal of Psychiatryin 2004 suggested that atheists have a higher suicide rate than theists.[13][not in citation given]According to William Bainbridge, atheism is common among people whose social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in some industrial nations.[14]Extended length of sobriety in alcohol recovery is related positively to higher levels of theistic belief, active community helping, and self-transcendence.[15]Some studies state that in developed countries, health, life expectancy, and other correlates of wealth, tend to be statistical predictors of a greater percentage of atheists, compared to countries with higher proportions of believers.[16][17]Multiple methodological problems have been identified with cross-national assessments of religiosity, secularity, and social health which undermine conclusive statements on religiosity and secularity in developed democracies.[18]

Morality[edit]
See also: Morality without religion, Euthyphro dilemmaand Divine command theory




The liberal philosopher John Lockebelieved that the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos.
The influential deist philosopher Voltaire, criticised established religion to a wide audience, but conceded a fear of the disappearance of the idea of God: "After the French Revolution and its outbursts of atheism, Voltaire was widely condemned as one of the causes", wrote Geoffrey Blainey, "Nonetheless, his writings did concede that fear of God was an essential policeman in a disorderly world: 'If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him', wrote Voltaire".[19]
In A Letter Concerning Toleration, the influential English philosopher John Lockewrote that "Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all...".[20]Although Locke was an advocate of tolerance, he urged the authorities not to tolerate atheism, because the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos.[21]According to Conservative intellectual Dinesh D'Souza, Locke, like the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevskyafter him, argued that "when God is excluded, then it is not surprising when morality itself is sacrificed in the process and chaos and horror is unleashed on the world".[22]
The Catholic Churchbelieves that morality is ensured through natural lawbut that religion provides a more solid foundation.[23]For many years in the United States, atheists were not allowed to testify in court because it was believed that an atheist would have no reason to tell the truth (see also discrimination against atheists).[24]
Atheists such as biologist and popular author Richard Dawkinshave proposed that human morality is a result of evolutionary, sociobiological history. He proposes that the "moral zeitgeist" helps describe how moral imperatives and values naturalistically evolve over time from biological and cultural origins.[25]
Critics assert that natural lawprovides a foundation on which people may build moral rules to guide their choices and regulate society, but does not provide as strong a basis for moral behavior as a morality that is based in religion.[26]Douglas Wilson, an evangelical theologian, argues that while atheists can behave morally, belief is necessary for an individual "to give a rational and coherent account" of why they are obligated to lead a morally responsible life.[27]Wilson says that atheism is unable to "give an account of whyone deed should be seen as goodand another as evil" (emphasis in original).[28]Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, outgoing Archbishop of Westminster, expressed this position by describing a lack of faith as “the greatest of evils” and blamed atheism for war and destruction, implying that it was a "greater evil even than sin itself."[29]
Atheism as faith[edit]
Further information: Secular religionand nontheistic religions
Another criticism of atheism is that it is a faith in itself, as a belief in its own right, with a certainty about the falseness of religious beliefs that is comparable to the certainty about the unknown that is practiced by religions.[30]Journalist Rod Liddle and theologian Alister McGrath assert that some atheists are dogmatic.[31][32]
In a study on American secularity, Frank Pasquale notes that some tensions do exist among secular groups where, for instance, atheists are sometimes viewed as "fundamentalists" by secular humanists.[33]
In his book First Principles(1862), the 19th-century English philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencerwrote that, as regards the origin of the universe, three hypotheses are possible: self-existence(atheism), self-creation (pantheism), or creation by an external agency (theism).[34]Spencer argued that it is "impossible to avoid making the assumption of self-existence" in any of the three hypotheses,[35]and concluded that "even positive Atheism comes within the definition" of religion.[36]
Talal Asad, in an anthropological study on modernity, quotes an Arab atheist named Adonis who has said, "The sacred for atheism is the human being himself, the human being of reason, and there is nothing greater than this human being. It replaces revelation by reason and God with humanity." To which Asad points out, "But an atheism that deifies Man is, ironically, close to the doctrine of the incarnation."[37]
Michael Martinand Paul Edwardshave responded to criticism-as-faith by emphasizing that atheism can be the rejection of belief, or absence of belief.[38][39]Don Hirschberg once famously said "calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color."[40]
Catholic perspective[edit]
The Catechism of the Catholic Churchidentifies atheism as a violation of the First Commandment, calling it "a sin against the virtue of religion". The catechism is careful to acknowledge that atheism may be motivated by virtuousor moralconsiderations, and admonishes Catholic Christiansto focus on their own role in encouraging atheism by their religious or moral shortcomings:
(2125) [...] The imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.[41]
Historical criticism[edit]




Edmund Burkewrote that atheism is against human reason and instinct.
The Bible has criticized atheism by stating "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good." (Psalm 14:1). Francis Baconin his essay On Atheismcriticized the dispositions towards atheism as being "contrary to wisdom and moral gravity" and being associated with fearing government or public affairs.[42]He also stated that knowing a little science may lead one to atheism, but knowing more science will lead one to religion.[42]In another work called The Advancement of Learning, Bacon stated that superficial knowledge of philosophy inclines one to atheism while more knowledge of philosophy inclines one toward religion.[42]
In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke, a name associated with the philosophical foundations of both modern conservatismand liberalism wrote that "man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long". Burke wrote of a "literary cabal" who had "some years ago formed something like a regular plan for the destruction of the Christian religion. This object they pursued with a degree of zeal which hitherto had been discovered only in the propagators of some system of piety... These atheistical fathers have a bigotry of their own; and they have learnt to talk against monks with the spirit of a monk." In turn, wrote Burke, a spirit of atheistic fanaticism had emerged in France.[43]

We know, and, what is better, we feel inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good, and of all comfort. In England we are so convinced of this [...] We know, and it is our pride to know, that man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long. But if, in the moment of riot, and in a drunken delirium from the hot spirit drawn out of the alembic of hell, which in France is now so furiously boiling, we should uncover our nakedness, by throwing off that Christian religion which has hitherto been our boast and comfort, and one great source of civilization amongst us, and among many other nations, we are apprehensive (being well aware that the mind will not endure a void) that some uncouth, pernicious, and degrading superstition might take place of it.
— Excerpt from Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Edmund Burke, 1790
Atheism and politics[edit]
See also: Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Unionand Religious views of Adolf Hitler
The historian Geoffrey Blaineywrote that during the twentieth century, atheists in Western societies became more active and even militant. They rejected the idea of an interventionist God, and said that Christianity promoted war and violence, though "It tends to be forgotten however, that the most ruthless leaders in the Second World War were atheists and secularists who were intensely hostile to both Judaism and Christianity" and "Later massive atrocities were committed in the East by those ardent atheists, Pol Potand Mao Zedong. All religions, all ideologies, all civilizations display embarrassing blots on their pages".[44]
Early twentieth century[edit]




The Cathedral of Christ the Saviourin Moscow during its 1931 demolition. Marxist‒Leninist atheismand other adaptations of Marxian thought on religionhave enjoyed the official patronage of various one-party Communist states.
From the outset, Christians were critical of the spread of militant Marxist‒Leninist atheism, which took hold in Russia following the 1917 Revolution, and involved a systematic effort to eradicate religion.[45][46][47][48]In the USSR after the Revolution, the teaching the faith to the young was criminalized.[47]Marxist‒Leninist atheismand other adaptations of Marxian thought on religionhave enjoyed the official patronage of various one-party Communist states since 1917. The Bolsheviks pursued "militant atheism".[49]The Soviet leaders Vladimir Leninand Joseph Stalinenergetically pursued the persecution of the Church through the 1920s and 1930s.[48]Many priests were killed and imprisoned. Thousands of churches were closed, some turned into temples of atheism. In 1925 the government founded the League of Militant Atheiststo intensify the persecution. The regime only relented in its persecution following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.[50]




Pope Pius XIreigned during the rise of the dictators in the 1930s. His 1937 encyclical Divini redemptorisdenounced the "current trend to atheism which is alarmingly on the increase".
Pope Pius XIreigned from 1922 to 1939 and responded to the rise of Totalitarianism in Europe with alarm. He issued three papal encyclicals challenging the new creeds: against Italian Fascism, Non abbiamo bisogno(1931; 'We do not need to acquaint you); against Nazism, "Mit brennender Sorge" (1937; 'With deep concern'); and against atheist Communism, Divini redemptoris(1937; 'Divine Redeemer').[51]The papacy during the era of Hitler and Stalin was critical of the efforts of the two totalitarianisms to eliminate religious education. In the Soviet Union it was made a criminal offence for priests to teach a child the faith.[50]In Nazi Germany, priests were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to concentration camps.[52]By 1939 all Catholic denominational schools in the Third Reich had been disbanded or converted to public facilities.[53]
In Divini Redemptoris, Pius XI said that atheistic Communism being led by Moscow was aimed at "upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization":[54]




A picture saying, "Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth". Vladimir Leninwas a significant figure in the spread of political atheism in the 20th century. The figure of a priest is among the enemies being swept away.
We too have frequently and with urgent insistence denounced the current trend to atheism which is alarmingly on the increase... We raised a solemn protest against the persecutions unleashed in Russia, in Mexico and now in Spain. [...] In such a doctrine, as is evident, there is no room for the idea of God; there is no difference between matter and spirit, between soul and body; there is neither survival of the soul after death nor any hope in a future life. Insisting on the dialectical aspect of their materialism, the Communists claim that the conflict which carries the world towards its final synthesis can be accelerated by man. Hence they endeavor to sharpen the antagonisms which arise between the various classes of society. Thus the class struggle with its consequent violent hate and destruction takes on the aspects of a crusade for the progress of humanity. On the other hand, all other forces whatever, as long as they resist such systematic violence, must be annihilated as hostile to the human race.
— Excerpts from Divini Redemptoris(1937), by Pope Pius XI
In Non abbiamo bisogno, Pius condemned Italian Fascism's "pagan worship of the State" and "revolution which snatches the young from the Church and from Jesus Christ."[55]The central figure in Italian Fascism was the atheist Benito Mussolini.[56]In his early career, Mussolini made violent pronouncements against the Church, and the first Fascist programme, written in 1919, had called for the secularization of Church property in Italy.[57]In office however, he moderated his stance, and permitted the teaching of religion in schools and came to terms with the Pope.[56]
In Germany meanwhile, the Hitler regime had sought to reduce the influence of Christianity on society.[58]While the regime did not publicly declare itself for state atheism(despite the urging of leading Nazis like Martin Bormann[59]), it did encourage party functionaries to abandon their religion,[58]and persecuted religious groups - including Jews, Christiansand Jehovah's Witnesses.[56]Hitler ultimately intended to eradicate Christianity from Germany.[60]Richard J. Evanswrote that Hitler emphasised his belief that Nazism was a secular ideology founded on modern science and that "'In the long run', [Hitler] concluded, 'National Socialism and religion will no longer be able to exist together'".[61]Despite the encouragement of the Nazi system, the great majority of Nazis did not leave their churches.[62]
In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued his anti-Nazi encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge, and said:[63]

It is on faith in God, preserved pure and stainless, that man's morality is based. All efforts to remove from under morality and the moral order the granite foundation of faith and to substitute for it the shifting sands of human regulations, sooner or later lead these individuals or societies to moral degradation. The fool who has said in his heart "there is no God" goes straight to moral corruption (Psalms xiii. 1), and the number of these fools who today are out to sever morality from religion, is legion.
— Excerpt from Mit brennender Sorge(1937) by Pope Pius XI
Pius XI died on the eve of World War Two. Following the outbreak of war and the 1939 Nazi/Soviet joint invasion of Poland, the newly elected Pope Pius XIIagain denounced the eradication of religious education in his first encyclical, saying "Perhaps the many who have not grasped the importance of the educational and pastoral mission of the Church will now understand better her warnings, scouted in the false security of the past. No defense of Christianity could be more effective than the present straits. From the immense vortex of error and anti-Christian movements there has come forth a crop of such poignant disasters as to constitute a condemnation surpassing in its conclusiveness any merely theoretical refutation."[64]
Post-war Christian leaders including Pope John Paul IIcontinued the Christian critique of Communism and Nazism.[65]In 2010, his successor, the German Pope Benedict XVIsaid:[66]

Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives. As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a “reductive vision of the person and his destiny
— Speech by Pope Benedict XVI, Britain, 2010




Martin Bormannserved as Adolf Hitler's chosen deputy from 1941. He was a militant atheist and leading anti-Church radical in the Nazi Kirchenkampf.
The British biologist Richard Dawkins denounced the Catholic Church in response and wrote that Hitler was a "member of the Roman Catholic church" because he "never renounced his baptismal Catholicism", and said that "Hitler certainly was not an atheist. In 1933 he claimed to have 'stamped atheism out', having banned most of Germany's atheist organisations, including the German Freethinkers League whose building was then turned into an information bureau for church affairs."[67]In contrast, the historian of the Nazi period Richard J. Evanswrote that the Nazis encouraged atheism and deism over Christianity,[58]while historian of the German ResistanceAnton Gillhas written that Hitler wanted Catholicism to have "nothing at all to do with German society" and closed all Catholic organisations that weren't "strictly religious" - including schools and newspapers.[68]Similarly, Hitler biographers Alan Bullock, Ian Kershawand Laurence Reeshave concluded that Hitler was anti-Christian, a view evidenced in documents such as the Goebbels Diaries, the memoirs of Albert Speer, and the transcripts in Hitler's Table Talkcompiled by Martin Bormann.[69][70][71][72][73]Bullock wrote that Hitler was a rationalist and a materialist with no feeling for the spiritual or emotional side of human existence: a "man who believed neither in God nor in conscience".[74]The Nazi leader restrained his anti-clericalism only out of political considerations, wrote Bullock, and once the war was over intended to "root out and destroy the influence of the Christian Churches".[69]
According to Dinesh D'Souza, "Hitler’s leading advisers, such as Goebbels, Heydrichand Bormann, were atheists who were savagely hostile to religion" and Hitler and the Nazis "repudiated what they perceived as the Christian values of equality, compassion and weakness and extolled the atheist notions of the Nietzscheansuperman and a new society based on the 'will to power'.”[22]Yet, when Hitler was out campaigning for power in Germany, he made opportunistic statements apparently in favour of "Positive Christianity").[71][75][76]In Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives, Bullock wrote that Hitler, like Napoleonbefore him, frequently employed the language of "Providence" in defence of his own myth, but ultimately shared with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, "the same materialist outlook, based on the nineteenth century rationalists' certainty that the progress of science would destroy all myths and had already proved Christian doctrine to be an absurdity".[46]
According to Tom Rees, some researches suggest that atheists are more numerous in peaceful nations than they are in turbulent or warlike ones, but causality of this trend is not clear and there are many outliers.[77]However, opponents of this view cite examples such as the Bolsheviks(in Soviet Russia) who were inspired by "an ideological creed which professed that all religion would atrophy ... resolved to eradicate Christianity as such".[78]In 1918 "[t]en Orthodoxhierarchs were summarily shot" and "[c]hildren were deprived of any religious education outside the home."[78]Increasingly draconian measures were employed. In addition to direct state persecution, the League of the Militant Godlesswas founded in 1925, churches were closed and vandalized and "by 1938 eighty bishops had lost their lives, while thousands of clerics were sent to labour camps."[79]
After World War II[edit]
Across Eastern Europe following World War Two, the parts of Nazi Germanyand its allies and conquered states that had been overrun by the Soviet Red Army, along with Yugoslavia, became one-party Communist states, which, like the Soviet Union, were antipathetic to religion. Persecutions of religious leaders followed.[80][81]The Soviet Union ended its truce against the Russian Orthodox Church, and extended its persecutions to the newly Communist Eastern block: "In Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and other Eastern European countries, Catholic leaders who were unwilling to be silent were denounced, publicly humiliated or imprisoned by the Communists. Leaders of the national Orthodox Churches in Romaniaand Bulgaria had to be cautious and submissive", wrote Blainey.[50]
Albaniaunder Enver Hoxhabecame, in 1967, the first (and to date only) formally declared atheist state,[82]going far beyond what most other countries had attempted – completely prohibiting religious observance, and systematically repressing and persecuting adherents. The right to religious practice was restored in the fall of communism in 1991. In 1967, Enver Hoxha's regime conducted a campaignto extinguish religious life in Albania; by year's end over two thousand religious buildings were closed or converted to other uses, and religious leaders were imprisoned and executed. Albania was declared to be the world's first atheist country by its leaders, and Article 37 of the Albanian constitution of 1976 stated that "The State recognises no religion, and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialistic world outlook in people."[83][84]




Mao Zedongwith Joseph Stalinin 1949. Both leaders repressed religion and established state atheismthroughout their respective Communist spheres.



Nicolae Ceauşescuwith Pol Potin 1978. Ceauşescu launched a persecution of religion in Romaniato implement the doctrine of Marxist–Leninist atheism, while Pol Pot banned religious practices in Cambodia.
In 1949, China became a Communist state under the leadership of Mao Zedong's Communist Party of China. China itself had been a cradle of religious thought since ancient times, being the birthplace of Confucianismand Daoism. Under Communism, China became officially atheist, and though some religious practices were permitted to continue under State supervision, religious groups deemed a threat to order have been suppressed - as with Tibetan Buddhismsince 1959 and Falun Gongin recent years.[85]During the Cultural Revolution, Mao instigated "struggles" against the Four Olds: "old ideas, customs, culture, and habits of mind".[86]In Buddhist Cambodia, influenced by Mao's Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot's Khmer Rougealso instigated a purge of religion during the Cambodian Genocide, when all religious practices were forbidden and Buddhist monasteries were closed.[87][88]Evangelical Christian writer Dinesh D'Souzawrites that "The crimes of atheism have generally been perpetrated through a hubristic ideology that sees man, not God, as the creator of values. Using the latest techniques of science and technology, man seeks to displace God and create a secular utopiahere on earth."[89]He also contends:

And who can deny that Stalinand Mao, not to mention Pol Potand a host of others, all committed atrocities in the name of a Communist ideology that was explicitly atheistic? Who can dispute that they did their bloody deeds by claiming to be establishing a 'new man' and a religion-free utopia? These were mass murders performed with atheism as a central part of their ideological inspiration, they were not mass murders done by people who simply happened to be atheist.[90]
In response to this line of criticism, Sam Harriswrote:

The problem with fascism and communism, however, is not that they are too critical of religion; the problem is that they are too much like religions. Such regimes are dogmatic to the core and generally give rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Auschwitz, the gulagand the killing fields were not examples of what happens when human beings reject religious dogma; they are examples of political, racial and nationalistic dogma run amok. There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable.[91]
Richard Dawkins has stated that Stalin's atrocities were influenced not by atheism but by dogmatic Marxism,[25]and concludes that while Stalin and Mao happened to be atheists, they did not do their deeds "in the name of atheism".[92]On other occasions, Dawkins has replied to the argument that Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were antireligious with the response that Hitler and Stalin also grew moustaches, in an effort to show the argument as fallacious.[93]Instead, Dawkins argues in The God Delusionthat "What matters is not whether Hitler and Stalin were atheists, but whether atheism systematically influences people to do bad things. There is not the smallest evidence that it does."[94]D'Souza responds that an individual need not explicitly invoke atheism in committing atrocities if it is already implied in his worldview, as is the case in Marxism.[90]
Theodore Bealehas argued that approximately 148 million people were killed from 1917 to 2007 by governments headed by leaders who were atheists, a total which is three times more than the deaths from war and individual crimes in the whole 20th century.[95]
In a 1993 address to American bishops, Pope John Paul II spoke of a spreading "practical atheism" in modern societies which was clouding the moral sense of humans, and fragmenting society:[1]

[T]he disciple of Christ is constantly challenged by a spreading "practical atheism" – an indifference to God’s loving plan which obscures the religious and moral sense of the human heart. Many either think and act as if God did not exist, or tend to "privatize" religious belief and practice, so that there exists a bias towards indifferentism and the elimination of any real reference to binding truths and moral values. When the basic principles which inspire and direct human behavior are fragmentary and even at times contradictory, society increasingly struggles to maintain harmony and a sense of its own destiny. In a desire to find some common ground on which to build its programmes and policies, it tends to restrict the contribution of those whose moral conscience is formed by their religious beliefs.
— Pope John Paul II, 11 November 1993
Journalist Robert Wrighthas argued that some New Atheistsdiscourage looking for deeper root causes of conflicts when they assume that religion is the sole root of the problem. Wright argues that this can discourage people from working to change the circumstances that actually give rise to those conflicts.[96]Mark Chaves has said that the New Atheists, amongst others who comment on religions, have committed the religious congruence fallacyin their writings, by assuming that beliefs and practices remain static and coherent through time. He believes that the late Christopher Hitchenscommitted this error by assuming that the drive for congruence is a defining feature of religion, and that Dennetthas done it by overlooking the fact that religious actions are dependent on the situation, just like other actions.[97]
Atheism and science[edit]
In the West in recent centuries, literalist biblical accounts of creation were undermined by scientific discoveries in geology and biology, leading various scientists to question the idea that God created the universe at all.[98]One study surveyed members of the US National Academy of Sciencesin 1998 and found just 7% professed belief in a personal God (with a further 20.8% expressing agnosticism).[99]The historian Blaineywrites, "Other scholars replied that the universe was so astonishing, so systematic, and so varied that it must have a divine maker. Criticisms of the accuracy of the Book of Genesiswere therefore illuminating, but minor".[98]Various critics or doubters of atheism point to the fact of the "Fine-tuned Universe" as more likely to be explained by theism than atheism. The American philosopher Alvin Plantingaexplains the argument thus:[100]

Scientists tell us that there are many properties our universe displays such that if they were even slightly different from what they are in fact, life, or at least our kind of life, would not be possible. The universe seems to be fine-tuned for life. For example, if the force of the Big Bang had been different by one part in 10 to the 60th, life of our sort would not have been possible. The same goes for the ratio of the gravitational force to the force driving the expansion of the universe: If it had been even slightly different, our kind of life would not have been possible. In fact the universe seems to be fine-tuned, not just for life, but for intelligent life. This fine-tuning is vastly more likely given theism than given atheism.
— Alvin Plantinga, emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, 2014
Blainey wrote that scientist critics of religion today often echo the optimism of their predecessors at the beginning of the 20th Century - who assumed the inevitability of progress through scientific education, but whose expectations were shattered by a violent century and two wars in which "science and technology had been enlisted to help warfare as never before. Moreover, two of the new anti-Christian ideologies - Soviet Communism and German fascism - placed a low premium on human lives, especially those of their civilian enemies. The deadliest sector of World War Two, the scene of far more atrocities than any sector in the preceding war, was the Russian front, where the two secular creeds confronted one another".[101]




British mathematician and philosopher of science John Lennox.
Sociologist Steve Fullerwrote that "...Atheism as a positive doctrine has done precious little for science." He notes, "More generally, Atheism has not figured as a force in the history of science not because it has been suppressed but because whenever it has been expressed, it has not specifically encouraged the pursuit of science."[102]Early modern atheism developed in the 17th century, and Winfried Schroeder, a scholar of atheism, noted that science during this time did not strengthen the case for atheism.[103]In the 18th century, Denis Diderotargued that atheism was less scientific than metaphysics.[103]However, since the 19th century, both atheists and theists have said that science supports their worldviews.[103]Historian of science John Henryhas noted that before the 19th century, science was generally cited to support many theological positions. However, materialist theories in natural philosophy became more prominent from the 17th century onwards, giving more room for atheism to develop. Since the 19th century, science has been employed in both theistic and atheistic cultures, depending on the prevailing popular beliefs.[104]




Francis Collins, American physician-geneticist.
Physicist Paul Daviesof Arizona University has written that the very notion of physical law is a theological one in the first place: "Isaac Newton first got the idea of absolute, universal, perfect, immutable laws from the Christian doctrine that God created the world and ordered it in a rational way."[105]Oxford Professor of Mathematics John Lennoxhas argued that science itself sits more comfortably with theism than with atheism: "as a scientist I would say... where did modern science come from? It didn't come from atheism... modern science arose in the 16th and 17th centuries in Western Europe, and of course people ask why did it happen there and then, and the general consensus which is often called Merton's Thesisis, to quote CS Lewiswho formulated it better than anybody I know... 'Men became scientific. Why? Because they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver.' In other words, it was belief in God that was the motor that drove modern science."[106]
Francis Collins, the American physician and geneticist who lead the Human Genome Projectargues that theism is more rational than atheism. Collins also found Lewis persuasive, and after reading Mere Christianity, came to believe that a rational person would be more likely, upon studying the facts, to conclude that choosing to believe is the appropriate choice. Collins argues "How is it that we, and all other members of our species, unique in the animal kingdom, know what's right and what's wrong... I reject the idea that that is an evolutionary consequence, because that moral law sometimes tells us that the right thing to do is very self-destructive. If I'm walking down the riverbank, and a man is drowning, even if I don't know how to swim very well, I feel this urge that the right thing to do is to try to save that person. Evolution would tell me exactly the opposite: preserve your DNA. Who cares about the guy who's drowning? He's one of the weaker ones, let him go. It's your DNA that needs to survive. And yet that's not what's written within me".[107]
Statistical data on Nobel prize winners in science between 1901 and 2000 revealed that Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers have won 7.1% of the prizes in Chemistry, 8.9% in Medicine, and 4.7% in Physics; while Christians have won a total of 72.5% of the prizes in Chemistry, 65.3% in Physics, 62% in Medicine and Jews have won 17.3% of the prizes in Chemistry, 26.2% in Medicine, and 25.9% in Physics.[108]
New Atheism[edit]
In the early 21st Century, a group of authors and media personalities in Britain and the United States - often referred to as the "New Atheists" - have argued that religion must be proactively countered, criticized so as to reduce its influence on society. Prominent among these voices have been Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bill Maherand Sam Harris.[109]Among those to critique their world view has been American-Iranian religious studies scholar Reza Aslan, argued that the New Atheists held an often comically simplistic view of religion which was giving atheism a bad name:[110]

This is not the philosophical atheism of Schopenhauer or Marx or Freud or Feuerbach. This is a sort of unthinking, simplistic religious criticism. It is primarily being fostered by individuals — like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins — who have absolutely no background in the study of religion at all. Most of my intellectual heroes are atheists, but they were experts in religion, and so they were able to offer critiques of it that came from a place of knowledge, from a sophistication of education, of research. What we’re seeing now instead is a sort of armchair atheism — people who are inundated by what they see on the news or in media, and who then draw these incredibly simplistic generalizations about religion in general based on these examples that they see.
— Reza Azlan, 2014.
Professor of Anthropologyand SociologyJack David Eller believes that the four principal New Atheist authors - Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennet and Harris - were not offering anything new in terms of arguments to disprove the existence of gods. He also criticized them for their focus on the dangers of theism, as opposed to the falsifying of theism, which results in mischaracterizing religions; taking local theisms as the essence of religion itself, and for focusing on the negative aspects of religion in the form of an "argument from benefit" in the reverse.[111]
Professors of philosophy and religion, Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey, take issue with "the evangelical nature of the new atheism, which assumes that it has a Good News to share, at all cost, for the ultimate future of humanity by the conversion of as many people as possible." They find similarities between the new atheism and evangelical Christianity and conclude that the all-consuming nature of both "encourages endless conflict without progress" between both extremities.[112]Sociologist William Stahl notes "What is striking about the current debate is the frequency with which the New Atheists are portrayed as mirror images of religious fundamentalists." He discusses where both have "structural and epistemological parallels" and argues that "both the New Atheism and fundamentalism are attempts to recreate authority in the face of crises of meaning in late modernity."[113]
See also[edit]
Anthropic principle
Conflict thesis
History of atheism
Implicit and explicit atheism
List of former atheists and agnostics
Myth of Progress
Nontheistic religions
State atheism
The Rage Against God
The Twilight of Atheism
There are no atheists in foxholes
Weak and strong atheism
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: abAddress by Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of USA on their Ad Limina Visit, 28 May 1993
2.Jump up ^http://www.chesterton.org/discover-chesterton/frequently-asked-questions/cease-to-worship/
3.Jump up ^Simon Blackburn, ed. (2008). "atheism". The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy(2008 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2011-12-05. "Either the lack of belief that there exists a god, or the belief that there exists none."
4.Jump up ^"atheism". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
5.Jump up ^Rowe, William L.(1998). "Atheism". In Edward Craig. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. So an atheist is someone who disbelieves in God, whereas a theist is someone who believes in God. Another meaning of "atheism" is simply nonbelief in the existence of God, rather than positive belief in the nonexistence of God. ...an atheist, in the broader sense of the term, is someone who disbelieves in every form of deity, not just the God of traditional Western theology."
6.Jump up ^*Nielsen, Kai(2011). "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "for an anthropomorphic God, the atheist rejects belief in God because it is false or probably false that there is a God; for a nonanthropomorphic God... because the concept of such a God is either meaningless, unintelligible, contradictory, incomprehensible, or incoherent; for the God portrayed by some modern or contemporary theologians or philosophers... because the concept of God in question is such that it merely masks an atheistic substance—e.g., "God" is just another name for love, or ... a symbolic term for moral ideals."Edwards, Paul(2005) [1967]. "Atheism". In Donald M. Borchert. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 359. ISBN 978-0-02-865780-6. "an 'atheist' is a person who rejects belief in God, regardless of whether or not his reason for the rejection is the claim that 'God exists' expresses a false proposition. People frequently adopt an attitude of rejection toward a position for reasons other than that it is a false proposition. It is common among contemporary philosophers, and indeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries, to reject positions on the ground that they are meaningless. Sometimes, too, a theory is rejected on such grounds as that it is sterile or redundant or capricious, and there are many other considerations which in certain contexts are generally agreed to constitute good grounds for rejecting an assertion."(page 175 in 1967 edition)
7.Jump up ^Various authors. "Logical Arguments for Atheism". Internet Infidels, The Secular Web Library. Retrieved 2007-APR-09.
8.Jump up ^See e.g. Dawkins, Richard(2006). The God Delusion. Ch.3: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.and Harris, Sam (2005). The End of Faith. W.W. Norton. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
9.Jump up ^Anthony KennyWhat I Believesee esp. Ch. 3 "Why I am not an atheist"
10.Jump up ^Pascal, Blaise; Ariew, Roger (2005). Pensées. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-87220-717-2. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
11.Jump up ^Remarques sur les Pensees de PascalXI
12.Jump up ^Zuckerman, Phil (2007). Martin, Michael, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0521603676.
13.Jump up ^PsychiatryOnline | American Journal of Psychiatry | Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt
14.Jump up ^Bainbridge, William (2005). "Atheism"(PDF). Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion1(Article 2): 1–26.
15.Jump up ^Zemore, SE; Kaskutas, LA (May 2004). "Helping, spirituality and Alcoholics Anonymous in recovery.". Journal of studies on alcohol65(3): 383–91. PMID 15222595.
16.Jump up ^Paul, Gregory. 2002. The Secular Revolution of the West, Free Inquiry, Summer: 28–34
17.Jump up ^Zuckerman, P. (2007). M. Martin, ed. [url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tAeFipOVx4MC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&ots=KhsfEfpZ0W&sig=CoVGalSuqtn9O1PDG8WNegDjTF8#v=snippet&f=falseThe Cambridge Companion to Atheism] (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-521-84270-0. "In sum, with the exception of suicide, countries marked by high rates of organic atheism are among the most societally healthy on earth, while societies characterized by nonexistent rates of organic atheism are among the most unhealthy. Of course, none of the above correlations demonstrate that high levels of organic atheism causesocietal health or that low levels of organic atheism causesocietal ills. Rather, societal health seems to cause widespread atheism, and societal insecurity seems to cause widespread belief in God, as has been demonstrated by Norris and Inglehart (2004), mentioned above."
18.Jump up ^Moreno-Riaño, Gerson; Smith, Mark Caleb; Mach, Thomas (2006). "Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health"(PDF). Journal of Religion and Society(Cedarville University) 8.
19.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.390-391
20.Jump up ^John LockeA LetterConcerning Toleration; Translated by William Popple
21.Jump up ^Jeremy Waldron; God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought; Cambridge, UK; 2002; p.217
22.^ Jump up to: abDinesh D'Souza. "Answering Atheist’s Arguments."; tothesource (December 6, 2006).
23.Jump up ^Josef Cardinal Ratzinger, Marcello Pera, "Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam" (Basic Books, 0465006345, 2006).
24.Jump up ^See, e.g., United States v. Miller, 236 F. 798, 799 (W.D. Wash., N.D. 1916) (citing Thurston v. Whitney et al., 2 Cush. (Mass.) 104; Jones on Evidence, Blue Book, vol. 4, §§ 712, 713) ("Under the common-law rule a person who does not believe in a God who is the rewarder of truth and the avenger of falsehood cannot be permitted to testify.")
25.^ Jump up to: abDawkins, Richard(2006-09-18). The God Delusion. Ch. 7: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
26.Jump up ^"Where morality is divorced from religion, reason will, it is true, enable a man to recognize to a large extent the ideal to which his nature points. But much will be wanting. He will disregard some of his most essential duties. He will, further, be destitute of the strong motives for obedience to the law afforded by the sense of obligation to God and the knowledge of the tremendous sanction attached to its neglect – motives which experience has proved to be necessary as a safeguard against the influence of the passions. And, finally, his actions even if in accordance with the moral law, will be based not on the obligation imposed by the Divine will, but on considerations of human dignity and on the good of human society."Wikisource-logo.svg "Morality". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
27.Jump up ^Christopher Hitchensand Douglas Wilson, "Is Christianity Good for the World? Part 2"[dead link]Christianity Todaymagazine (web only, May 2007)
28.Jump up ^Christopher Hitchensand Douglas Wilson, "Is Christianity Good for the World? Part 6"[dead link]Christianity Todaymagazine (web only, May 2007)
29.Jump up ^Gledhill, Ruth (May 22, 2009). "Archbishop of Westminster attacks atheism but says nothing on child abuse". The Times (London).[dead link]
30.Jump up ^David Limbaugh, "Does atheism require more faith?,"Townhall.com, April 20, 2004Stanley Fish, "Atheism and Evidence,"Think Again, The New York Times, June 17, 2007
DHRUV K. SINGHAL, "The Church of Atheism,", The Harvard Crimson, December 14, 2008
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist," Crossway Books, March 01, 2004, 447 Pages, ISBN 1-58134-561-5
John F. Haught, God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens, Westminster John Knox Press, December 31, 2007, 156 pages, ISBN 978-0-664-23304-4, page 45
31.Jump up ^Johns, Ian (2006). "Atheism gets a kick in the fundamentals". London: The Times.[dead link]Chater, David (2006). "Viewing guide: The Trouble with Atheism". London: The Times.[dead link]
Sam, Wollaston (2006-12-19). "Last night's TV". London: The Guardian.
32.Jump up ^Alister McGrathand Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), February 15, 2007, ISBN 978-0-281-05927-0
33.Jump up ^Pasquale, Frank. "Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives". Hartford, CT: Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC), 2007. p. 46. "Some self-identified Atheists consequently distinguish between “positive” and “negative” forms. There is general regard among members of these groups as nonreligious comrades-in-arms. There is shared concern about misrepresentation or misunderstanding of nonreligious people, erosion of church-state separation, public and political influence of conservative religion, and aspects of American domestic and international policy. But there are also notes of irreligious sectarianism. In a meeting of secular humanists, one audience member proclaims, “We have our fundamentalists, too. They’re called Atheists.” In an Atheist meeting across town, derisive asides make reference to “a lack of spine” or “going soft onreligion” among “the humanists.” These groups struggle for public recognition and legitimacy.
34.Jump up ^Spencer, Herbert (1862). First Principles. London: Williams and Norgate, pp. 30-35.
35.Jump up ^Spencer, First Principles, p. 36.
36.Jump up ^Spencer, First Principles, p. 43.
37.Jump up ^Asad, Talal (2003). Formations of the Secular : Christianity, Islam, Modernity(10. printing. ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-8047-4768-7.
38.Jump up ^Martin, Michael. 0-521-84270-0 The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. 2006. ISBN 0-521-84270-0.
39.Jump up ^Nielsen, Kai(2009). "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2012-06-09.Edwards, Paul(1967). "Atheism". The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1. Collier-MacMillan. p. 175.
Flew, Antony(1984). God, Freedom, and Immortality: A Critical Analysis. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 0-87975-127-4.
40.Jump up ^"Quotations : Atheism, Atheist. Quotes of Asimov, Allen, Buchan, Chesterton, Crisp, Goldman, Roberts, Rossetti, Santayana, Sartre, Vidal". Atheisme.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
41.Jump up ^Catechism of the Catholic Church, English version, section 3.2.1.1.3
42.^ Jump up to: abcBacon, Francis (2002). The Major Works : Including New Atlantis and the Essays. Oxford University Press. pp. 95–96, 125. ISBN 0-19-284081-9.
43.Jump up ^Reflections on the Revolution in France; (1790) by Edmund Burke
44.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.543
45.Jump up ^Richard Pipes; Russia under the Bolshevik Regime; The Harvill Press; 1994; pp. 339–340
46.^ Jump up to: abAlan Bullock; Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives; Fontana Press; 1993; pp.412
47.^ Jump up to: abGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011
48.^ Jump up to: abMartin Amis; Koba the Dread; Vintage; 2003
49.Jump up ^Martin Amis; Koba the Dread; Vintage; 2003; pp.184-185
50.^ Jump up to: abcGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.494
51.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Pius XI; web Apr. 2013
52.Jump up ^Paul Berben; Dachau: The Official History 1933–1945; Norfolk Press; London; 1975; ISBN 0-85211-009-X; p. 142
53.Jump up ^Evans, Richard J. 2005 pp. 245-246
54.Jump up ^Divini Redemptoris - Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Atheistic Communism; by Pope Pius XI; 19 March 1937
55.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Fascism - identification with Christianity; web Apr. 2013
56.^ Jump up to: abcGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.495-6
57.Jump up ^F. L. Carsten; The Rise of Fascism; Methuen & Co Ltd; London; 1976; p.77
58.^ Jump up to: abcRichard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 546
59.Jump up ^Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; W.W. Norton & Co; London; pp. 381–82
60.Jump up ^William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p. 240
61.Jump up ^Richard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 547
62.Jump up ^Richard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 546
63.Jump up ^Mit Brennender Sorge: 29Pope Pius XI; 14 March 1937
64.Jump up ^Summi Pontificatus, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on the Unity of Human Society; 20 October 1939
65.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.540
66.Jump up ^Pope Benedict XVI. "Meeting with state authorities in the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse". Retrieved 2012-06-09.
67.Jump up ^Dawkins, Richard (2010-09-22). "Ratzinger is an enemy of humanity". The Guardian(London).
68.Jump up ^Gill, Anton (1994). An Honourable Defeat; A History of the German Resistance to Hitler. Heinemann Mandarin. 1995 paperback ISBN 978-0-434-29276-9; p.57
69.^ Jump up to: abAlan Bullock; Hitler: a Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219"
70.Jump up ^Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; W. W. Notron & Co; 2008 Edn; p. 373
71.^ Jump up to: abLaurence Rees; The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler; Ebury Press; 2012; p135.
72.Jump up ^"He hates Christianity, because it has crippled all that is noble in humanity" - from The Goebbels Diaries 1939-41, see entry for 8 April 1941
73.Jump up ^Evans, Richard J. (2008). The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis led Germany from conquest to disaster. London: Penguin. pp. 547–8. ISBN 978-0-14-101548-4.
74.Jump up ^Alan Bullock; Hitler: a Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p216
75.Jump up ^Paul Berben; Dachau: The Official History 1933-1945; Norfolk Press; London; 1975; ISBN 0-85211-009-X; p. 138
76.Jump up ^^ a b Baynes, Norman H., ed. (1969). The Speeches of Adolf Hitler: April 1922-August 1939. New York: Howard Fertig. pp. 19-20, 37, 240, 370, 371, 375, 378, 382, 383, 385-388, 390-392, 398-399, 402, 405-407, 410, 1018, 1544, 1594.
77.Jump up ^Tom Rees. Atheist nations are more peaceful, Epiphenom.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010
78.^ Jump up to: abMichael BurleighSacred CausesHarperCollins (2006) p41, p42, p43
79.Jump up ^Burleigh op. cit. p49 and p47
80.Jump up ^Peter Hebblethwaite; Paul VI, the First Modern Pope; Harper Collins Religious; 1993; p.211
81.Jump up ^Norman Davies; Rising '44: the Battle for Warsaw; Vikiing; 2003; p.566 & 568
82.Jump up ^Majeska, George P. (1976). "Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe, Review." The Slavic and East European Journal.20(2). pp. 204–206.
83.Jump up ^Elsie, R. (2000). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. New York: NYU Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8.
84.Jump up ^David Binder, "Evolution in Europe; Albanian Leader Says the Country Will Be Democratized but Will Retain Socialism,"The New York Times, May 14, 1990
85.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - China: Religion; accessed 10 November 2013
86.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - China - History: Cultural Revolution; accessed 10 November 2013
87.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Cambodia History; accessed 10 November 2013
88.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Cambodia: Religion; accessed 10 November 2013
89.Jump up ^Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of historyDinesh D'Souza
90.^ Jump up to: abAnswering Atheist’s ArgumentsDinesh D'Souza
91.Jump up ^10 myths and 10 truths about AtheismSam Harris
92.Jump up ^Interview with Richard Dawkins conducted by Stephen Sackur for BBC News 24’s HardTalk programme, July 24th 2007. [1]
93.Jump up ^The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins
94.Jump up ^Dawkins 2006, p. 309
95.Jump up ^Day (Theodore Beale), Vox (2008). The Irrational Atheist : Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens. BenBella Books. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-1-933771-36-6.
96.Jump up ^Wright, Robert. "The Trouble with the New Atheists: Part II". Huffington Post.
97.Jump up ^Chaves, Mark (2010). "SSSR Presidential Address Rain Dances in the Dry Season: Overcoming the Religious Congruence Fallacy". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion49(1): 1–14. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01489.x.
98.^ Jump up to: abGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.438-439
99.Jump up ^Reprinted at www.stephenjaygould.org from journal Nature. Edward J. Larson; Larry Witham (1998). "Leading scientists still reject God"394. Nature. p. 313.
100.Jump up ^Is Atheism Irrational?; New York Times; 9 Feb 2014
101.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.543-545
102.Jump up ^Fuller, Steve (2010). "What Has Atheism Ever Done For Science?". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.
103.^ Jump up to: abc"Atheism and Science". Investigating Atheism project - Cambridge and Oxford. "Atheists have appealed to science in defence of their atheism since the first avowedly atheistic manuscripts of the mid seventeenth century. However, as the German expert on atheism Winfried Schroeder has shown, the relationship between early modern atheism and science tended to embarrass rather than strengthen the fledgling atheism's case.[1]" ; "The renowned Denis Diderot, atheist and deist in turns, could still say in 1746 that science posed a greater threat to atheism than metaphysics.[3] Well into the eighteenth century it could be argued that it was atheism and not theism which required a sacrifice of the intellect. As Schroeder has pointed out, atheists were scientifically retrograde until at least the mid eighteenth century, and suffered from their reputation as scientifically unserious.[4]" ; "As John Hedley Brooke has pointed out, for every nineteenth century person considering these issues who followed figures such as Thomas Henry Huxley or Francis Galton in regarding evolution as devastating for religious belief, there were others, such as the Oxford theologian Aubrey Moore, who regarded Darwin's evolutionary theory as an opportunity for religion.[7]At the beginning of the twenty first century the situation remains very similar:.."
104.Jump up ^Henry, John (2000). "35. Atheism". In Gary Ferngren. The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition : An Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Garland. pp. 182–188. ISBN 0-8153-1656-9.
105.Jump up ^Taking Science on Faith; Paul Davies, The New York Times, 24 Nov 2007
106.Jump up ^An Evening with John Lennox; ABC Radio National - The Spirit of Things; 7 August 2011
107.Jump up ^The Question of God - an interview with Francis Collins; PBS; 2004
108.Jump up ^Shalev, Baruch Aba (2005). 100 Years of Nobel prizes(3rd ed., updated for 2001-2004. ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Americas Group. ISBN 0935047379.
109.Jump up ^Hooper, Simon. "The rise of the New Atheists". CNN. Retrieved 2014-10-14
110.Jump up ^Reza Aslan on What the New Atheists Get Wrong About Islam; New York Magazine; 14 October 2014
111.Jump up ^Eller, Jack (2010). "What Is Atheism?". In Phil Zuckerman. Atheism and Secularity Vol.1: Issues, Concepts, Definitions. Praeger. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-313-35183-9.
112.Jump up ^Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey (2010). "Beating 'God' to Death: Radical Theology and the New Atheism". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.
113.Jump up ^William Stahl (2010). "One-Dimensional Rage: The Social Epistemology of the New Atheism and Fundamentalism". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. pp. 97–108. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.


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Criticism of atheism

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Criticism of atheismis criticismof the concepts, validity, or impact of atheism, including associated political and social implications. Criticisms include arguments based on theisticpositions, arguments pertaining to moralityor what are thought to be the effects of atheism on the individual, or of the assumptions, scientific or otherwise, that underpin atheism. Criticism of atheism is complicated by the fact that there exist multiple definitions and concepts of atheism (and little consensus among atheists), including practical atheism, theoretical atheism, negative and positive atheism, implicit and explicit atheism, and strong and weak atheism, with critics not always specifying the subset of atheism being criticized.[citation needed]
Various agnosticsand theists[who?]have criticised atheism for being an unscientific, or overly dogmatic and definitive position to hold, some with the argument that 'absence of evidence cannot be equated with evidence for absence'. The philosopher Alvin Plantingaargues that a failure of theistic argumentsmight conceivably be good grounds for agnosticism, but not for atheism, and points to the observation of an apparently "fine-tuned Universe" as more likely to be explained by theism than atheism. Oxford Professor of Mathematics John Lennoxholds that atheism is an inferior world view to that of theism, and attributes to C.S. Lewisthe best formulation of Merton's Thesisthat science sits more comfortably with theistic notions, on the basis that Men became scientific in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th century "Because they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver.' In other words, it was belief in God that was the motor that drove modern science." The leading American geneticist Francis Collinsalso cites Lewis as persuasive in convincing him that theism is the more rational world view than atheism.
Other criticisms focus on perceived effects on morality and social cohesion. The Enlightenmentphilosopher Voltaire, a deist, queried the implications of godlessness in a disorderly world ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him"). The father of Classical Liberalism, John Locke, believed that the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos. Edmund Burke, a name associated with both modern conservatismand liberalism, saw religion as the basis of civil society and wrote that "man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long". Pope Pius XIwrote that Communist atheism was aimed at "upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization". In the 1990s, Pope John Paul IIcriticised a spreading "practical atheism" as clouding the "religious and moral sense of the human heart" and leading to societies which struggle to maintain harmony.[1]
The advocacy of atheism by some of the more violent exponents of the French Revolution, the subsequent militancy of Marxist-Leninist atheism, and prominence of atheism in totalitarianstates formed in the 20th century is often cited in critical assessments of the implications of atheism. In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke railed against "atheistical fanaticism". The 1937 papal encyclical Divini Redemptorisdenounced the atheism of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, which was later influential in the establishment of state atheismacross Eastern Europe and elsewhere, including Mao Zedong's China, Communist North Korea and Pol Pot's Cambodia. Critics of atheism often associate the actions of 20th-century state atheism with broader atheism in their critiques. Various poets, novelists and lay theologianshave also criticized atheism, among them G. K. Chestertonand C.S. Lewis. A maxim popularly attributed to Chesterton holds that "He who does not believe in God will believe in anything."[2]


Contents [hide]
1Definitions and concepts of atheism
2Atheism and the individual
3Morality
4Atheism as faith
5Catholic perspective
6Historical criticism
7Atheism and politics7.1Early twentieth century
7.2After World War II
8Atheism and science
9New Atheism
10See also
11References

Definitions and concepts of atheism[edit]
Atheism is the absence of belief that any deities exist,[3][4]the position that there are no deities,[5]or the rejection of beliefin the existence of deities,[6]
Atheists cite a lack of empirical evidencefor the existence of deities.[7]Rationales for not believing in any deity include the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Other arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. In general, atheists regard the arguments for the existence of God as unconvincing or flawed.[8]
Agnostic atheistscontend that there are insufficient grounds for strong atheism, the position that no deities exist,[9]but at the same time believe that there are insufficient grounds for belief in deities.
Ignosticspropose that every other theological position (including agnosticismand atheism) assumes too much about the concept of Godand that the question of the existence of God is meaningless.[citation needed]
Atheism and the individual[edit]




Blaise Pascalfirst explained his wagerin Pensées(1669)
In his Pensées, Blaise Pascalcriticizes atheists for not seeing signs of God's will.[10]He also formulated Pascal's Wager, which posits that there is more to be gained from wagering on the existence of God than from atheism, and that a rational person should live as though God exists, even though the truth of the matter cannot actually be known. Criticism of Pascal's Wager began in his own day, and came from both atheists and the religious establishment. A common objection to Pascal's wager was noted by Voltaire, a Deist, known as the argument from inconsistent revelations. Voltaire rejected the notion that the wager was 'proof of god' as "indecent and childish", adding, "the interest I have to believe a thing is no proof that such a thing exists."[11]
In a global study on atheism, sociologist Phil Zuckerman noted that though there are positive correlations with societal health among organically atheist nations, countries with higher levels of atheism also had the highest suicide rates compared to countries with lower levels of atheism. He concludes that correlations does not necessarily indicate causation in either case.[12]An article in the American Journal of Psychiatryin 2004 suggested that atheists have a higher suicide rate than theists.[13][not in citation given]According to William Bainbridge, atheism is common among people whose social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in some industrial nations.[14]Extended length of sobriety in alcohol recovery is related positively to higher levels of theistic belief, active community helping, and self-transcendence.[15]Some studies state that in developed countries, health, life expectancy, and other correlates of wealth, tend to be statistical predictors of a greater percentage of atheists, compared to countries with higher proportions of believers.[16][17]Multiple methodological problems have been identified with cross-national assessments of religiosity, secularity, and social health which undermine conclusive statements on religiosity and secularity in developed democracies.[18]

Morality[edit]
See also: Morality without religion, Euthyphro dilemmaand Divine command theory




The liberal philosopher John Lockebelieved that the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos.
The influential deist philosopher Voltaire, criticised established religion to a wide audience, but conceded a fear of the disappearance of the idea of God: "After the French Revolution and its outbursts of atheism, Voltaire was widely condemned as one of the causes", wrote Geoffrey Blainey, "Nonetheless, his writings did concede that fear of God was an essential policeman in a disorderly world: 'If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him', wrote Voltaire".[19]
In A Letter Concerning Toleration, the influential English philosopher John Lockewrote that "Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all...".[20]Although Locke was an advocate of tolerance, he urged the authorities not to tolerate atheism, because the denial of God's existence would undermine the social order and lead to chaos.[21]According to Conservative intellectual Dinesh D'Souza, Locke, like the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevskyafter him, argued that "when God is excluded, then it is not surprising when morality itself is sacrificed in the process and chaos and horror is unleashed on the world".[22]
The Catholic Churchbelieves that morality is ensured through natural lawbut that religion provides a more solid foundation.[23]For many years in the United States, atheists were not allowed to testify in court because it was believed that an atheist would have no reason to tell the truth (see also discrimination against atheists).[24]
Atheists such as biologist and popular author Richard Dawkinshave proposed that human morality is a result of evolutionary, sociobiological history. He proposes that the "moral zeitgeist" helps describe how moral imperatives and values naturalistically evolve over time from biological and cultural origins.[25]
Critics assert that natural lawprovides a foundation on which people may build moral rules to guide their choices and regulate society, but does not provide as strong a basis for moral behavior as a morality that is based in religion.[26]Douglas Wilson, an evangelical theologian, argues that while atheists can behave morally, belief is necessary for an individual "to give a rational and coherent account" of why they are obligated to lead a morally responsible life.[27]Wilson says that atheism is unable to "give an account of whyone deed should be seen as goodand another as evil" (emphasis in original).[28]Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, outgoing Archbishop of Westminster, expressed this position by describing a lack of faith as “the greatest of evils” and blamed atheism for war and destruction, implying that it was a "greater evil even than sin itself."[29]
Atheism as faith[edit]
Further information: Secular religionand nontheistic religions
Another criticism of atheism is that it is a faith in itself, as a belief in its own right, with a certainty about the falseness of religious beliefs that is comparable to the certainty about the unknown that is practiced by religions.[30]Journalist Rod Liddle and theologian Alister McGrath assert that some atheists are dogmatic.[31][32]
In a study on American secularity, Frank Pasquale notes that some tensions do exist among secular groups where, for instance, atheists are sometimes viewed as "fundamentalists" by secular humanists.[33]
In his book First Principles(1862), the 19th-century English philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencerwrote that, as regards the origin of the universe, three hypotheses are possible: self-existence(atheism), self-creation (pantheism), or creation by an external agency (theism).[34]Spencer argued that it is "impossible to avoid making the assumption of self-existence" in any of the three hypotheses,[35]and concluded that "even positive Atheism comes within the definition" of religion.[36]
Talal Asad, in an anthropological study on modernity, quotes an Arab atheist named Adonis who has said, "The sacred for atheism is the human being himself, the human being of reason, and there is nothing greater than this human being. It replaces revelation by reason and God with humanity." To which Asad points out, "But an atheism that deifies Man is, ironically, close to the doctrine of the incarnation."[37]
Michael Martinand Paul Edwardshave responded to criticism-as-faith by emphasizing that atheism can be the rejection of belief, or absence of belief.[38][39]Don Hirschberg once famously said "calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color."[40]
Catholic perspective[edit]
The Catechism of the Catholic Churchidentifies atheism as a violation of the First Commandment, calling it "a sin against the virtue of religion". The catechism is careful to acknowledge that atheism may be motivated by virtuousor moralconsiderations, and admonishes Catholic Christiansto focus on their own role in encouraging atheism by their religious or moral shortcomings:
(2125) [...] The imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.[41]
Historical criticism[edit]




Edmund Burkewrote that atheism is against human reason and instinct.
The Bible has criticized atheism by stating "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good." (Psalm 14:1). Francis Baconin his essay On Atheismcriticized the dispositions towards atheism as being "contrary to wisdom and moral gravity" and being associated with fearing government or public affairs.[42]He also stated that knowing a little science may lead one to atheism, but knowing more science will lead one to religion.[42]In another work called The Advancement of Learning, Bacon stated that superficial knowledge of philosophy inclines one to atheism while more knowledge of philosophy inclines one toward religion.[42]
In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke, a name associated with the philosophical foundations of both modern conservatismand liberalism wrote that "man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long". Burke wrote of a "literary cabal" who had "some years ago formed something like a regular plan for the destruction of the Christian religion. This object they pursued with a degree of zeal which hitherto had been discovered only in the propagators of some system of piety... These atheistical fathers have a bigotry of their own; and they have learnt to talk against monks with the spirit of a monk." In turn, wrote Burke, a spirit of atheistic fanaticism had emerged in France.[43]

We know, and, what is better, we feel inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good, and of all comfort. In England we are so convinced of this [...] We know, and it is our pride to know, that man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason, but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long. But if, in the moment of riot, and in a drunken delirium from the hot spirit drawn out of the alembic of hell, which in France is now so furiously boiling, we should uncover our nakedness, by throwing off that Christian religion which has hitherto been our boast and comfort, and one great source of civilization amongst us, and among many other nations, we are apprehensive (being well aware that the mind will not endure a void) that some uncouth, pernicious, and degrading superstition might take place of it.
— Excerpt from Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Edmund Burke, 1790
Atheism and politics[edit]
See also: Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Unionand Religious views of Adolf Hitler
The historian Geoffrey Blaineywrote that during the twentieth century, atheists in Western societies became more active and even militant. They rejected the idea of an interventionist God, and said that Christianity promoted war and violence, though "It tends to be forgotten however, that the most ruthless leaders in the Second World War were atheists and secularists who were intensely hostile to both Judaism and Christianity" and "Later massive atrocities were committed in the East by those ardent atheists, Pol Potand Mao Zedong. All religions, all ideologies, all civilizations display embarrassing blots on their pages".[44]
Early twentieth century[edit]




The Cathedral of Christ the Saviourin Moscow during its 1931 demolition. Marxist‒Leninist atheismand other adaptations of Marxian thought on religionhave enjoyed the official patronage of various one-party Communist states.
From the outset, Christians were critical of the spread of militant Marxist‒Leninist atheism, which took hold in Russia following the 1917 Revolution, and involved a systematic effort to eradicate religion.[45][46][47][48]In the USSR after the Revolution, the teaching the faith to the young was criminalized.[47]Marxist‒Leninist atheismand other adaptations of Marxian thought on religionhave enjoyed the official patronage of various one-party Communist states since 1917. The Bolsheviks pursued "militant atheism".[49]The Soviet leaders Vladimir Leninand Joseph Stalinenergetically pursued the persecution of the Church through the 1920s and 1930s.[48]Many priests were killed and imprisoned. Thousands of churches were closed, some turned into temples of atheism. In 1925 the government founded the League of Militant Atheiststo intensify the persecution. The regime only relented in its persecution following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.[50]




Pope Pius XIreigned during the rise of the dictators in the 1930s. His 1937 encyclical Divini redemptorisdenounced the "current trend to atheism which is alarmingly on the increase".
Pope Pius XIreigned from 1922 to 1939 and responded to the rise of Totalitarianism in Europe with alarm. He issued three papal encyclicals challenging the new creeds: against Italian Fascism, Non abbiamo bisogno(1931; 'We do not need to acquaint you); against Nazism, "Mit brennender Sorge" (1937; 'With deep concern'); and against atheist Communism, Divini redemptoris(1937; 'Divine Redeemer').[51]The papacy during the era of Hitler and Stalin was critical of the efforts of the two totalitarianisms to eliminate religious education. In the Soviet Union it was made a criminal offence for priests to teach a child the faith.[50]In Nazi Germany, priests were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to concentration camps.[52]By 1939 all Catholic denominational schools in the Third Reich had been disbanded or converted to public facilities.[53]
In Divini Redemptoris, Pius XI said that atheistic Communism being led by Moscow was aimed at "upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization":[54]




A picture saying, "Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth". Vladimir Leninwas a significant figure in the spread of political atheism in the 20th century. The figure of a priest is among the enemies being swept away.
We too have frequently and with urgent insistence denounced the current trend to atheism which is alarmingly on the increase... We raised a solemn protest against the persecutions unleashed in Russia, in Mexico and now in Spain. [...] In such a doctrine, as is evident, there is no room for the idea of God; there is no difference between matter and spirit, between soul and body; there is neither survival of the soul after death nor any hope in a future life. Insisting on the dialectical aspect of their materialism, the Communists claim that the conflict which carries the world towards its final synthesis can be accelerated by man. Hence they endeavor to sharpen the antagonisms which arise between the various classes of society. Thus the class struggle with its consequent violent hate and destruction takes on the aspects of a crusade for the progress of humanity. On the other hand, all other forces whatever, as long as they resist such systematic violence, must be annihilated as hostile to the human race.
— Excerpts from Divini Redemptoris(1937), by Pope Pius XI
In Non abbiamo bisogno, Pius condemned Italian Fascism's "pagan worship of the State" and "revolution which snatches the young from the Church and from Jesus Christ."[55]The central figure in Italian Fascism was the atheist Benito Mussolini.[56]In his early career, Mussolini made violent pronouncements against the Church, and the first Fascist programme, written in 1919, had called for the secularization of Church property in Italy.[57]In office however, he moderated his stance, and permitted the teaching of religion in schools and came to terms with the Pope.[56]
In Germany meanwhile, the Hitler regime had sought to reduce the influence of Christianity on society.[58]While the regime did not publicly declare itself for state atheism(despite the urging of leading Nazis like Martin Bormann[59]), it did encourage party functionaries to abandon their religion,[58]and persecuted religious groups - including Jews, Christiansand Jehovah's Witnesses.[56]Hitler ultimately intended to eradicate Christianity from Germany.[60]Richard J. Evanswrote that Hitler emphasised his belief that Nazism was a secular ideology founded on modern science and that "'In the long run', [Hitler] concluded, 'National Socialism and religion will no longer be able to exist together'".[61]Despite the encouragement of the Nazi system, the great majority of Nazis did not leave their churches.[62]
In 1937, Pope Pius XI issued his anti-Nazi encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge, and said:[63]

It is on faith in God, preserved pure and stainless, that man's morality is based. All efforts to remove from under morality and the moral order the granite foundation of faith and to substitute for it the shifting sands of human regulations, sooner or later lead these individuals or societies to moral degradation. The fool who has said in his heart "there is no God" goes straight to moral corruption (Psalms xiii. 1), and the number of these fools who today are out to sever morality from religion, is legion.
— Excerpt from Mit brennender Sorge(1937) by Pope Pius XI
Pius XI died on the eve of World War Two. Following the outbreak of war and the 1939 Nazi/Soviet joint invasion of Poland, the newly elected Pope Pius XIIagain denounced the eradication of religious education in his first encyclical, saying "Perhaps the many who have not grasped the importance of the educational and pastoral mission of the Church will now understand better her warnings, scouted in the false security of the past. No defense of Christianity could be more effective than the present straits. From the immense vortex of error and anti-Christian movements there has come forth a crop of such poignant disasters as to constitute a condemnation surpassing in its conclusiveness any merely theoretical refutation."[64]
Post-war Christian leaders including Pope John Paul IIcontinued the Christian critique of Communism and Nazism.[65]In 2010, his successor, the German Pope Benedict XVIsaid:[66]

Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives. As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a “reductive vision of the person and his destiny
— Speech by Pope Benedict XVI, Britain, 2010




Martin Bormannserved as Adolf Hitler's chosen deputy from 1941. He was a militant atheist and leading anti-Church radical in the Nazi Kirchenkampf.
The British biologist Richard Dawkins denounced the Catholic Church in response and wrote that Hitler was a "member of the Roman Catholic church" because he "never renounced his baptismal Catholicism", and said that "Hitler certainly was not an atheist. In 1933 he claimed to have 'stamped atheism out', having banned most of Germany's atheist organisations, including the German Freethinkers League whose building was then turned into an information bureau for church affairs."[67]In contrast, the historian of the Nazi period Richard J. Evanswrote that the Nazis encouraged atheism and deism over Christianity,[58]while historian of the German ResistanceAnton Gillhas written that Hitler wanted Catholicism to have "nothing at all to do with German society" and closed all Catholic organisations that weren't "strictly religious" - including schools and newspapers.[68]Similarly, Hitler biographers Alan Bullock, Ian Kershawand Laurence Reeshave concluded that Hitler was anti-Christian, a view evidenced in documents such as the Goebbels Diaries, the memoirs of Albert Speer, and the transcripts in Hitler's Table Talkcompiled by Martin Bormann.[69][70][71][72][73]Bullock wrote that Hitler was a rationalist and a materialist with no feeling for the spiritual or emotional side of human existence: a "man who believed neither in God nor in conscience".[74]The Nazi leader restrained his anti-clericalism only out of political considerations, wrote Bullock, and once the war was over intended to "root out and destroy the influence of the Christian Churches".[69]
According to Dinesh D'Souza, "Hitler’s leading advisers, such as Goebbels, Heydrichand Bormann, were atheists who were savagely hostile to religion" and Hitler and the Nazis "repudiated what they perceived as the Christian values of equality, compassion and weakness and extolled the atheist notions of the Nietzscheansuperman and a new society based on the 'will to power'.”[22]Yet, when Hitler was out campaigning for power in Germany, he made opportunistic statements apparently in favour of "Positive Christianity").[71][75][76]In Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives, Bullock wrote that Hitler, like Napoleonbefore him, frequently employed the language of "Providence" in defence of his own myth, but ultimately shared with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, "the same materialist outlook, based on the nineteenth century rationalists' certainty that the progress of science would destroy all myths and had already proved Christian doctrine to be an absurdity".[46]
According to Tom Rees, some researches suggest that atheists are more numerous in peaceful nations than they are in turbulent or warlike ones, but causality of this trend is not clear and there are many outliers.[77]However, opponents of this view cite examples such as the Bolsheviks(in Soviet Russia) who were inspired by "an ideological creed which professed that all religion would atrophy ... resolved to eradicate Christianity as such".[78]In 1918 "[t]en Orthodoxhierarchs were summarily shot" and "[c]hildren were deprived of any religious education outside the home."[78]Increasingly draconian measures were employed. In addition to direct state persecution, the League of the Militant Godlesswas founded in 1925, churches were closed and vandalized and "by 1938 eighty bishops had lost their lives, while thousands of clerics were sent to labour camps."[79]
After World War II[edit]
Across Eastern Europe following World War Two, the parts of Nazi Germanyand its allies and conquered states that had been overrun by the Soviet Red Army, along with Yugoslavia, became one-party Communist states, which, like the Soviet Union, were antipathetic to religion. Persecutions of religious leaders followed.[80][81]The Soviet Union ended its truce against the Russian Orthodox Church, and extended its persecutions to the newly Communist Eastern block: "In Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and other Eastern European countries, Catholic leaders who were unwilling to be silent were denounced, publicly humiliated or imprisoned by the Communists. Leaders of the national Orthodox Churches in Romaniaand Bulgaria had to be cautious and submissive", wrote Blainey.[50]
Albaniaunder Enver Hoxhabecame, in 1967, the first (and to date only) formally declared atheist state,[82]going far beyond what most other countries had attempted – completely prohibiting religious observance, and systematically repressing and persecuting adherents. The right to religious practice was restored in the fall of communism in 1991. In 1967, Enver Hoxha's regime conducted a campaignto extinguish religious life in Albania; by year's end over two thousand religious buildings were closed or converted to other uses, and religious leaders were imprisoned and executed. Albania was declared to be the world's first atheist country by its leaders, and Article 37 of the Albanian constitution of 1976 stated that "The State recognises no religion, and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialistic world outlook in people."[83][84]




Mao Zedongwith Joseph Stalinin 1949. Both leaders repressed religion and established state atheismthroughout their respective Communist spheres.



Nicolae Ceauşescuwith Pol Potin 1978. Ceauşescu launched a persecution of religion in Romaniato implement the doctrine of Marxist–Leninist atheism, while Pol Pot banned religious practices in Cambodia.
In 1949, China became a Communist state under the leadership of Mao Zedong's Communist Party of China. China itself had been a cradle of religious thought since ancient times, being the birthplace of Confucianismand Daoism. Under Communism, China became officially atheist, and though some religious practices were permitted to continue under State supervision, religious groups deemed a threat to order have been suppressed - as with Tibetan Buddhismsince 1959 and Falun Gongin recent years.[85]During the Cultural Revolution, Mao instigated "struggles" against the Four Olds: "old ideas, customs, culture, and habits of mind".[86]In Buddhist Cambodia, influenced by Mao's Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot's Khmer Rougealso instigated a purge of religion during the Cambodian Genocide, when all religious practices were forbidden and Buddhist monasteries were closed.[87][88]Evangelical Christian writer Dinesh D'Souzawrites that "The crimes of atheism have generally been perpetrated through a hubristic ideology that sees man, not God, as the creator of values. Using the latest techniques of science and technology, man seeks to displace God and create a secular utopiahere on earth."[89]He also contends:

And who can deny that Stalinand Mao, not to mention Pol Potand a host of others, all committed atrocities in the name of a Communist ideology that was explicitly atheistic? Who can dispute that they did their bloody deeds by claiming to be establishing a 'new man' and a religion-free utopia? These were mass murders performed with atheism as a central part of their ideological inspiration, they were not mass murders done by people who simply happened to be atheist.[90]
In response to this line of criticism, Sam Harriswrote:

The problem with fascism and communism, however, is not that they are too critical of religion; the problem is that they are too much like religions. Such regimes are dogmatic to the core and generally give rise to personality cults that are indistinguishable from cults of religious hero worship. Auschwitz, the gulagand the killing fields were not examples of what happens when human beings reject religious dogma; they are examples of political, racial and nationalistic dogma run amok. There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable.[91]
Richard Dawkins has stated that Stalin's atrocities were influenced not by atheism but by dogmatic Marxism,[25]and concludes that while Stalin and Mao happened to be atheists, they did not do their deeds "in the name of atheism".[92]On other occasions, Dawkins has replied to the argument that Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were antireligious with the response that Hitler and Stalin also grew moustaches, in an effort to show the argument as fallacious.[93]Instead, Dawkins argues in The God Delusionthat "What matters is not whether Hitler and Stalin were atheists, but whether atheism systematically influences people to do bad things. There is not the smallest evidence that it does."[94]D'Souza responds that an individual need not explicitly invoke atheism in committing atrocities if it is already implied in his worldview, as is the case in Marxism.[90]
Theodore Bealehas argued that approximately 148 million people were killed from 1917 to 2007 by governments headed by leaders who were atheists, a total which is three times more than the deaths from war and individual crimes in the whole 20th century.[95]
In a 1993 address to American bishops, Pope John Paul II spoke of a spreading "practical atheism" in modern societies which was clouding the moral sense of humans, and fragmenting society:[1]

[T]he disciple of Christ is constantly challenged by a spreading "practical atheism" – an indifference to God’s loving plan which obscures the religious and moral sense of the human heart. Many either think and act as if God did not exist, or tend to "privatize" religious belief and practice, so that there exists a bias towards indifferentism and the elimination of any real reference to binding truths and moral values. When the basic principles which inspire and direct human behavior are fragmentary and even at times contradictory, society increasingly struggles to maintain harmony and a sense of its own destiny. In a desire to find some common ground on which to build its programmes and policies, it tends to restrict the contribution of those whose moral conscience is formed by their religious beliefs.
— Pope John Paul II, 11 November 1993
Journalist Robert Wrighthas argued that some New Atheistsdiscourage looking for deeper root causes of conflicts when they assume that religion is the sole root of the problem. Wright argues that this can discourage people from working to change the circumstances that actually give rise to those conflicts.[96]Mark Chaves has said that the New Atheists, amongst others who comment on religions, have committed the religious congruence fallacyin their writings, by assuming that beliefs and practices remain static and coherent through time. He believes that the late Christopher Hitchenscommitted this error by assuming that the drive for congruence is a defining feature of religion, and that Dennetthas done it by overlooking the fact that religious actions are dependent on the situation, just like other actions.[97]
Atheism and science[edit]
In the West in recent centuries, literalist biblical accounts of creation were undermined by scientific discoveries in geology and biology, leading various scientists to question the idea that God created the universe at all.[98]One study surveyed members of the US National Academy of Sciencesin 1998 and found just 7% professed belief in a personal God (with a further 20.8% expressing agnosticism).[99]The historian Blaineywrites, "Other scholars replied that the universe was so astonishing, so systematic, and so varied that it must have a divine maker. Criticisms of the accuracy of the Book of Genesiswere therefore illuminating, but minor".[98]Various critics or doubters of atheism point to the fact of the "Fine-tuned Universe" as more likely to be explained by theism than atheism. The American philosopher Alvin Plantingaexplains the argument thus:[100]

Scientists tell us that there are many properties our universe displays such that if they were even slightly different from what they are in fact, life, or at least our kind of life, would not be possible. The universe seems to be fine-tuned for life. For example, if the force of the Big Bang had been different by one part in 10 to the 60th, life of our sort would not have been possible. The same goes for the ratio of the gravitational force to the force driving the expansion of the universe: If it had been even slightly different, our kind of life would not have been possible. In fact the universe seems to be fine-tuned, not just for life, but for intelligent life. This fine-tuning is vastly more likely given theism than given atheism.
— Alvin Plantinga, emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, 2014
Blainey wrote that scientist critics of religion today often echo the optimism of their predecessors at the beginning of the 20th Century - who assumed the inevitability of progress through scientific education, but whose expectations were shattered by a violent century and two wars in which "science and technology had been enlisted to help warfare as never before. Moreover, two of the new anti-Christian ideologies - Soviet Communism and German fascism - placed a low premium on human lives, especially those of their civilian enemies. The deadliest sector of World War Two, the scene of far more atrocities than any sector in the preceding war, was the Russian front, where the two secular creeds confronted one another".[101]




British mathematician and philosopher of science John Lennox.
Sociologist Steve Fullerwrote that "...Atheism as a positive doctrine has done precious little for science." He notes, "More generally, Atheism has not figured as a force in the history of science not because it has been suppressed but because whenever it has been expressed, it has not specifically encouraged the pursuit of science."[102]Early modern atheism developed in the 17th century, and Winfried Schroeder, a scholar of atheism, noted that science during this time did not strengthen the case for atheism.[103]In the 18th century, Denis Diderotargued that atheism was less scientific than metaphysics.[103]However, since the 19th century, both atheists and theists have said that science supports their worldviews.[103]Historian of science John Henryhas noted that before the 19th century, science was generally cited to support many theological positions. However, materialist theories in natural philosophy became more prominent from the 17th century onwards, giving more room for atheism to develop. Since the 19th century, science has been employed in both theistic and atheistic cultures, depending on the prevailing popular beliefs.[104]




Francis Collins, American physician-geneticist.
Physicist Paul Daviesof Arizona University has written that the very notion of physical law is a theological one in the first place: "Isaac Newton first got the idea of absolute, universal, perfect, immutable laws from the Christian doctrine that God created the world and ordered it in a rational way."[105]Oxford Professor of Mathematics John Lennoxhas argued that science itself sits more comfortably with theism than with atheism: "as a scientist I would say... where did modern science come from? It didn't come from atheism... modern science arose in the 16th and 17th centuries in Western Europe, and of course people ask why did it happen there and then, and the general consensus which is often called Merton's Thesisis, to quote CS Lewiswho formulated it better than anybody I know... 'Men became scientific. Why? Because they expected law in nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver.' In other words, it was belief in God that was the motor that drove modern science."[106]
Francis Collins, the American physician and geneticist who lead the Human Genome Projectargues that theism is more rational than atheism. Collins also found Lewis persuasive, and after reading Mere Christianity, came to believe that a rational person would be more likely, upon studying the facts, to conclude that choosing to believe is the appropriate choice. Collins argues "How is it that we, and all other members of our species, unique in the animal kingdom, know what's right and what's wrong... I reject the idea that that is an evolutionary consequence, because that moral law sometimes tells us that the right thing to do is very self-destructive. If I'm walking down the riverbank, and a man is drowning, even if I don't know how to swim very well, I feel this urge that the right thing to do is to try to save that person. Evolution would tell me exactly the opposite: preserve your DNA. Who cares about the guy who's drowning? He's one of the weaker ones, let him go. It's your DNA that needs to survive. And yet that's not what's written within me".[107]
Statistical data on Nobel prize winners in science between 1901 and 2000 revealed that Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers have won 7.1% of the prizes in Chemistry, 8.9% in Medicine, and 4.7% in Physics; while Christians have won a total of 72.5% of the prizes in Chemistry, 65.3% in Physics, 62% in Medicine and Jews have won 17.3% of the prizes in Chemistry, 26.2% in Medicine, and 25.9% in Physics.[108]
New Atheism[edit]
In the early 21st Century, a group of authors and media personalities in Britain and the United States - often referred to as the "New Atheists" - have argued that religion must be proactively countered, criticized so as to reduce its influence on society. Prominent among these voices have been Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bill Maherand Sam Harris.[109]Among those to critique their world view has been American-Iranian religious studies scholar Reza Aslan, argued that the New Atheists held an often comically simplistic view of religion which was giving atheism a bad name:[110]

This is not the philosophical atheism of Schopenhauer or Marx or Freud or Feuerbach. This is a sort of unthinking, simplistic religious criticism. It is primarily being fostered by individuals — like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins — who have absolutely no background in the study of religion at all. Most of my intellectual heroes are atheists, but they were experts in religion, and so they were able to offer critiques of it that came from a place of knowledge, from a sophistication of education, of research. What we’re seeing now instead is a sort of armchair atheism — people who are inundated by what they see on the news or in media, and who then draw these incredibly simplistic generalizations about religion in general based on these examples that they see.
— Reza Azlan, 2014.
Professor of Anthropologyand SociologyJack David Eller believes that the four principal New Atheist authors - Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennet and Harris - were not offering anything new in terms of arguments to disprove the existence of gods. He also criticized them for their focus on the dangers of theism, as opposed to the falsifying of theism, which results in mischaracterizing religions; taking local theisms as the essence of religion itself, and for focusing on the negative aspects of religion in the form of an "argument from benefit" in the reverse.[111]
Professors of philosophy and religion, Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey, take issue with "the evangelical nature of the new atheism, which assumes that it has a Good News to share, at all cost, for the ultimate future of humanity by the conversion of as many people as possible." They find similarities between the new atheism and evangelical Christianity and conclude that the all-consuming nature of both "encourages endless conflict without progress" between both extremities.[112]Sociologist William Stahl notes "What is striking about the current debate is the frequency with which the New Atheists are portrayed as mirror images of religious fundamentalists." He discusses where both have "structural and epistemological parallels" and argues that "both the New Atheism and fundamentalism are attempts to recreate authority in the face of crises of meaning in late modernity."[113]
See also[edit]
Anthropic principle
Conflict thesis
History of atheism
Implicit and explicit atheism
List of former atheists and agnostics
Myth of Progress
Nontheistic religions
State atheism
The Rage Against God
The Twilight of Atheism
There are no atheists in foxholes
Weak and strong atheism
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: abAddress by Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of USA on their Ad Limina Visit, 28 May 1993
2.Jump up ^http://www.chesterton.org/discover-chesterton/frequently-asked-questions/cease-to-worship/
3.Jump up ^Simon Blackburn, ed. (2008). "atheism". The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy(2008 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2011-12-05. "Either the lack of belief that there exists a god, or the belief that there exists none."
4.Jump up ^"atheism". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
5.Jump up ^Rowe, William L.(1998). "Atheism". In Edward Craig. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. So an atheist is someone who disbelieves in God, whereas a theist is someone who believes in God. Another meaning of "atheism" is simply nonbelief in the existence of God, rather than positive belief in the nonexistence of God. ...an atheist, in the broader sense of the term, is someone who disbelieves in every form of deity, not just the God of traditional Western theology."
6.Jump up ^*Nielsen, Kai(2011). "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "for an anthropomorphic God, the atheist rejects belief in God because it is false or probably false that there is a God; for a nonanthropomorphic God... because the concept of such a God is either meaningless, unintelligible, contradictory, incomprehensible, or incoherent; for the God portrayed by some modern or contemporary theologians or philosophers... because the concept of God in question is such that it merely masks an atheistic substance—e.g., "God" is just another name for love, or ... a symbolic term for moral ideals."Edwards, Paul(2005) [1967]. "Atheism". In Donald M. Borchert. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 359. ISBN 978-0-02-865780-6. "an 'atheist' is a person who rejects belief in God, regardless of whether or not his reason for the rejection is the claim that 'God exists' expresses a false proposition. People frequently adopt an attitude of rejection toward a position for reasons other than that it is a false proposition. It is common among contemporary philosophers, and indeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries, to reject positions on the ground that they are meaningless. Sometimes, too, a theory is rejected on such grounds as that it is sterile or redundant or capricious, and there are many other considerations which in certain contexts are generally agreed to constitute good grounds for rejecting an assertion."(page 175 in 1967 edition)
7.Jump up ^Various authors. "Logical Arguments for Atheism". Internet Infidels, The Secular Web Library. Retrieved 2007-APR-09.
8.Jump up ^See e.g. Dawkins, Richard(2006). The God Delusion. Ch.3: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.and Harris, Sam (2005). The End of Faith. W.W. Norton. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
9.Jump up ^Anthony KennyWhat I Believesee esp. Ch. 3 "Why I am not an atheist"
10.Jump up ^Pascal, Blaise; Ariew, Roger (2005). Pensées. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-87220-717-2. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
11.Jump up ^Remarques sur les Pensees de PascalXI
12.Jump up ^Zuckerman, Phil (2007). Martin, Michael, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0521603676.
13.Jump up ^PsychiatryOnline | American Journal of Psychiatry | Religious Affiliation and Suicide Attempt
14.Jump up ^Bainbridge, William (2005). "Atheism"(PDF). Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion1(Article 2): 1–26.
15.Jump up ^Zemore, SE; Kaskutas, LA (May 2004). "Helping, spirituality and Alcoholics Anonymous in recovery.". Journal of studies on alcohol65(3): 383–91. PMID 15222595.
16.Jump up ^Paul, Gregory. 2002. The Secular Revolution of the West, Free Inquiry, Summer: 28–34
17.Jump up ^Zuckerman, P. (2007). M. Martin, ed. [url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tAeFipOVx4MC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&ots=KhsfEfpZ0W&sig=CoVGalSuqtn9O1PDG8WNegDjTF8#v=snippet&f=falseThe Cambridge Companion to Atheism] (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-521-84270-0. "In sum, with the exception of suicide, countries marked by high rates of organic atheism are among the most societally healthy on earth, while societies characterized by nonexistent rates of organic atheism are among the most unhealthy. Of course, none of the above correlations demonstrate that high levels of organic atheism causesocietal health or that low levels of organic atheism causesocietal ills. Rather, societal health seems to cause widespread atheism, and societal insecurity seems to cause widespread belief in God, as has been demonstrated by Norris and Inglehart (2004), mentioned above."
18.Jump up ^Moreno-Riaño, Gerson; Smith, Mark Caleb; Mach, Thomas (2006). "Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health"(PDF). Journal of Religion and Society(Cedarville University) 8.
19.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.390-391
20.Jump up ^John LockeA LetterConcerning Toleration; Translated by William Popple
21.Jump up ^Jeremy Waldron; God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought; Cambridge, UK; 2002; p.217
22.^ Jump up to: abDinesh D'Souza. "Answering Atheist’s Arguments."; tothesource (December 6, 2006).
23.Jump up ^Josef Cardinal Ratzinger, Marcello Pera, "Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam" (Basic Books, 0465006345, 2006).
24.Jump up ^See, e.g., United States v. Miller, 236 F. 798, 799 (W.D. Wash., N.D. 1916) (citing Thurston v. Whitney et al., 2 Cush. (Mass.) 104; Jones on Evidence, Blue Book, vol. 4, §§ 712, 713) ("Under the common-law rule a person who does not believe in a God who is the rewarder of truth and the avenger of falsehood cannot be permitted to testify.")
25.^ Jump up to: abDawkins, Richard(2006-09-18). The God Delusion. Ch. 7: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
26.Jump up ^"Where morality is divorced from religion, reason will, it is true, enable a man to recognize to a large extent the ideal to which his nature points. But much will be wanting. He will disregard some of his most essential duties. He will, further, be destitute of the strong motives for obedience to the law afforded by the sense of obligation to God and the knowledge of the tremendous sanction attached to its neglect – motives which experience has proved to be necessary as a safeguard against the influence of the passions. And, finally, his actions even if in accordance with the moral law, will be based not on the obligation imposed by the Divine will, but on considerations of human dignity and on the good of human society."Wikisource-logo.svg "Morality". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
27.Jump up ^Christopher Hitchensand Douglas Wilson, "Is Christianity Good for the World? Part 2"[dead link]Christianity Todaymagazine (web only, May 2007)
28.Jump up ^Christopher Hitchensand Douglas Wilson, "Is Christianity Good for the World? Part 6"[dead link]Christianity Todaymagazine (web only, May 2007)
29.Jump up ^Gledhill, Ruth (May 22, 2009). "Archbishop of Westminster attacks atheism but says nothing on child abuse". The Times (London).[dead link]
30.Jump up ^David Limbaugh, "Does atheism require more faith?,"Townhall.com, April 20, 2004Stanley Fish, "Atheism and Evidence,"Think Again, The New York Times, June 17, 2007
DHRUV K. SINGHAL, "The Church of Atheism,", The Harvard Crimson, December 14, 2008
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist," Crossway Books, March 01, 2004, 447 Pages, ISBN 1-58134-561-5
John F. Haught, God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens, Westminster John Knox Press, December 31, 2007, 156 pages, ISBN 978-0-664-23304-4, page 45
31.Jump up ^Johns, Ian (2006). "Atheism gets a kick in the fundamentals". London: The Times.[dead link]Chater, David (2006). "Viewing guide: The Trouble with Atheism". London: The Times.[dead link]
Sam, Wollaston (2006-12-19). "Last night's TV". London: The Guardian.
32.Jump up ^Alister McGrathand Joanna Collicutt McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), February 15, 2007, ISBN 978-0-281-05927-0
33.Jump up ^Pasquale, Frank. "Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives". Hartford, CT: Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC), 2007. p. 46. "Some self-identified Atheists consequently distinguish between “positive” and “negative” forms. There is general regard among members of these groups as nonreligious comrades-in-arms. There is shared concern about misrepresentation or misunderstanding of nonreligious people, erosion of church-state separation, public and political influence of conservative religion, and aspects of American domestic and international policy. But there are also notes of irreligious sectarianism. In a meeting of secular humanists, one audience member proclaims, “We have our fundamentalists, too. They’re called Atheists.” In an Atheist meeting across town, derisive asides make reference to “a lack of spine” or “going soft onreligion” among “the humanists.” These groups struggle for public recognition and legitimacy.
34.Jump up ^Spencer, Herbert (1862). First Principles. London: Williams and Norgate, pp. 30-35.
35.Jump up ^Spencer, First Principles, p. 36.
36.Jump up ^Spencer, First Principles, p. 43.
37.Jump up ^Asad, Talal (2003). Formations of the Secular : Christianity, Islam, Modernity(10. printing. ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-8047-4768-7.
38.Jump up ^Martin, Michael. 0-521-84270-0 The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. 2006. ISBN 0-521-84270-0.
39.Jump up ^Nielsen, Kai(2009). "Atheism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2012-06-09.Edwards, Paul(1967). "Atheism". The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1. Collier-MacMillan. p. 175.
Flew, Antony(1984). God, Freedom, and Immortality: A Critical Analysis. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 0-87975-127-4.
40.Jump up ^"Quotations : Atheism, Atheist. Quotes of Asimov, Allen, Buchan, Chesterton, Crisp, Goldman, Roberts, Rossetti, Santayana, Sartre, Vidal". Atheisme.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
41.Jump up ^Catechism of the Catholic Church, English version, section 3.2.1.1.3
42.^ Jump up to: abcBacon, Francis (2002). The Major Works : Including New Atlantis and the Essays. Oxford University Press. pp. 95–96, 125. ISBN 0-19-284081-9.
43.Jump up ^Reflections on the Revolution in France; (1790) by Edmund Burke
44.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.543
45.Jump up ^Richard Pipes; Russia under the Bolshevik Regime; The Harvill Press; 1994; pp. 339–340
46.^ Jump up to: abAlan Bullock; Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives; Fontana Press; 1993; pp.412
47.^ Jump up to: abGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011
48.^ Jump up to: abMartin Amis; Koba the Dread; Vintage; 2003
49.Jump up ^Martin Amis; Koba the Dread; Vintage; 2003; pp.184-185
50.^ Jump up to: abcGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.494
51.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Pius XI; web Apr. 2013
52.Jump up ^Paul Berben; Dachau: The Official History 1933–1945; Norfolk Press; London; 1975; ISBN 0-85211-009-X; p. 142
53.Jump up ^Evans, Richard J. 2005 pp. 245-246
54.Jump up ^Divini Redemptoris - Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Atheistic Communism; by Pope Pius XI; 19 March 1937
55.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Fascism - identification with Christianity; web Apr. 2013
56.^ Jump up to: abcGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.495-6
57.Jump up ^F. L. Carsten; The Rise of Fascism; Methuen & Co Ltd; London; 1976; p.77
58.^ Jump up to: abcRichard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 546
59.Jump up ^Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; W.W. Norton & Co; London; pp. 381–82
60.Jump up ^William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p. 240
61.Jump up ^Richard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 547
62.Jump up ^Richard J. Evans; The Third Reich at War; Penguin Press; New York 2009, p. 546
63.Jump up ^Mit Brennender Sorge: 29Pope Pius XI; 14 March 1937
64.Jump up ^Summi Pontificatus, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on the Unity of Human Society; 20 October 1939
65.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.540
66.Jump up ^Pope Benedict XVI. "Meeting with state authorities in the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse". Retrieved 2012-06-09.
67.Jump up ^Dawkins, Richard (2010-09-22). "Ratzinger is an enemy of humanity". The Guardian(London).
68.Jump up ^Gill, Anton (1994). An Honourable Defeat; A History of the German Resistance to Hitler. Heinemann Mandarin. 1995 paperback ISBN 978-0-434-29276-9; p.57
69.^ Jump up to: abAlan Bullock; Hitler: a Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p219"
70.Jump up ^Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; W. W. Notron & Co; 2008 Edn; p. 373
71.^ Jump up to: abLaurence Rees; The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler; Ebury Press; 2012; p135.
72.Jump up ^"He hates Christianity, because it has crippled all that is noble in humanity" - from The Goebbels Diaries 1939-41, see entry for 8 April 1941
73.Jump up ^Evans, Richard J. (2008). The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis led Germany from conquest to disaster. London: Penguin. pp. 547–8. ISBN 978-0-14-101548-4.
74.Jump up ^Alan Bullock; Hitler: a Study in Tyranny; HarperPerennial Edition 1991; p216
75.Jump up ^Paul Berben; Dachau: The Official History 1933-1945; Norfolk Press; London; 1975; ISBN 0-85211-009-X; p. 138
76.Jump up ^^ a b Baynes, Norman H., ed. (1969). The Speeches of Adolf Hitler: April 1922-August 1939. New York: Howard Fertig. pp. 19-20, 37, 240, 370, 371, 375, 378, 382, 383, 385-388, 390-392, 398-399, 402, 405-407, 410, 1018, 1544, 1594.
77.Jump up ^Tom Rees. Atheist nations are more peaceful, Epiphenom.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010
78.^ Jump up to: abMichael BurleighSacred CausesHarperCollins (2006) p41, p42, p43
79.Jump up ^Burleigh op. cit. p49 and p47
80.Jump up ^Peter Hebblethwaite; Paul VI, the First Modern Pope; Harper Collins Religious; 1993; p.211
81.Jump up ^Norman Davies; Rising '44: the Battle for Warsaw; Vikiing; 2003; p.566 & 568
82.Jump up ^Majeska, George P. (1976). "Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe, Review." The Slavic and East European Journal.20(2). pp. 204–206.
83.Jump up ^Elsie, R. (2000). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. New York: NYU Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8.
84.Jump up ^David Binder, "Evolution in Europe; Albanian Leader Says the Country Will Be Democratized but Will Retain Socialism,"The New York Times, May 14, 1990
85.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - China: Religion; accessed 10 November 2013
86.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - China - History: Cultural Revolution; accessed 10 November 2013
87.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Cambodia History; accessed 10 November 2013
88.Jump up ^Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Cambodia: Religion; accessed 10 November 2013
89.Jump up ^Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of historyDinesh D'Souza
90.^ Jump up to: abAnswering Atheist’s ArgumentsDinesh D'Souza
91.Jump up ^10 myths and 10 truths about AtheismSam Harris
92.Jump up ^Interview with Richard Dawkins conducted by Stephen Sackur for BBC News 24’s HardTalk programme, July 24th 2007. [1]
93.Jump up ^The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins
94.Jump up ^Dawkins 2006, p. 309
95.Jump up ^Day (Theodore Beale), Vox (2008). The Irrational Atheist : Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens. BenBella Books. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-1-933771-36-6.
96.Jump up ^Wright, Robert. "The Trouble with the New Atheists: Part II". Huffington Post.
97.Jump up ^Chaves, Mark (2010). "SSSR Presidential Address Rain Dances in the Dry Season: Overcoming the Religious Congruence Fallacy". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion49(1): 1–14. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01489.x.
98.^ Jump up to: abGeoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; pp.438-439
99.Jump up ^Reprinted at www.stephenjaygould.org from journal Nature. Edward J. Larson; Larry Witham (1998). "Leading scientists still reject God"394. Nature. p. 313.
100.Jump up ^Is Atheism Irrational?; New York Times; 9 Feb 2014
101.Jump up ^Geoffrey Blainey; A Short History of Christianity; Viking; 2011; p.543-545
102.Jump up ^Fuller, Steve (2010). "What Has Atheism Ever Done For Science?". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.
103.^ Jump up to: abc"Atheism and Science". Investigating Atheism project - Cambridge and Oxford. "Atheists have appealed to science in defence of their atheism since the first avowedly atheistic manuscripts of the mid seventeenth century. However, as the German expert on atheism Winfried Schroeder has shown, the relationship between early modern atheism and science tended to embarrass rather than strengthen the fledgling atheism's case.[1]" ; "The renowned Denis Diderot, atheist and deist in turns, could still say in 1746 that science posed a greater threat to atheism than metaphysics.[3] Well into the eighteenth century it could be argued that it was atheism and not theism which required a sacrifice of the intellect. As Schroeder has pointed out, atheists were scientifically retrograde until at least the mid eighteenth century, and suffered from their reputation as scientifically unserious.[4]" ; "As John Hedley Brooke has pointed out, for every nineteenth century person considering these issues who followed figures such as Thomas Henry Huxley or Francis Galton in regarding evolution as devastating for religious belief, there were others, such as the Oxford theologian Aubrey Moore, who regarded Darwin's evolutionary theory as an opportunity for religion.[7]At the beginning of the twenty first century the situation remains very similar:.."
104.Jump up ^Henry, John (2000). "35. Atheism". In Gary Ferngren. The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition : An Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Garland. pp. 182–188. ISBN 0-8153-1656-9.
105.Jump up ^Taking Science on Faith; Paul Davies, The New York Times, 24 Nov 2007
106.Jump up ^An Evening with John Lennox; ABC Radio National - The Spirit of Things; 7 August 2011
107.Jump up ^The Question of God - an interview with Francis Collins; PBS; 2004
108.Jump up ^Shalev, Baruch Aba (2005). 100 Years of Nobel prizes(3rd ed., updated for 2001-2004. ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Americas Group. ISBN 0935047379.
109.Jump up ^Hooper, Simon. "The rise of the New Atheists". CNN. Retrieved 2014-10-14
110.Jump up ^Reza Aslan on What the New Atheists Get Wrong About Islam; New York Magazine; 14 October 2014
111.Jump up ^Eller, Jack (2010). "What Is Atheism?". In Phil Zuckerman. Atheism and Secularity Vol.1: Issues, Concepts, Definitions. Praeger. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-313-35183-9.
112.Jump up ^Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey (2010). "Beating 'God' to Death: Radical Theology and the New Atheism". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.
113.Jump up ^William Stahl (2010). "One-Dimensional Rage: The Social Epistemology of the New Atheism and Fundamentalism". In Amarnath Amarasingam. Religion and the New Atheism A Critical Appraisal. Haymarket Books. pp. 97–108. ISBN 978-1-60846-203-2.


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Secular morality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Secular morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional philosophies with ancient roots include those such as skepticism and virtue ethics. Greg M. Epstein also states that, "much of ancient Far Eastern thought is deeply concerned with human goodness without placing much if any stock in the importance of gods or spirits."[1]:45 Other philosophers have proposed various ideas about how to determine right and wrong actions. An example is Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative.
A variety of positions are apparent regarding the relationship between religion and morality. Some believe that religion is necessary as a guide to a moral life. This idea has been with us for nearly 2,000 years.[1]:5 There are various thoughts regarding how this idea has arisen. For example, Greg Epstein suggests that this idea is connected to a concerted effort by theists to question nonreligious ideas: "conservative authorities have, since ancient days, had a clever counterstrategy against religious skepticism—convincing people that atheism is evil, and then accusing their enemies of being atheists."[1]:7
Others eschew the idea that religion is required to provide a guide to right and wrong behavior, such as the Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics which states that religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other".[2]:401 Some believe that religions provide poor guides to moral behavior. Various commentators, such as Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Christopher Hitchens are among those who have asserted this view.


Contents  [hide]
1 Secular moral frameworks 1.1 Consequentialism
1.2 Freethinking
1.3 Secular humanism
2 Positions on religion and morality 2.1 Morality requires religious tenets
2.2 Morality does not rely on religion
2.3 Religion is a poor moral guide
2.4 Evidential findings
2.5 Other views
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

Secular moral frameworks[edit]
Consequentialism[edit]
Main article: Consequentialism
See also: Utilitarianism
"Consequentialists", as described by Peter Singer, "start not with moral rules, but with goals. They assess actions by the extent to which they further those goals."[3]:3 Singer also notes that utilitarianism is "the best-known, though not the only, consequentialist theory."[3]:3 Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission) is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. In his 2010 book, The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris describes a utilitarian science of morality.
Freethinking[edit]
Main article: Freethinking
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas. Freethinkers strive to build their opinions on the basis of facts, scientific inquiry, and logical principles, independent of any logical fallacies or intellectually limiting effects of authority, confirmation bias, cognitive bias, conventional wisdom, popular culture, prejudice, sectarianism, tradition, urban legend, and all other dogmas.
Secular humanism[edit]
Main article: Secular humanism
Secular humanism focuses on the way human beings can lead happy and functional lives. Though it posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or God, it neither assumes humans to be inherently evil or innately good, nor presents humans as "above nature" or superior to it. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy.
Positions on religion and morality[edit]
See also: Ethics in religion and Secular ethics
The subject of secular morality has been discussed by prominent secular scholars as well as popular culture-based atheist and anti-religious writers. These include Paul Chamberlain's Can We Be Good Without God? (1996), Richard Holloway's Godless Morality: Keeping Religion Out of Ethics (1999), Robert Buckman's Can We Be Good Without God? (2002), Michael Shermer's The Science of Good and Evil (2004), Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion (2006), Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great (2007), Greg Epstein's Good Without God: What A Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe (2010), and Sam Harris's The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (2011).
Morality requires religious tenets[edit]
According to Greg Epstein, "the idea that we can't be 'good without God' " has been with us for nearly 2,000 years.[1]:5 This idea is seen in various holy books, for example in Psalms 14 of the Christian Bible: "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good ... not even one."[4] And this idea is still present today. "Many today ... argue that religious beliefs are necessary to provide moral guidance and standards of virtuous conduct in an otherwise corrupt, materialistic, and degenerate world."[5]:115 For example, Christian writer and medievalist C. S. Lewis made the argument in his popular book Mere Christianity that if a supernatural, objective standard of right and wrong does not exist outside of the natural world, then right and wrong becomes mired in the is-ought problem. Thus, he wrote, preferences for one moral standard over another become as inherently indefensible and arbitrary as preferring a certain flavor of food over another or choosing to drive on a certain side of a road.[6]:3–28 In the same vein, Christian theologian Ron Rhodes has remarked that "it is impossible to distinguish evil from good unless one has an infinite reference point which is absolutely good."[7] Peter Singer states that, "Traditionally, the more important link between religion and ethics was that religion was thought to provide a reason for doing what is right, the reason being that those who are virtuous will be rewarded by an eternity of bliss while the rest roast in hell."[3]:4
Proponents of theism argue that without a God or gods it is impossible to justify moral behavior on metaphysical grounds and thus to make a coherent case for abiding by moral standards. C. S. Lewis makes such an argument in Mere Christianity. Peter Robinson, a political author and commentator with Stanford's Hoover Institution, has commented that, if an inner moral conscience is just another adaptive or evolved feeling in the human mind like simple emotional urges, then no inherent reason exists to consider morality as over and above other urges.[8] According to Thomas Dixon, "Religions certainly do provide a framework within which people can learn the difference between right and wrong."[5]
Morality does not rely on religion[edit]

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hopes of reward after death."
— Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science," New York Times Magazine, 1930
Various commentators have stated that morality does not require religion as a guide. The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics states that, "it is not hard to imagine a society of people that has no religion but has a morality, as well as a legal system, just because it says that people cannot live together without rules against killing, etc., and that it is not desirable for these all to be legally enforced. There have also certainly been people who have had a morality but no religious beliefs."[2]:400 Bernard Williams, an English philosopher, stated that the secular "utilitarian outlook"—a popular ethical position wherein the morally right action is defined as that action which effects the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people—is "non-transcendental, and makes no appeal outside human life, in particular not to religious considerations."[9]:83 Williams also argued that, "Either one's motives for following the moral word of God are moral motives, or they are not. If they are, then one is already equipped with moral motivations, and the introduction of God adds nothing extra. But if they are not moral motives, then they will be motives of such a kind that they cannot appropriately motivate morality at all ... we reach the conclusion that any appeal to God in this connection either adds to nothing at all, or it adds the wrong sort of thing."[9]:64–65
Socrates' "Euthyphro dilemma" is often considered one of the earliest refutations of the idea that morality requires religion. This line of reasoning is described by Peter Singer:

"Some theists say that ethics cannot do without religion because the very meaning of 'good' is nothing other than 'what God approves'. Plato refuted a similar claim more than two thousand years ago by arguing that if the gods approve of some actions it must be because those actions are good, in which case it cannot be the gods' approval that makes them good. The alternative view makes divine approval entirely arbitrary: if the gods had happened to approve of torture and disapprove of helping our neighbors, torture would have been good and helping our neighbors bad. Some modern theists have attempted to extricate themselves from this type of dilemma by maintaining that God is good and so could not possibly approve of torture; but these theists are caught in a trap of their own making, for what can they possibly mean by the assertion that God is good? That God is approved of by God?"[3]:3–4
Greg Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, dismisses the question of whether God is needed to be good "because that question does not need to be answered—it needs to be rejected outright," adding, "To suggest that one can't be good without belief in God is not just an opinion ... it is a prejudice. It may even be discrimination."[1]:ix This is in line with the Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics which states that religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other. Conceptually and in principle, morality and a religious value system are two distinct kinds of value systems or action guides."[2]:401 Others share this view. Singer states that morality "is not something intelligible only in the context of religion".[3][a] Atheistic philosopher Julian Baggini stated that "there is nothing to stop atheists believing in morality, a meaning for life, or human goodness. Atheism is only intrinsically negative when it comes to belief about God. It is as capable of a positive view of other aspects of life as any other belief."[10]:3 He also states that "Morality is more than possible without God, it is entirely independent of him. That means atheists are not only more than capable of leading moral lives, they may even be able to lead more moral lives than religious believers who confuse divine law and punishment with right and wrong.[10]:37
Popular atheist author and Vanity Fair writer Christopher Hitchens remarked on the program Uncommon Knowledge:

"I think our knowledge of right and wrong is innate in us. Religion gets its morality from humans. We know that we can't get along if we permit perjury, theft, murder, rape, all societies at all times, well before the advent of monarchies and certainly, have forbidden it... Socrates called his daemon, it was an inner voice that stopped him when he was trying to take advantage of someone... Why don't we just assume that we do have some internal compass?"[8]

 

 Daniel Dennett says it is a "pernicious" myth that religion or God are needed for people to fulfill their desires to be good. However, he offers that secular and humanist groups are still learning how to organize effectively.[11]
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says that secular organizations need to learn more 'marketing' lessons from religion—and from effective secular organizations like the TED conferences. This is partly because Dennett says that the idea that people need God to be morally good is an extremely harmful, yet popular myth. He believes it is a falsehood that persists because churches are currently much better at organizing people to do morally good work.[11] In Dennett's words:

"What is particularly pernicious about it [the myth] is that it exploits a wonderful human trait; people want to be good. They want to lead good lives... So then along come religions that say 'Well you can't be good without God' to convince people that they have to do this. That may be the main motivation for people to take religions seriously—to try to take religions seriously, to try and establish an allegiance to the church—because they want to lead good lives."[11]
Religion is a poor moral guide[edit]
Popular atheist author and biologist Richard Dawkins, writing in The God Delusion, has stated that religious people have committed a wide variety of acts and held certain beliefs through history that are considered today to be morally repugnant. He has stated that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis held broadly Christian religious beliefs that inspired the Holocaust on account of antisemitic Christian doctrine, that Christians have traditionally imposed unfair restrictions on the legal and civil rights of women, and that Christians have condoned slavery of some form or description throughout most of Christianity's history. Dawkins insists that, since Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Bible have changed over the span of history so that what was formerly seen as permissible is now seen as impermissible, it is intellectually dishonest for them to believe theism provides an absolute moral foundation apart from secular intuition. In addition, he argued that since Christians and other religious groups do not acknowledge the binding authority of all parts of their holy texts (e.g., The books of Exodus and Leviticus state that those who work on the Sabbath[12] and those caught performing acts of homosexuality,[13] respectively, were to be put to death.), they are already capable of distinguishing "right" from "wrong."[14]:281
The well-known passage from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, "If God is dead, all is permitted,"[1]:63 suggests that non-believers would not hold moral lives without the possibility of punishment by a God. Greg M. Epstein notes a similar theme in reverse. Famous apologies by Christians who have "sinned" (such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Swaggart) "must embolden some who take enormous risks for the thrill of a little immoral behavior: their Lord will forgive them, if they only ask nicely enough when—or if—they are eventually caught. If you're going to do something naughty, you're going to do it, and all the theology in the world isn't going to stop you."[1]:115–116 Some survey and sociological literature suggests that theists do no better than their secular counterparts in the percentage adhering to widely held moral standards (e.g., lying, theft and sexual infidelity).[e]
Evidential findings[edit]
Cases can also be seen in nature of animals exhibiting behavior we might classify as "moral" without religious directives to guide them. These include "detailed studies of the complex systems of altruism and cooperation that operate among social insects" and "the posting of altruistic sentinels by some species of bird and mammal, who risk their own lives to warn the rest of the group of imminent danger."[5]:117
Greg Epstein states that "sociologists have recently begun to pay more attention to the fact that some of the world's most secular countries, such as those in Scandinavia, are among the least violent, best educated, and most likely to care for the poor".[15] He adds that, "scientists are beginning to document, though religion may have benefits for the brain, so may secularism and Humanism."[15]
On April 26, 2012, the results of a study which tested their subjects' pro-social sentiments were published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal in which non-religious people had higher scores showing that they were more inclined to show generosity in random acts of kindness, such as lending their possessions and offering a seat on a crowded bus or train. Religious people also had lower scores when it came to seeing how much compassion motivated participants to be charitable in other ways, such as in giving money or food to a homeless person and to non-believers.[16][17]
A number of studies have been conducted on the empirics of morality in various countries, and the overall relationship between faith and crime is unclear.[b] A 2001 review of studies on this topic found "The existing evidence surrounding the effect of religion on crime is varied, contested, and inconclusive, and currently no persuasive answer exists as to the empirical relationship between religion and crime."[18] Phil Zuckerman's 2008 book, Society without God, notes that Denmark and Sweden, "which are probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world", enjoy "among the lowest violent crime rates in the world [and] the lowest levels of corruption in the world".[19][c] Dozens of studies have been conducted on this topic since the twentieth century. A 2005 study by Gregory S. Paul published in the Journal of Religion and Society stated that, "In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion in the prosperous democracies," and "In all secular developing democracies a centuries long-term trend has seen homicide rates drop to historical lows" with the exceptions being the United States (with a high religiosity level) and "theistic" Portugal.[20][d] In a response, Gary Jensen builds on and refines Paul's study.[21] His conclusion is that a "complex relationship" exists between religiosity and homicide "with some dimensions of religiosity encouraging homicide and other dimensions discouraging it".
Other views[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
Some non-religious nihilistic and existentialist thinkers have affirmed the prominent theistic position that the existence of the personal God of theism is linked to the existence of an objective moral standard, asserting that questions of right and wrong inherently have no meaning and, thus, any notions of morality are nothing but an anthropogenic fantasy. Agnostic author and Absurdist philosopher Albert Camus discussed the issue of what he saw as the universe's indifference towards humankind and the meaninglessness of life in his prominent novel The Stranger, in which the protagonist accepts death via execution without sadness or feelings of injustice. In his philosophical work, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus argues that human beings must choose to live defiantly in spite of their longing for purpose or direction and the apparent lack of evidence for God or moral imperatives.[citation needed] The atheistic existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre proposed that the individual must create his own essence and therefore must freely and independently create his own subjective moral standards by which to live.
See also[edit]
Morality and religion
Secular ethics
Science of morality
Notes[edit]
a.^ Singer uses the word "ethics", but states in the same work that he uses the words ethics and morals "interchangeably" (p. 1).b.^ Some studies appear to show positive links in the relationship between religiosity and moral behavior[22][23]—for example, surveys suggesting a positive connection between faith and altruism.[24] Modern research in criminology also suggests an inverse relationship between religion and crime,[25] with some studies establishing this connection.[26] A meta-analysis of 60 studies on religion and crime concluded, "religious behaviors and beliefs exert a moderate deterrent effect on individuals' criminal behavior".[27]c.^ Zuckerman identifies that Scandinavians have "relatively high rates of petty crime and burglary", but "their overall rates of violent crime—such as murder, aggravated assault, and rape—are among the lowest on earth" (Zuckerman 2008, pp. 5–6).d.^ The authors also state that "A few hundred years ago rates of homicide were astronomical in Christian Europe and the American colonies,"[28] and "[t]he least theistic secular developing democracies such as Japan, France, and Scandinavia have been most successful in these regards."[29] They argue for a positive correlation between the degree of public religiosity in a society and certain measures of dysfunction,[30] an analysis published later in the same journal argues that a number of methodological problems undermine any findings or conclusions in the research.[31]e.^ See, for instance, Ronald J. Sider, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2005). Sider quotes extensively from polling research by The Barna Group showing that the moral behavior of evangelical Christians is anything but exemplary.
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Epstein, Greg M. (2010). Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-167011-4.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c Childress, James F.; Macquarrie, John, eds. (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Singer, Peter (2010). Practical Ethics (Second ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43971-8.
4.Jump up ^ ESVBible.org. "Psalm 14 - ESVBible.org". Crossway. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Dixon, Thomas (2008). Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929551-7.
6.Jump up ^ Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity. HarperCollins.
7.Jump up ^ Ron Rhodes. "Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists". Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
8.^ Jump up to: a b "Hitchens—The Morals of an Atheist". Uncommon Knowledge. August 23, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
9.^ Jump up to: a b Williams, Bernard (1972). Morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45729-7.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Baggini, Julian (2003). Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280424-2.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c Dennett, Daniel (December 12, 2011). "The Scientific Study of Religion". Point of Inquiry. Discussion of morality starts especially at 39min
12.Jump up ^ Biblos.com (2004–2011). "Exodus 31:15". Biblos.com. Retrieved 6 September 2012. Exodus 35:2 is similarly worded.
13.Jump up ^ Biblos.com (2004–2011). "Leviticus 20:13". Biblos.com. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
14.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9.
15.^ Jump up to: a b Zuckerman, Phil (2008). Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment. New York: New York University Press.
16.Jump up ^ Highly Religious People Are Less Motivated by Compassion Than Are Non-Believers by Science Daily
17.Jump up ^ Laura R. Saslow, Robb Willer, Matthew Feinberg, Paul K. Piff, Katharine Clark, Dacher Keltner and Sarina R. Saturn My Brother's Keeper? Compassion Predicts Generosity More Among Less Religious Individuals
18.Jump up ^ Baier, Colin J.; Wright, Bradley R. E. (February 2001). ""If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments": A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Religion on Crime". 38. No. 1. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2011. Original in italics.
19.Jump up ^ Zuckerman, Phil. Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment. New York: New York University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8147-9714-3. Zuckerman's work is based on his studies conducted during a 14-month period in Scandinavia in 2005–2006.
20.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 4, 5, 8, and 10.
21.Jump up ^ Gary F. Jensen (2006) Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University Religious Cosmologies and Homicide Rates among Nations: A Closer Look http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2006/2006-7.html http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/2006-7.pdf Journal of Religion and Society, Volume 8, ISSN 1522-5658 http://purl.org/JRS
22.Jump up ^ KERLEY, KENT R.; MATTHEWS; BLANCHARD, TROY C. (2005). "Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (4): 443–457. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00296.x.
23.Jump up ^ SAROGLOU, VASSILIS; PICHON; DERNELLE, REBECCA (2005). "Prosocial Behavior and Religion: New Evidence Based on Projective Measures and Peer Ratings". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (3): 323–348. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00289.x.
24.Jump up ^ e.g. a survey by Robert Putnam showing that membership of religious groups was positively correlated with membership of voluntary organisations
25.Jump up ^ As is stated in: Chu, Doris C. (2007). "Religiosity and Desistance From Drug Use". Criminal Justice and Behavior 34: 661. doi:10.1177/0093854806293485.
26.Jump up ^ For example: Albrecht, S. I.; Chadwick, B. A.; Alcorn, D. S. (1977). "Religiosity and deviance: Application of an attitude-behavior contingent consistency model". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 16: 263–274. doi:10.2307/1385697.
Burkett, S.; White, M. (1974). "Hellfire and delinquency:Another look". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 13: 455–462. doi:10.2307/1384608.
Chard-Wierschem, D. (1998). In pursuit of the "true" relationship: A longitudinal study of the effects of religiosity on delinquency and substance abuse. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation.
Cochran, J. K.; Akers, R. L. (1989). "Beyond Hellfire:An explanation of the variable effects of religiosity on adolescent marijuana and alcohol use". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 26: 198–225. doi:10.1177/0022427889026003002.
Evans, T. D.; Cullen, F. T.; Burton, V. S.; Jr; Dunaway, R. G.; Payne, G. L.; Kethineni, S. R. (1996). "Religion, social bonds, and delinquency". Deviant Behavior 17: 43–70. doi:10.1080/01639625.1996.9968014.
Grasmick, H. G.; Bursik, R. J.; Cochran, J. K. (1991). "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's": Religiosity and taxpayer's inclinations to cheat". The Sociological Quarterly 32: 251–266. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00356.x.
Higgins, P. C.; Albrecht, G. L. (1977). "Hellfire and delinquency revisited". Social Forces 55: 952–958. doi:10.1093/sf/55.4.952.
Johnson, B. R.; Larson, D. B.; DeLi, S.; Jang, S. J. (2000). "Escaping from the crime of inner cities:Church attendance and religious salience among disadvantaged youth". Justice Quarterly 17: 377–391. doi:10.1080/07418820000096371.
Johnson, R. E.; Marcos, A. C.; Bahr, S. J. (1987). "The role of peers in the complex etiology of adolescent drug use". Criminology 25: 323–340. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1987.tb00800.x.
Powell, K. (1997). "Correlates of violent and nonviolent behavior among vulnerable inner-city youths". Family and Community Health 20: 38–47. doi:10.1097/00003727-199707000-00006.
27.Jump up ^ Baier, C. J.; Wright, B. R. (2001). "If you love me, keep my commandments":A meta-analysis of the effect of religion on crime". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38: 3–21. doi:10.1177/0022427801038001001.
28.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 4, 5, 8.
29.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 11.
30.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7.
31.Jump up ^ Gerson Moreno-Riaño; Mark Caleb Smith; Thomas Mach (2006). "Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health". Journal of Religion and Society (Cedarville University) 8.
External links[edit]
Morality without religion, by Marc Hauser
Can we be good without God 1996, Paul Chamberlain ISBN 0-8308-1686-0
Video: Marc Hauser, Pt 3 Is there morality without religion?
  


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Secular morality

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Secular morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional philosophies with ancient roots include those such as skepticism and virtue ethics. Greg M. Epstein also states that, "much of ancient Far Eastern thought is deeply concerned with human goodness without placing much if any stock in the importance of gods or spirits."[1]:45 Other philosophers have proposed various ideas about how to determine right and wrong actions. An example is Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative.
A variety of positions are apparent regarding the relationship between religion and morality. Some believe that religion is necessary as a guide to a moral life. This idea has been with us for nearly 2,000 years.[1]:5 There are various thoughts regarding how this idea has arisen. For example, Greg Epstein suggests that this idea is connected to a concerted effort by theists to question nonreligious ideas: "conservative authorities have, since ancient days, had a clever counterstrategy against religious skepticism—convincing people that atheism is evil, and then accusing their enemies of being atheists."[1]:7
Others eschew the idea that religion is required to provide a guide to right and wrong behavior, such as the Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics which states that religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other".[2]:401 Some believe that religions provide poor guides to moral behavior. Various commentators, such as Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Christopher Hitchens are among those who have asserted this view.


Contents  [hide]
1 Secular moral frameworks 1.1 Consequentialism
1.2 Freethinking
1.3 Secular humanism
2 Positions on religion and morality 2.1 Morality requires religious tenets
2.2 Morality does not rely on religion
2.3 Religion is a poor moral guide
2.4 Evidential findings
2.5 Other views
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

Secular moral frameworks[edit]
Consequentialism[edit]
Main article: Consequentialism
See also: Utilitarianism
"Consequentialists", as described by Peter Singer, "start not with moral rules, but with goals. They assess actions by the extent to which they further those goals."[3]:3 Singer also notes that utilitarianism is "the best-known, though not the only, consequentialist theory."[3]:3 Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission) is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. In his 2010 book, The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris describes a utilitarian science of morality.
Freethinking[edit]
Main article: Freethinking
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas. Freethinkers strive to build their opinions on the basis of facts, scientific inquiry, and logical principles, independent of any logical fallacies or intellectually limiting effects of authority, confirmation bias, cognitive bias, conventional wisdom, popular culture, prejudice, sectarianism, tradition, urban legend, and all other dogmas.
Secular humanism[edit]
Main article: Secular humanism
Secular humanism focuses on the way human beings can lead happy and functional lives. Though it posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or God, it neither assumes humans to be inherently evil or innately good, nor presents humans as "above nature" or superior to it. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy.
Positions on religion and morality[edit]
See also: Ethics in religion and Secular ethics
The subject of secular morality has been discussed by prominent secular scholars as well as popular culture-based atheist and anti-religious writers. These include Paul Chamberlain's Can We Be Good Without God? (1996), Richard Holloway's Godless Morality: Keeping Religion Out of Ethics (1999), Robert Buckman's Can We Be Good Without God? (2002), Michael Shermer's The Science of Good and Evil (2004), Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion (2006), Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great (2007), Greg Epstein's Good Without God: What A Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe (2010), and Sam Harris's The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (2011).
Morality requires religious tenets[edit]
According to Greg Epstein, "the idea that we can't be 'good without God' " has been with us for nearly 2,000 years.[1]:5 This idea is seen in various holy books, for example in Psalms 14 of the Christian Bible: "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good ... not even one."[4] And this idea is still present today. "Many today ... argue that religious beliefs are necessary to provide moral guidance and standards of virtuous conduct in an otherwise corrupt, materialistic, and degenerate world."[5]:115 For example, Christian writer and medievalist C. S. Lewis made the argument in his popular book Mere Christianity that if a supernatural, objective standard of right and wrong does not exist outside of the natural world, then right and wrong becomes mired in the is-ought problem. Thus, he wrote, preferences for one moral standard over another become as inherently indefensible and arbitrary as preferring a certain flavor of food over another or choosing to drive on a certain side of a road.[6]:3–28 In the same vein, Christian theologian Ron Rhodes has remarked that "it is impossible to distinguish evil from good unless one has an infinite reference point which is absolutely good."[7] Peter Singer states that, "Traditionally, the more important link between religion and ethics was that religion was thought to provide a reason for doing what is right, the reason being that those who are virtuous will be rewarded by an eternity of bliss while the rest roast in hell."[3]:4
Proponents of theism argue that without a God or gods it is impossible to justify moral behavior on metaphysical grounds and thus to make a coherent case for abiding by moral standards. C. S. Lewis makes such an argument in Mere Christianity. Peter Robinson, a political author and commentator with Stanford's Hoover Institution, has commented that, if an inner moral conscience is just another adaptive or evolved feeling in the human mind like simple emotional urges, then no inherent reason exists to consider morality as over and above other urges.[8] According to Thomas Dixon, "Religions certainly do provide a framework within which people can learn the difference between right and wrong."[5]
Morality does not rely on religion[edit]

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hopes of reward after death."
— Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science," New York Times Magazine, 1930
Various commentators have stated that morality does not require religion as a guide. The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics states that, "it is not hard to imagine a society of people that has no religion but has a morality, as well as a legal system, just because it says that people cannot live together without rules against killing, etc., and that it is not desirable for these all to be legally enforced. There have also certainly been people who have had a morality but no religious beliefs."[2]:400 Bernard Williams, an English philosopher, stated that the secular "utilitarian outlook"—a popular ethical position wherein the morally right action is defined as that action which effects the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people—is "non-transcendental, and makes no appeal outside human life, in particular not to religious considerations."[9]:83 Williams also argued that, "Either one's motives for following the moral word of God are moral motives, or they are not. If they are, then one is already equipped with moral motivations, and the introduction of God adds nothing extra. But if they are not moral motives, then they will be motives of such a kind that they cannot appropriately motivate morality at all ... we reach the conclusion that any appeal to God in this connection either adds to nothing at all, or it adds the wrong sort of thing."[9]:64–65
Socrates' "Euthyphro dilemma" is often considered one of the earliest refutations of the idea that morality requires religion. This line of reasoning is described by Peter Singer:

"Some theists say that ethics cannot do without religion because the very meaning of 'good' is nothing other than 'what God approves'. Plato refuted a similar claim more than two thousand years ago by arguing that if the gods approve of some actions it must be because those actions are good, in which case it cannot be the gods' approval that makes them good. The alternative view makes divine approval entirely arbitrary: if the gods had happened to approve of torture and disapprove of helping our neighbors, torture would have been good and helping our neighbors bad. Some modern theists have attempted to extricate themselves from this type of dilemma by maintaining that God is good and so could not possibly approve of torture; but these theists are caught in a trap of their own making, for what can they possibly mean by the assertion that God is good? That God is approved of by God?"[3]:3–4
Greg Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, dismisses the question of whether God is needed to be good "because that question does not need to be answered—it needs to be rejected outright," adding, "To suggest that one can't be good without belief in God is not just an opinion ... it is a prejudice. It may even be discrimination."[1]:ix This is in line with the Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics which states that religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other. Conceptually and in principle, morality and a religious value system are two distinct kinds of value systems or action guides."[2]:401 Others share this view. Singer states that morality "is not something intelligible only in the context of religion".[3][a] Atheistic philosopher Julian Baggini stated that "there is nothing to stop atheists believing in morality, a meaning for life, or human goodness. Atheism is only intrinsically negative when it comes to belief about God. It is as capable of a positive view of other aspects of life as any other belief."[10]:3 He also states that "Morality is more than possible without God, it is entirely independent of him. That means atheists are not only more than capable of leading moral lives, they may even be able to lead more moral lives than religious believers who confuse divine law and punishment with right and wrong.[10]:37
Popular atheist author and Vanity Fair writer Christopher Hitchens remarked on the program Uncommon Knowledge:

"I think our knowledge of right and wrong is innate in us. Religion gets its morality from humans. We know that we can't get along if we permit perjury, theft, murder, rape, all societies at all times, well before the advent of monarchies and certainly, have forbidden it... Socrates called his daemon, it was an inner voice that stopped him when he was trying to take advantage of someone... Why don't we just assume that we do have some internal compass?"[8]

 

 Daniel Dennett says it is a "pernicious" myth that religion or God are needed for people to fulfill their desires to be good. However, he offers that secular and humanist groups are still learning how to organize effectively.[11]
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says that secular organizations need to learn more 'marketing' lessons from religion—and from effective secular organizations like the TED conferences. This is partly because Dennett says that the idea that people need God to be morally good is an extremely harmful, yet popular myth. He believes it is a falsehood that persists because churches are currently much better at organizing people to do morally good work.[11] In Dennett's words:

"What is particularly pernicious about it [the myth] is that it exploits a wonderful human trait; people want to be good. They want to lead good lives... So then along come religions that say 'Well you can't be good without God' to convince people that they have to do this. That may be the main motivation for people to take religions seriously—to try to take religions seriously, to try and establish an allegiance to the church—because they want to lead good lives."[11]
Religion is a poor moral guide[edit]
Popular atheist author and biologist Richard Dawkins, writing in The God Delusion, has stated that religious people have committed a wide variety of acts and held certain beliefs through history that are considered today to be morally repugnant. He has stated that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis held broadly Christian religious beliefs that inspired the Holocaust on account of antisemitic Christian doctrine, that Christians have traditionally imposed unfair restrictions on the legal and civil rights of women, and that Christians have condoned slavery of some form or description throughout most of Christianity's history. Dawkins insists that, since Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Bible have changed over the span of history so that what was formerly seen as permissible is now seen as impermissible, it is intellectually dishonest for them to believe theism provides an absolute moral foundation apart from secular intuition. In addition, he argued that since Christians and other religious groups do not acknowledge the binding authority of all parts of their holy texts (e.g., The books of Exodus and Leviticus state that those who work on the Sabbath[12] and those caught performing acts of homosexuality,[13] respectively, were to be put to death.), they are already capable of distinguishing "right" from "wrong."[14]:281
The well-known passage from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, "If God is dead, all is permitted,"[1]:63 suggests that non-believers would not hold moral lives without the possibility of punishment by a God. Greg M. Epstein notes a similar theme in reverse. Famous apologies by Christians who have "sinned" (such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Swaggart) "must embolden some who take enormous risks for the thrill of a little immoral behavior: their Lord will forgive them, if they only ask nicely enough when—or if—they are eventually caught. If you're going to do something naughty, you're going to do it, and all the theology in the world isn't going to stop you."[1]:115–116 Some survey and sociological literature suggests that theists do no better than their secular counterparts in the percentage adhering to widely held moral standards (e.g., lying, theft and sexual infidelity).[e]
Evidential findings[edit]
Cases can also be seen in nature of animals exhibiting behavior we might classify as "moral" without religious directives to guide them. These include "detailed studies of the complex systems of altruism and cooperation that operate among social insects" and "the posting of altruistic sentinels by some species of bird and mammal, who risk their own lives to warn the rest of the group of imminent danger."[5]:117
Greg Epstein states that "sociologists have recently begun to pay more attention to the fact that some of the world's most secular countries, such as those in Scandinavia, are among the least violent, best educated, and most likely to care for the poor".[15] He adds that, "scientists are beginning to document, though religion may have benefits for the brain, so may secularism and Humanism."[15]
On April 26, 2012, the results of a study which tested their subjects' pro-social sentiments were published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal in which non-religious people had higher scores showing that they were more inclined to show generosity in random acts of kindness, such as lending their possessions and offering a seat on a crowded bus or train. Religious people also had lower scores when it came to seeing how much compassion motivated participants to be charitable in other ways, such as in giving money or food to a homeless person and to non-believers.[16][17]
A number of studies have been conducted on the empirics of morality in various countries, and the overall relationship between faith and crime is unclear.[b] A 2001 review of studies on this topic found "The existing evidence surrounding the effect of religion on crime is varied, contested, and inconclusive, and currently no persuasive answer exists as to the empirical relationship between religion and crime."[18] Phil Zuckerman's 2008 book, Society without God, notes that Denmark and Sweden, "which are probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world", enjoy "among the lowest violent crime rates in the world [and] the lowest levels of corruption in the world".[19][c] Dozens of studies have been conducted on this topic since the twentieth century. A 2005 study by Gregory S. Paul published in the Journal of Religion and Society stated that, "In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion in the prosperous democracies," and "In all secular developing democracies a centuries long-term trend has seen homicide rates drop to historical lows" with the exceptions being the United States (with a high religiosity level) and "theistic" Portugal.[20][d] In a response, Gary Jensen builds on and refines Paul's study.[21] His conclusion is that a "complex relationship" exists between religiosity and homicide "with some dimensions of religiosity encouraging homicide and other dimensions discouraging it".
Other views[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
Some non-religious nihilistic and existentialist thinkers have affirmed the prominent theistic position that the existence of the personal God of theism is linked to the existence of an objective moral standard, asserting that questions of right and wrong inherently have no meaning and, thus, any notions of morality are nothing but an anthropogenic fantasy. Agnostic author and Absurdist philosopher Albert Camus discussed the issue of what he saw as the universe's indifference towards humankind and the meaninglessness of life in his prominent novel The Stranger, in which the protagonist accepts death via execution without sadness or feelings of injustice. In his philosophical work, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus argues that human beings must choose to live defiantly in spite of their longing for purpose or direction and the apparent lack of evidence for God or moral imperatives.[citation needed] The atheistic existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre proposed that the individual must create his own essence and therefore must freely and independently create his own subjective moral standards by which to live.
See also[edit]
Morality and religion
Secular ethics
Science of morality
Notes[edit]
a.^ Singer uses the word "ethics", but states in the same work that he uses the words ethics and morals "interchangeably" (p. 1).b.^ Some studies appear to show positive links in the relationship between religiosity and moral behavior[22][23]—for example, surveys suggesting a positive connection between faith and altruism.[24] Modern research in criminology also suggests an inverse relationship between religion and crime,[25] with some studies establishing this connection.[26] A meta-analysis of 60 studies on religion and crime concluded, "religious behaviors and beliefs exert a moderate deterrent effect on individuals' criminal behavior".[27]c.^ Zuckerman identifies that Scandinavians have "relatively high rates of petty crime and burglary", but "their overall rates of violent crime—such as murder, aggravated assault, and rape—are among the lowest on earth" (Zuckerman 2008, pp. 5–6).d.^ The authors also state that "A few hundred years ago rates of homicide were astronomical in Christian Europe and the American colonies,"[28] and "[t]he least theistic secular developing democracies such as Japan, France, and Scandinavia have been most successful in these regards."[29] They argue for a positive correlation between the degree of public religiosity in a society and certain measures of dysfunction,[30] an analysis published later in the same journal argues that a number of methodological problems undermine any findings or conclusions in the research.[31]e.^ See, for instance, Ronald J. Sider, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2005). Sider quotes extensively from polling research by The Barna Group showing that the moral behavior of evangelical Christians is anything but exemplary.
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Epstein, Greg M. (2010). Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-167011-4.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c Childress, James F.; Macquarrie, John, eds. (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Singer, Peter (2010). Practical Ethics (Second ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43971-8.
4.Jump up ^ ESVBible.org. "Psalm 14 - ESVBible.org". Crossway. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c Dixon, Thomas (2008). Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929551-7.
6.Jump up ^ Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity. HarperCollins.
7.Jump up ^ Ron Rhodes. "Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists". Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
8.^ Jump up to: a b "Hitchens—The Morals of an Atheist". Uncommon Knowledge. August 23, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
9.^ Jump up to: a b Williams, Bernard (1972). Morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45729-7.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Baggini, Julian (2003). Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280424-2.
11.^ Jump up to: a b c Dennett, Daniel (December 12, 2011). "The Scientific Study of Religion". Point of Inquiry. Discussion of morality starts especially at 39min
12.Jump up ^ Biblos.com (2004–2011). "Exodus 31:15". Biblos.com. Retrieved 6 September 2012. Exodus 35:2 is similarly worded.
13.Jump up ^ Biblos.com (2004–2011). "Leviticus 20:13". Biblos.com. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
14.Jump up ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9.
15.^ Jump up to: a b Zuckerman, Phil (2008). Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment. New York: New York University Press.
16.Jump up ^ Highly Religious People Are Less Motivated by Compassion Than Are Non-Believers by Science Daily
17.Jump up ^ Laura R. Saslow, Robb Willer, Matthew Feinberg, Paul K. Piff, Katharine Clark, Dacher Keltner and Sarina R. Saturn My Brother's Keeper? Compassion Predicts Generosity More Among Less Religious Individuals
18.Jump up ^ Baier, Colin J.; Wright, Bradley R. E. (February 2001). ""If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments": A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Religion on Crime". 38. No. 1. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2011. Original in italics.
19.Jump up ^ Zuckerman, Phil. Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us about Contentment. New York: New York University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8147-9714-3. Zuckerman's work is based on his studies conducted during a 14-month period in Scandinavia in 2005–2006.
20.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 4, 5, 8, and 10.
21.Jump up ^ Gary F. Jensen (2006) Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University Religious Cosmologies and Homicide Rates among Nations: A Closer Look http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2006/2006-7.html http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/2006-7.pdf Journal of Religion and Society, Volume 8, ISSN 1522-5658 http://purl.org/JRS
22.Jump up ^ KERLEY, KENT R.; MATTHEWS; BLANCHARD, TROY C. (2005). "Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (4): 443–457. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00296.x.
23.Jump up ^ SAROGLOU, VASSILIS; PICHON; DERNELLE, REBECCA (2005). "Prosocial Behavior and Religion: New Evidence Based on Projective Measures and Peer Ratings". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44 (3): 323–348. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00289.x.
24.Jump up ^ e.g. a survey by Robert Putnam showing that membership of religious groups was positively correlated with membership of voluntary organisations
25.Jump up ^ As is stated in: Chu, Doris C. (2007). "Religiosity and Desistance From Drug Use". Criminal Justice and Behavior 34: 661. doi:10.1177/0093854806293485.
26.Jump up ^ For example: Albrecht, S. I.; Chadwick, B. A.; Alcorn, D. S. (1977). "Religiosity and deviance: Application of an attitude-behavior contingent consistency model". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 16: 263–274. doi:10.2307/1385697.
Burkett, S.; White, M. (1974). "Hellfire and delinquency:Another look". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 13: 455–462. doi:10.2307/1384608.
Chard-Wierschem, D. (1998). In pursuit of the "true" relationship: A longitudinal study of the effects of religiosity on delinquency and substance abuse. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation.
Cochran, J. K.; Akers, R. L. (1989). "Beyond Hellfire:An explanation of the variable effects of religiosity on adolescent marijuana and alcohol use". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 26: 198–225. doi:10.1177/0022427889026003002.
Evans, T. D.; Cullen, F. T.; Burton, V. S.; Jr; Dunaway, R. G.; Payne, G. L.; Kethineni, S. R. (1996). "Religion, social bonds, and delinquency". Deviant Behavior 17: 43–70. doi:10.1080/01639625.1996.9968014.
Grasmick, H. G.; Bursik, R. J.; Cochran, J. K. (1991). "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's": Religiosity and taxpayer's inclinations to cheat". The Sociological Quarterly 32: 251–266. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00356.x.
Higgins, P. C.; Albrecht, G. L. (1977). "Hellfire and delinquency revisited". Social Forces 55: 952–958. doi:10.1093/sf/55.4.952.
Johnson, B. R.; Larson, D. B.; DeLi, S.; Jang, S. J. (2000). "Escaping from the crime of inner cities:Church attendance and religious salience among disadvantaged youth". Justice Quarterly 17: 377–391. doi:10.1080/07418820000096371.
Johnson, R. E.; Marcos, A. C.; Bahr, S. J. (1987). "The role of peers in the complex etiology of adolescent drug use". Criminology 25: 323–340. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1987.tb00800.x.
Powell, K. (1997). "Correlates of violent and nonviolent behavior among vulnerable inner-city youths". Family and Community Health 20: 38–47. doi:10.1097/00003727-199707000-00006.
27.Jump up ^ Baier, C. J.; Wright, B. R. (2001). "If you love me, keep my commandments":A meta-analysis of the effect of religion on crime". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38: 3–21. doi:10.1177/0022427801038001001.
28.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 4, 5, 8.
29.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7: 11.
30.Jump up ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look". Journal of Religion and Society (Baltimore, Maryland) 7.
31.Jump up ^ Gerson Moreno-Riaño; Mark Caleb Smith; Thomas Mach (2006). "Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health". Journal of Religion and Society (Cedarville University) 8.
External links[edit]
Morality without religion, by Marc Hauser
Can we be good without God 1996, Paul Chamberlain ISBN 0-8308-1686-0
Video: Marc Hauser, Pt 3 Is there morality without religion?
  


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1 English 1.1 Etymology
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English[edit]
WOTD – 11 May 2012




Wikipedia has an article on:
Discrimination against atheists


Etymology[edit]
atheo- (“a- + theo-”) +‎ -phobia
Noun[edit]
atheophobia (uncountable)
1.Fear or hatred of atheism or atheists  [quotations ▼]





 
Antonyms[edit]
atheophilia
religiophobia
theophobia
Related terms[edit]
atheophobe
atheophobic
Translations[edit]

[show ▼]fear or hatred of atheists






 


 






















  


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English[edit]
WOTD – 11 May 2012




Wikipedia has an article on:
Discrimination against atheists


Etymology[edit]
atheo- (“a- + theo-”) +‎ -phobia
Noun[edit]
atheophobia (uncountable)
1.Fear or hatred of atheism or atheists  [quotations ▼]





 
Antonyms[edit]
atheophilia
religiophobia
theophobia
Related terms[edit]
atheophobe
atheophobic
Translations[edit]

[show ▼]fear or hatred of atheists






 


 






















  


Categories: English words prefixed with atheo-
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Discrimination against atheists

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 Countries in which, as of 2007, apostasy of the local or state religion was punishable by execution under national (black) or regional (dark gray) law. Currently, this occurs only in Islamic nations.[1]
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The Greek word "atheoi" ("[those who are] without God") as it appears on the early 3rd-century Papyrus 46


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Discrimination against atheists, both at present and historically, includes the persecution of those identifying themselves or labeled by others as atheists, as well as discrimination against them. Atheophobia, the fear or hatred of those identified as atheists, is known to cause or be associated with this discrimination.[2][3] As atheism can be defined in various ways, those discriminated against on the grounds of being atheists might not have been considered as such in a different time or place.
Legal discrimination against atheists is uncommon in constitutional democracies, although some atheists and atheist groups, particularly in the United States, have protested against laws, regulations, and institutions that they view as discriminatory. In some Islamic countries, atheists face discrimination and severe penalties such as the withdrawal of legal status or, in the case of apostasy, capital punishment.


Contents  [hide]
1 Ancient times
2 Early modern period and Reformation
3 Modern era 3.1 Nazi Germany
4 Contemporary era 4.1 Western countries 4.1.1 Europe
4.1.2 Brazil
4.1.3 Canada
4.1.4 United States
4.2 Islamic countries 4.2.1 Algeria
4.3 Egypt 4.3.1 Saudi Arabia
4.3.2 Turkey

5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Ancient times[edit]
Some historians, such as Lucien Febvre, have postulated that atheism in its modern sense did not exist before the end of the seventeenth century.[4][5][6] However, as governmental authority rested on the notion of divine right, it was threatened by those who denied the existence of the local god. Those labeled as atheist, including early Christians and Muslims, were as a result targeted for legal persecution.[7][8]
Early modern period and Reformation[edit]
During the Early modern period, the term "atheist" was used as an insult and applied to a broad range of people, including those who held opposing theological beliefs, as well as suicides, immoral or self-indulgent people, and even opponents of the belief in witchcraft.[4][5][9] Atheistic beliefs were seen as threatening to order and society by philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas. Lawyer and scholar Thomas More said that religious tolerance should be extended to all except those who did not believe in a deity or the immortality of the soul.[7] John Locke, a founder of modern notions of religious liberty, argued that atheists (as well as Catholics and Muslims) should not be granted full citizenship rights.[7]
During the Inquisition, several of those accused of atheism or blasphemy, or both, were tortured or executed. These included the priest Giulio Cesare Vanini who was strangled and burned in 1619 and the Polish nobleman Kazimierz Łyszczyński who was executed in Warsaw,[4][10][11] as well as Etienne Dolet, a Frenchman executed in 1546. Though heralded as atheist martyrs during the nineteenth century, recent scholars hold that the beliefs espoused by Dolet and Vanini are not atheistic in modern terms.[6][12][13]
Modern era[edit]
During the nineteenth century, British atheists, though few in number, were subject to discriminatory practices.[14] Those unwilling to swear Christian oaths during judicial proceedings were unable to give evidence in court to obtain justice until the requirement was repealed by Acts passed in 1869 and 1870.[14] In addition, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from the University of Oxford and denied custody of his two children after publishing a pamphlet titled The Necessity of Atheism.[15]
Atheist Charles Bradlaugh was elected as a Member of the British Parliament in 1880. He was denied the right to affirm rather than swear his oath of office, and was then denied the ability to swear the oath as other Members objected that he had himself said it would be meaningless. Bradlaugh was re-elected three times before he was finally able to take his seat in 1886 when the Speaker of the House permitted him to take the oath.[15]
Nazi Germany[edit]
In Germany during the Nazi era, a 1933 decree stated that "No National Socialist may suffer detriment... on the ground that he does not make any religious profession at all".[16] However, the regime strongly opposed "godless communism",[17][18] and most of Germany's atheist and largely left-wing freethought organizations were banned the same year; some right-wing groups were tolerated by the Nazis until the mid-1930s.[19][20] During negotiations leading to the Nazi-Vatican Concordat of April 26, 1933 Hitler stated that "Secular schools can never be tolerated" because of their irreligious tendencies.[21] Hitler routinely disregarded this undertaking, and the Reich concordat as a whole and by 1939, all Catholic denominational schools had been disbanded or converted to public facilities.[22]
In a speech made later in 1933, Hitler claimed to have "stamped out" the Gottlosenbewegung atheistic movement.[16] The word Hitler used, "Gottlosenbewegung", refers specifically to the communist freethought movement, not atheism in general.[23] The historian Richard J Evans wrote that, by 1939, 95% of Germans still called themselves Protestant or Catholic, while 3.5% were so called "gottgläubig" (lit. "believers in god", a non-denominational nazified outlook on god beliefs, often described as predominately based on creationist and deistic views[24]) and 1.5% atheist. According to Evans, those members of the affiliation gottgläubig "were convinced Nazis who had left their Church at the behest of the Party, which had been trying since the mid 1930s to reduce the influence of Christianity in society".[25] Heinrich Himmler, who himself was fascinated with Germanic paganism[citation needed], was a strong promoter of the gottgläubig movement and didn't allow atheists into the SS, arguing that their "refusal to acknowledge higher powers" would be a "potential source of indiscipline".[26] The majority of the three million Nazi Party members continued to pay their church taxes and register as either Roman Catholic or Evangelical Protestant Christians.[27]
Contemporary era[edit]
Western countries[edit]
Modern theories of constitutional democracy assume that citizens are intellectually and spiritually autonomous and that governments should leave matters of religious belief to individuals and not coerce religious beliefs using sanctions or benefits. The constitutions, human rights conventions and the religious liberty jurisprudence of most constitutional democracies provides legal protection of atheists and agnostics. In addition, freedom of expression provisions and legislation separating church from state also serve to protect the rights of atheists. As a result, open legal discrimination against atheists is not common in most Western countries.[7] However, prejudice against atheists does exist in Western countries. A University of British Columbia study conducted in the United States found that believers distrust atheists as much as they distrust rapists. The study also showed that atheists have lower employment prospects.[28]
Europe[edit]
In most of Europe, atheists are elected to office at high levels in many governments without controversy.[29] Some atheist organizations in Europe have expressed concerns regarding issues of separation of church and state, such as administrative fees for leaving the Church charged in Germany,[30] and sermons being organized by the Swedish parliament.[31] Ireland requires religious training from Christian colleges in order to work as a teacher in government-funded schools.[32] In the UK one-third of state-funded schools are faith-based.[33] However, there are no restrictions on atheists holding public office – the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg, is an atheist.[34] According to a 2012 poll, 25% of the Turks in Germany believe atheists are inferior human beings.[35][36] Portugal has elected two presidents, Mário Soares and Jorge Sampaio who have openly expressed their irreligion. On the contrary, in Greece, the right-wing New Democracy government stated that "the Greek people have a right to know whether Mr. Tsipras is an atheist", citing their political opponent's irreligiosity as a reason he should not be elected, even though they granted that "it is his right".[37] In the Elder Pastitsios case, a 27-year old was sentenced to imprisonment for satirizing a popular apocalyptically-minded Greek Orthodox monk, while several metropolitans of the Greek Orthodox Church (which is not separated from the state) have also urged their flock "not to vote unbelievers into office", even going so far as to warn Greek Orthodox laymen that they would be "sinning if they voted atheists into public office."[38] [39]
Brazil[edit]
A 2009 survey showed that atheists are the most hated demographic group in Brazil, among several other minorities polled, being almost on par with drug addicts. According to the research, 17% of the interviewees stated they feel either hate or repulsion for atheists, while 25% feel antipathy and 29% are indifferent.[40]
Canada[edit]
Canadian secular humanist groups have worked to end the recitation of prayers during government proceedings, viewing them as discriminatory.[41][42] Scouts Canada states that while a belief in God or affliation with organized religion is not a requirement to join, members must have "a basic spiritual belief"[43] and one of the core values is "Duty to God: Defined as, The responsibility to adhere to spiritual principles, and thus to the religion that expresses them, and to accept the duties therefrom."[44]
United States[edit]
Further information: Irreligion in the United States

 

 Anti-atheist propaganda billboard posted in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in February 2008
Discrimination against atheists in the United States occurs in legal, personal, social, and professional contexts. Some American atheists compare their situation to the discrimination faced by ethnic minorities, LGBT communities, and women.[45][46][47][48] "Americans still feel it's acceptable to discriminate against atheists in ways considered beyond the pale for other groups," asserted Fred Edwords of the American Humanist Association.[49] However, other atheists reject these comparisons, arguing that while atheists may face disapproval they have not faced significant oppression or discrimination.[50][51]
In the United States, seven state constitutions include religious tests that would effectively prevent atheists from holding public office, and in some cases being a juror/witness, though these have not generally been enforced since the early twentieth century.[52][53][54] The U.S. Constitution allows for an affirmation instead of an oath in order to accommodate atheists and others in court or seeking to hold public office.[52][55] In 1961, the United States Supreme Court explicitly overturned the Maryland provision in the Torcaso v. Watkins decision, holding that laws requiring "a belief in the existence of God" in order to hold public office violated freedom of religion provided for by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.[52][56][57] This decision is generally understood to also apply to witness oaths.[58]
Several American atheists have used court challenges to assert discrimination against atheists. Michael Newdow challenged inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the United States Pledge of Allegiance on behalf of his daughter, claiming that the phrase was discriminatory against non-theists.[59] He won the case at an initial stage, but the Supreme Court dismissed his claim, ruling that Newdow did not have standing to bring his case, thus disposing of the case without ruling on the constitutionality of the pledge.[60][61] Respondents to a survey were less likely to support a kidney transplant for hypothetical atheists and agnostics needing it, than for Christian patients with similar medical needs.[62] As the Boy Scouts of America does not allow atheists as members, atheist families and the ACLU from the 1990s onwards have launched a series of court cases arguing discrimination against atheists. In response to ACLU lawsuits, the Pentagon in 2004 ended sponsorship of Scouting units,[63][64] and in 2005 the BSA agreed to transfer all Scouting units out of government entities such as public schools.[65][66]
Few politicians have been willing to identify as non-theists, since such revelations have been considered "political suicide".[67][68] In a landmark move, California Representative Pete Stark came out in 2007 as the first openly nontheistic member of Congress.[49] In 2009, City Councilman Cecil Bothwell of Asheville, North Carolina was called "unworthy of his seat" because of his open atheism.[69] Several polls have shown that about 50 percent of Americans would not vote for a qualified atheist for president.[70][71] A 2006 study found that 40% of respondents characterized atheists as a group that did "not at all agree with my vision of American society", and that 48% would not want their child to marry an atheist. In both studies, percentages of disapproval of atheists were above those for Muslims, African-Americans and homosexuals.[72] Many of the respondents associated atheism with immorality, including criminal behaviour, extreme materialism, and elitism.[73] Atheists and atheist organizations have alleged discrimination against atheists in the military,[74][75][76][77][78][79] and recently, with the development of the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, atheists have alleged institutionalized discrimination.[80][81] In several child custody court rulings, atheist parents have been discriminated against, either directly or indirectly. As child custody laws in the United States are often based on the "best interests of the child" principle, they leave family court judges ample room to consider a parent's ideology when settling a custody case. Atheism, lack of religious observation and regular church attendance, and the inability to prove one's willingness and capacity to attend to religion with his children, have been used to deny custody to non-religious parents.[82][83]
Prominent atheists and atheist groups have said that discrimination against atheists is illustrated by a statement reportedly made by George H. W. Bush during a public press conference just after announcing his candidacy for the presidency in 1987.[45][84][85][86] When asked by journalist Robert Sherman[disambiguation needed] about the equal citizenship and patriotism of American atheists, Sherman reported that Bush answered, "No, I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God."[45][86][87][88] However, Sherman did not tape the exchange and no other journalist reported on it at the time.[45] George H. W. Bush's son, George W. Bush, acknowledged those who do not worship during a November 3, 2004 press conference when he said "I will be your president regardless of your faith... And if they choose not to worship, they're just as patriotic as your neighbor."[89]
The constitutions of these seven US states ban atheists from holding public office:
Arkansas: Article 19, Section 1"No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court."[90]Maryland: Article 37"That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God; nor shall the Legislature prescribe any other oath of office than the oath prescribed by this Constitution."[91]Mississippi: Article 14, Section 265"No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state."[92]North Carolina: Article 6, Section 8"The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God."[93]South Carolina: Article 17, Section 4"No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution."[94]Tennessee: Article 9, Section 2"No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state."[95]Texas: Article 1, Section 4"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."[96]
An eighth state constitution affords special protection to theists.
Pennsylvania: Article 1, Section 4"No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth."[97]
Islamic countries[edit]
See also: Islam and atheism and Apostasy in Islam
Atheists, or those accused of holding atheistic beliefs, may be subject to discrimination and persecution in many Islamic countries.[98] According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union, compared to other nations, "unbelievers... in Islamic countries face the most severe – sometimes brutal – treatment".[99] Atheists and other religious skeptics can be executed in at least thirteen nations: Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.[1]
According to popular interpretations of Islam, Muslims are not free to change religion or become an atheist: denying Islam and thus becoming an apostate is traditionally punished by death for men and by life imprisonment for women. The death penalty for apostasy is apparent in a range of Islamic states including: Iran,[100][101] Egypt,[102] Pakistan,[102] Somalia,[103] United Arab Emirates,[104] Qatar,[105] Yemen,[105] and Saudi Arabia.[102] Although there have been no recently reported executions in Saudi Arabia,[106] a judge in Saudi Arabia has recently recommended that imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi go before a high court on a charge of apostasy, which would carry the death penalty upon conviction.[107] While a death sentence is rare, it is common for atheists to be charged with blasphemy or inciting hatred.[108] New "Arab Spring" regimes in Tunisia and Egypt have jailed several outspoken atheists.[108]
Since an apostate can be considered a Muslim whose beliefs cast doubt on the Divine, and/or Koran, claims of atheism and apostasy have been made against Muslim scholars and political opponents throughout history.[109][110][111] Both fundamentalists and moderates agree that "blasphemers will not be forgiven" although they disagree on the severity of an appropriate punishment.[108] In northwestern Syria in 2013 during the Syrian Civil War, jihadists beheaded and defaced a sculpture of Al-Maʿarri (973–1058 CE), one of several outspoken Arab and Persian atheist intellectuals who lived and taught during the Islamic Golden Age.[112][113]
In Iran, atheists do not have any recognized legal status, and must declare that they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish or Zoroastrian, in order to claim some legal rights, including applying for entrance to university,[114][115] or becoming a lawyer.[116] The Iranian Atheists Association was established in 2013 to form a platform for Iranian atheists to start debates and to question the current Islamic regime's attitude towards atheists, apostasy, and human rights.[117] Similarly, Jordan requires atheists to associate themselves with a recognized religion for official identification purposes,[118] and atheists in Indonesia experience official discrimination in the context of registration of births and marriages, and the issuance of identity cards.[119] In 2012, Indonesian atheist Alexander Aan was beaten by a mob, lost his job as a civil servant and was sentenced to two and a half years in jail for expressing his views online.[120] In Egypt, intellectuals suspected of holding atheistic beliefs have been prosecuted by judicial and religious authorities. Novelist Alaa Hamad was convicted of publishing a book that contained atheistic ideas and apostasy that were considered to threaten national unity and social peace.[121][122]
Algeria[edit]
The study of Islam is a requirement in public and private schools for every Algerian child, irrespective of his/her religion.[123]
Atheist or agnostic men are prohibited from marrying Muslim women (Algerian Family Code I.II.31).[124] A marriage is legally nullified by the apostasy of the husband (presumably from Islam, although this is not specified; Family Code I.III.33). Atheists and agnostics cannot inherit (Family Code III.I.138.).
Egypt[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (February 2015)
Saudi Arabia[edit]
Main article: Irreligion in Saudi Arabia
Atheism is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and can come with a death penalty if practiced.
In March 2014, the Saudi interior ministry issued a royal decree branding all atheists as terrorists, which defines terrorism as "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based".[125]
Turkey[edit]
Compulsory religious instruction in Turkish schools is also considered discriminatory towards atheists.[126]
See also[edit]
American Humanist Association
Atheist Bus Campaign
Boy Scouts of America membership controversies
Center for Inquiry
International Humanist and Ethical Union
McCarthyism
Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
Out Campaign
Religious discrimination
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
Secular Coalition for America
Secularization
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113.Jump up ^ Jihadists Behead Statue of Syrian Poet Abul Ala Al-Maari. The Observers, France 24. 14 Feb. 2013. Accessed 15 Dec. 2013.
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External links[edit]
 Look up atheophobia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
2012 report on discrimination against atheists, humanists and the non-religious





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