Religions Influence On Society And Homosexuality Sociology Essay

Religions Influence On Society And homo familiarism Sociology EssayThis research paper will boldness at how religious, mainly Christian, practiti one and only(a)rs and studiers of science or psychology have influenced conjunctions view of human beingity. The Gay Rights Movement has been and is the coarseest fight for rights in history due to the enthusiastic and persistent opposition put up by fundamentalist Christian leaders and scientists trying to prove quirk is a disability, which combined lead to society in general to ostracizing both(prenominal)one of a different sexual taste than straight. The pressure that stems from worship is the long-standing belief that homoeroticism is a sin. The bible, which to this day remains the best-selling mass in the world, quite clearly condemns homoeroticism in Leviticus 1822. The majority of Christian followers interpret this verse liter whollyy, condemning eitherone of non- straight orientation. A large dispense of todays socie ty is everyplacewhelmingly homophobic, and a lot of this has to do with Christianity being the largest religion in the world, and it has been around for nearly 2000 years. Religion has forever offered a why in life, meaning an explanation for why mountain exist, and science became a rational alternate option. Religion is establish entirely on worshipping a deity or higher being that was responsible for the creation of humankind and life in general, whereas science is base on the physical evidence that is interpreted into the scientific variation of creation and becoming how humanity is today (evolution). Religion and science, as a general rule, refute each some other and constantly campaign to prove the other wrong. Despite this, however, for a very long time they agreed on one thing gayness is bad. Science, for a while professed that gayness was one of dickens things one it didnt really exist and was a life choice that slew made themselves, or two that it was a treatable disorder. Eventually the science community reneged this opinion, afterwards maintaining it for years. Today, collections desire the American Psychiatric Association (APA), who be considered the world experts on the human brain, this instant have officially declared that homosexuality is non a disorder, syndrome, or any form of mental disease, and cannot be changed by the individual. They alike strongly oppose things like anti- fearless ministries, where religious organizations will try to fix or save merrys. Science became an alternate belief system to religion in the early 1600s. The Catholic church often ostracized members of the church for being scientists, and anyone who believed in something that wasnt Creationism. Christianity became all about tradition and science became all about discoery and changing. The two began a continuous struggle for society to follow one and not the other, and to commit society to conform. The vast majority of the human race follows one or the other or both science and/or religion.Christianity generally condemns homosexuality, and almost always has. This total damnation eventually lead to largely Christian values becoming an intrinsic norm in society as a whole, as demonstrated by the attitude of the public. Christianity remains the root of this hatred, as perpetrated by religious denominations in the world, and by the largely Christian dominated governments in legion(predicate) an(prenominal) industrialized countries. The Holy roman letters Catholic church was the commencement ceremony off established Christian church, and since several hundred denominations have split off from it and each other, producing some different soak ups on the bible and religious virtuouss. Nearly every culture in the world has or has had religion and now Christianity is the most dominant religion in the world with 1.9 to 2.1 billion believers (all denominations of Christianity). Christianity started with turn of the millennium roug hly 2011 years ago. The writing of the New Testament in the bible happened shortly after delivery boy was crucified, which religious historians estimate was around 40 AD. Thus Christianity was born. The Old Testament, which Judaism also follows, was written a long time before Jesus came. This is where the book of Leviticus is. 22 Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman that is detestable (Leviticus 1822) is the bible verse that is used to justify religious homophobia (notice that it has nothing about gay women). Many millions of Christians dep shutdown on one man to tell them what the bible means and what they should do to follow it and this man is the Pope. He is the leader of the Holy Roman Catholic church. The current one is Pope Benedict XVI. It is a lean toward an intrinsic object lesson evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disordera person engaging in homosexual behavior therefore acts immorally (Benedict XVI) is Pope Be nedicts official stance on homosexuality. He does call for more com traceion, but maintains that homosexuality is a sin and thinks that sex should occur only amongst a married man and woman. Many Christian leaders agree with him and have more to add, like Reverend Albert Mohler Jr.There is no decisive research that indicates any biological basis for sexual orientation. But and this is a big if here if science were ever to discover a correlation or causation with biological particularors, Christians should not be surprised. We believe in the catastrophic and comprehensive effects of the Fall and Gods judgment upon sinsuch a discovery, if it were to be accepted, would not change Gods condemnation of all forms of homosexual behavior, nor would it mean that this repre displaces the inviolable identity of any individual. As I argued previously, moral responsibility does not wait absolute moral choice. A soldier in battle may not have chosen to be in a situation of moral anguish, b ut he is still absolutely responsible for his decisions and actions. Those who commit homosexual acts, whoever they are and whatever their biological profile, are absolutely responsible for their sin. Regardless of any actual or hypothetical orientation, those who commit same-sex acts are responsible for the choice to commit the sinful act. Those who claim that they did not choose their sexual attraction are nevertheless fully responsible for choosing to perform sexual acts the Bible condemns as sin period. (Mohler 2007).This is the opinion R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides for his public in the online newspaper he writes for frequently. He says that homosexuals peddle change from being homosexual, but it is acting on it that is a sin. This is a used justification for the persecution of homosexuals. However, some differ from this belief that homosexuality is something that cant be changed just the actions. Many churches believe that therapy can cure homosexuality. This therapy ranges from gay-bashing seminars to shock treatment to gang-rape. There are facilities that use things like seminars on how to become heterosexual, or even shock treatment. These methods are supposed to cure an individual of homosexuality by showing them that being heterosexual is advantageous because it is holy and will rent one to heaven. These seminars also tell all the disadvantages of being gay, using the inability to have children between same-sex couples and the bible as justification to become heterosexual. Some people who have exited these programs say that they work, and now claim that they are heterosexual. Although the vast majority of religion resoundingly condemns homosexuality, there are some Christians that dont. For example, a book called Homosexuality and the Christian Faith, which was written by several ministers and church-associated people, says thatEfforts to change ones sexual orientation usually (some say always) fail. People who have experimented with homosexual b ehavior (as some(prenominal) heterosexual people do) can turn away from it. And homosexuals, like heterosexuals, can become celibate. But a recent review of research on efforts to help people change their sexual orientation concludes that there is no evidence indicating that such treatments are effective. Christian ex-gay organizations have had a go at this. But now are most are now either defunct or abandoned by their ex-gay founders. Reading their literature, one is struck by the admitted homosexual temptations galore(postnominal) ex-gays struggle with (Wink 68).This is the opinion of David G Myers who is a social psychologist and contributed to this book on Accepting What Cannot Be Changed, in Chapter 7. Decidedly, not all Christians are homophobic, in fact there are some who arent and completely reject the policies put out by ministries like the Holy Roman Catholic church. Denominations like the United Church of Christ (UCC) have earned nicknames like the gay ministry becaus e they were revolutionary in their thinking. The UCC was the first Christian denomination to ordain and hire an out gay minister, as well as the first woman minister and the first black minster. All together, Christianity largely doesnt accept homosexuality and wields a significant influence over society as they have 2.1 billion members.Science is the careful study of physical evidence to fall out reasoning for life and its umteen components. It is the way many people rationalize the existence of consciousness and being. Science is anything from the study of insects to the study of the human brain. The human brain has been a source of fascination for hundreds of years. Psychology is not an exact study, which brightens it hard to pinpoint. However, people have been trying for years. Famous psychologists like Sigmund Freud had many theories on mental disorders, and homosexuality was counted among these for many years. Starting around 1867, a scientist named Karl Heinrich Ulrichs be gan publishing his findings on homosexuality and the human brain. He was the first pioneer in the field of homosexuality scientifically. He theorized that gays and lesbians were created during the incubation period, that the external gender was one and the internal gender was the opposite (internal woman, external man or vice versa). He also coined his own terms fro gays. An urning was a gay man, an urningin was a lesbian, a dioning was a straight person and a urano-dioning was a bisexual person. Urning meant follower or descencent of Uranus, urningin meant heavenly Aphrodite daughter of Uranus, dioning meant common Aphrodite daughter of Zeus by soulfulness Dione, and urano-dioning was a combination (Uranus or Ouranus was the Greek god of the sky, who married the earth god, Gaia, and their children were the Titans, who emasculated Uranus for Gaia, and then were imprisoned themselves by their children who were the Greek gods Zeus, Posiedon and Hades). Ulrichs claimed that urnings an d urningins were the third sex. He also believed that there was a scale of being gay. Homosexuals were a wiebling or a mannling. Wieblings were the pistillate-type, or receptive, meaning the played the role of a woman during sex, and were also fair(prenominal) in every other manner. Mannlings were the male-type or insertive, meaning the played the role of a man during sex, and were masculine in every other way. Ulrichs was the very first to ever research homosexuality, and using his studies he advocated for gay rights for his entire career. Magnus Hirschfeld was the second real pioneer in this field of study. His theories were more widely disputed, mostly to the inconsistencies of his theories and his tendency to disagree with himself later on. He was the first scientist in this field to advocate against gay marriage. He theorized that homosexuality was invented by Nature to prevent from producing degenerate offspring. He claimed that homosexual individuals would produce disabled or handicapped children and were also produced by degenerate families, but later refuted this theory when he considered that he himself was gay and could find no fault with his family to use as justification. He did, however, believe that homosexuality was largely dependent on environment. Hirschfeld interpreted masculinity and femininity as abstractions and speculated that sexual orientation was intrinsic with male and female characteristics, of the mental and physical levels. Thus people who were more androgynous in appearance and mental make-up were more likely to be gay. He even went as far as speculating about potential spermatozoa in vaginal secretions on women and menstrual blood in the urine of men. The next scientist in this field was named Steinach and was the first to perform any physical surgery to try and cure homosexuality. He performed testicle transplants between heterosexual and homosexual males. He took the testicles of a heterosexual man and placed them in a gay m an. This failed to cure the gay men of their homosexuality and actually caused many health problems, like hair loss and the loss of the ability to have an erection. Then came Sigmund Freud. Freud theorized on various matters of psychoanalysis, and did many studies on homosexual men (there werent many studies on lesbians ever). He dealt mainy with the sexual drive area of the brain, called the Libido. He maintained one solid reasoning for men being gayIn their early childhood, later forgotten, they had an intense erotic attachment to a female person, as a rule their mother, provoked and fostered by the excessive tenderness of the mother herself, however buttressed by recessiveness of the father in the childs life at a later stage the boy represses his love for his mother by putting himself in her place, identifies himself with her, and takes his own person as a model in whose likeness he chooses his new love objects (LeVay 33).In short, Freud believed that a smothering mother and a recessive father made a gay man. A follower of Freud named Ovesey took these theories furtherAccording to Ovesey, a gay man is often fearful of female genitalia because they remind him of the danger castration. Therefore he represses his attraction to women and the Libido associated with that attraction finds another channel for expression namely in attraction to men. Thus, for many homosexual men homosexuality is not their authentic orientation but merely a displaced route for sexual release (LeVay 75)The only theories he offered on lesbians were that he thought they were upset with only having a clitoris and this made them jealous of the male genitalia. He thought that this shouldnt be used as justification to take rights however Psychoanalytic research, wrote Sigmund Freud in 1915, is most decidedly opposed to any attempt at separating off homosexuals from the rest of mankind as a group of special character (LeVay 67). Many psychology associations included homosexuality in their list of disorders due to Freud. Later in 1957, The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality for its book of disorders, declaring that homosexuality was not a curable problem in the brain. Further scientific research was in the 1900s with transmitted research. Many believed for a long time that their might be a gay gene but this theory has been disproved.Most of the major science journals reported on progress in the field of genetics, but also speculated on how the information would now be used. The one piece of information that ever materialized in form the Human Genome digest was the identification of the so called gay-gene (Harrub and Thompson 1).This was the result of the Human Genome Project, which many people hoped would come with a scientific justification for homosexuality. When it didnt, many still insisted that there was a genetic reason. Science has always existed but people didnt start really studying it until after Christianity was firmly established. Th ere were even some original Christian scientists like Galileo Galeli, who discovered that the solar system is heliocentric instead of geocentric and was ostracized from the Catholic Church because of it. Science is based off of logic and physical evidence, whereas religion is based on faith. Science, because of this, has even influenced religion, because some Christians accept both. Many Christians also believe that homosexuality is a disorder, even though the APA declared it isnt. This is the reasoning behind many ex-gay ministries, even though psychologists overwhelmingly agree that they are extremely harmful to the individual and are not a psychological institution by any means. Science, therefore, wields an incredible influence over society due to some religious acceptance and those who dont have a religion who are largely accepting of scientific fact.Society is a complex place. It is so layered with culture and ways of life that it is hard to analyze and make generalizations ab out. Luckily there are many consistencies and commonalities in cultures. Homosexuality has been around for centuries, around 26 centuries in fact. There is even evidence pre-dating 600 BC, but its accuracy is questionable, so everything after is what is included downstairs 600 BC- Island of Lesbos was later the inspiration for the word lesbian 27 BC- first recorded same-sex marriages 244-249 AD- Emperor Phillip the Arab tries to outlaw homosexual prostitution and fails 342- First law against same-sex marriage, promulgated by Christian Emperors 390- Homosexuality declared il level-headed by Christian emperors, and the penalty would be publicly burned alive 484- Christian emperors still collect taxes on male prostitutes 529- Homosexuals made scapegoat by Christian emperors for things like flooding and storms 1102- Council of London ensures English public knows homosexuality is sinful 1260- France places genital mutilation as punishment for homosexuality 1321- Dantes Inferno places s odomites in the 7th circle of hell 1476- Leonardo Da Vinci charged with anal sex, no verdict 1532- Holy Roman pudding stone makes anal intercourse death sentence 1533- King total heat VIII makes male sex death sentence 1553- Mary Tudor removes King Henry VIIIs laws 1558- Elizabeth I reinstates Henry VIIIs laws 1620- Prussia makes sodomy punishable by death 1649- 1st known conviction for lesbianism ( ground forces) 1721- Execution for female sodomy in Germany 1791- France de criminalises homosexuality 1794- Prussia abolishes death penalty for sodomy 1811- Netherlands and Indonesia legitimise homosexuality 1828- crime against nature is first used in the criminal code in the US 1830- Brazil decriminalizes homosexuality 1832- Russia criminalizes homosexuality 1835- Russia forces Poland to criminalize homosexuality 1836- last Great Britain execution for homosexuality 1852- Portugal decriminalizes homosexuality 1858- Ottoman Empire (Turkey) decriminalizes sodomy Timor-Leste juraliz es homosexuality 1865- San Marino decriminalizes sodomy 1867- Karl Heinrich Ulrichs speaks for homosexual rights in Munich 1871- German Empire criminalizes homosexuality Guatemala and Mexico decriminalize homosexuality 1880- Empire of Japan decriminalizes homosexuality 1886- England decriminalizes homosexuality in men, but not women Argentina and Portugal decriminalize homosexuality 1889- Italy decriminalizes homosexuality 1895- Earl Lind starts first political party with gay rights in the policy agenda 1903- New York has 1st raid on gay bathhouse, 12 went to trial on sodomy charges 1910- Emma Goldman fights for homosexual rights 1913- faggot is used in literature for the first time in France 1917- Russia repeals previous ruling 1920- gay is used for the first time referencing homosexuals 1921- England tries to make lesbianism illegal and fails 1924- 1st gay rights organization in the USA Panama, Paraguay and Peru legalize homosexuality 1933- Denmark decriminalizes homosexuality Nat ional Socialist German Workers Party bans homosexuals homosexuals are sent to Nazi concentration camps 1934- Uruguay decriminalizes homosexuality USSR criminalizes gay men 1937- Pink Triangle is means gay men for Nazi party 1940- Iceland decriminalizes homosexuality 1942- Switzerland decriminalizes homosexuality 1944- Sweden decriminalizes homosexuality Suriname legalizes homosexuality 1945- Allies liberate concentration camps, but homosexuals have to serve full term 1950- 190 US government employees dismissed for being gay 1952- Christine Jorgenson is the 1st transgender (Male to Female, MTF) 1954- Alan Turning commits suicide after being given a choice between prison or hormone treatment for being gay 1956- Thailand decriminalizes homosexuality 1957- American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its disorders handbook 1958- US Supreme Court has a 1st case involving gay rights 1961- Czechoslovakia and Hungary decriminalize sodomy Vatican declares gays banned from the Catholic church Illinois 1st US state to decriminalize sodomy 1963- Israel (De Facto) decriminalize sodomy between men 1965- 1st gay rights display in Canada 1967- Chad decriminalizes homosexuality England and Wales decriminalize homosexuality between men 1968- East Germany decriminalizes homosexuality 1969- Canada decriminalizes homosexuality 1971- Austria, Costa Rica, Finland, Colorado, Oregon, and Idaho repeal sodomy laws Idaho reinstates because of religious outrage 1972- Sweden allows legal sex changes Hawaii legalizes homosexuality East Lansing (MI), Ann Arbor (MC), and Sam Francisco (CA) are the first cities to pass homosexual rights ordinance 1973- Malta legalizes homosexuality 1974- Kathy Kozachenko is the 1st openly gay American elected to public office 1975- California legalizes homosexuality siemens Australia 1st state in Australia to legalize homosexuality Panama allows legal sex change 1976- Christian Voice is founded, first anti-gay group 1977- Harvey Milk is the th ird out elected offcial Quebec prohibits discrmination based on sexual orientation Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia decriminalize homosexuality 1978- Harvey Milk is assassinated rainbow flag is first used as gay pride symbol IGLA forms 1979- Spain and Cuba decriminalize homosexuality 1980- Scotland decriminalizes homosexuality 1981- Northern Ireland, capital of Seychelles (Aus), and Colombia decriminalize homosexuality 1982- California has 1st gay mayor AIDS acquires many homophobic nicknames 1983- Portugal re-legalizes homosexuality 1985- France prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation 1986- Haiti decriminalizes homosexuality 1987- Homomonument founded in Amsterdam (memorial to persecuted homosexuals) 1988- Belize and Israel (De Jure) decriminalize sodomy and sex between men 1989- Western Australia decriminalizes homosexuality between men Liechtenstein legalizes homosexuality 1990- UK Crown addiction of Jersey and Queensland decriminalize homosexuality Justin Fashanu i s the 1st out football player 1991- Bahamas, Hong Kong and Ukraine decriminalize homosexuality 1992- Estonia and Latvia decriminalize homosexuality World Health Organization declares homosexuality is not an illness Australia lets gays in the soldiery Nicaragua recriminalizes homosexuality 1993- Norfolk Island (Aus) repeals sodomy laws Belarus, UK Crown Dependency of Gilbraltar, Iceland, Lithuania and Russia decriminalize homosexuality USA instates Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy New Zealand lets gays in the military 1994- Bermuda, Germany, UK Crown Dependency Isle of Man, Serbia and South Africa decriminalize homosexuality Canada grants sanctuary to gays fearing persecution 1995- Canada passes anti-discrimination law based on sexual orientation 1996- Romania and Macedonia decriminalize homosexuality 1997- Ecuador and Tasmania decriminalize homosexuality Fiji and South Africa pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation 1998- Bosnia, Herzegovina, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzsta n, Southern Cyprus and Tajikistan decriminalize homosexuality Matthew Shepard is brutally murdered Ecuador, Ireland and Alberta pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation 2000- Azerbaijan, Gabon and Georgia decriminalize homosexuality UK lets gays in the military Nazis officially apologize to gays and lesbians for harm and persecution up to 1969 2001- UK Territories decriminalize homosexuality Rhode Island and free state pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation Netherlands allows same-sex marriage 2002- China and Mongolia decriminalize homosexuality Romania, Costa Rica and Arkansas repeal sodomy laws Alaska and New York pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation 2003- Iraq decriminalizes homosexuality Belgium, Ontario and British Colombia allow same-sex marriage Bulgaria, UK, Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, and Pennslyvania pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation Armenia and USA repeal sodomy laws Belize recr iminalizes homosexuality 2004- Cape Verde, Marshall Islands decriminalize homosexuality Manitoba, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Massachusetts allow gay marriage Australia , Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, lah, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin ban same-sex marriage Portugal, Indiana, Louisiana and Maine pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation 2005- Canada and Spain allow same-sex marriage Latvia, Uganda, Kansas and Texas ban same-sex marriage Illinois passes anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation, Puerto Rico repeals sodomy laws 2006- South Africa allows same-sex marriage Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin ban same-sex marriage Faroe Islands, Germany, New Zealand, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, DC pass anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation, Kentucky voids anti-discrimin ation laws 2007- Nepal and New Zealand territories decriminalize homosexuality UK Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont pass anti discrimination legislation 2008- Nicaragua and Panama decriminalize homosexuality Connecticut allows gay marriage Arizona, California and Florida ban same-sex marriage 2009- India decriminalizes homosexuality Argentina, Phillipines and Uruguay end ban on gays in the military Serbia, Delaware, and the USA Matthew Shepard Act, pass anti-discrimination legislation Iceland has the first gay head of government 2010- Fiji decriminalizes homosexuality Australia lets transgendered people in the military Serbia lets gays in the military Australia recognizes non-gender specific people USA repeals Dont Ask, Dont Tell Portugal, Iceland, Agentina, Mexico City, new Hampshire and DC pass same-sex marriageAs shown, religious persecution dates all the way game to the very beginning of the millennium. This shows that religion is the longest-standing resistance to acceptance of all peoples. Christianity has been trying to outlaw and even execute homosexuals for hundreds of years. Bans on gay marriage, the criminalizing of sodomy or homosexuality, or any other anti-gay legislation is almost guaranteed to be religiously based.In conclusion, the gay rights movement is the longest rights struggle in history. It has not really had any specific leaders, but rather a mish-mash of like-minded people. This has lead to there being much progress, but in many ways there has been turning point as well. In the late BC, homosexuality was very much a norm in extremely developed societies like the Greek or Roman Empires. With the rise of Christianity however, this norm became an abnormality, and religion very slowly took over and outlawed homosexuality, putting severe penalties on it, such as death. This continued all over the world for many centuries. Science, in its beginning, did not really make anything better, but instead provided another rational for homosexuality being bad by barter it a disorder.