IN THE SPIRIT, VOL. 1, NO. 2
By Joe Perez
A huge question in the culture war is this: Does God approve of homosexuality? Most debate today happens between folks in one of these four camps: conservative religionists, liberal religionists, secularists, and spiritualists. And all four ways of thinking about gays are wrong.
Both conservative religionists and liberal religionists claim to be talking meaningfully about such questions. Conservatives say that their scriptures or sacred traditions dictate that homosexual sex is against God's will. Liberals say that the conservatives are misconstruing scripture and tradition. They say that when we look critically at tradition, then a gay-friendly (or at least gay-tolerant) vision of God's will emerges.
These people think of homosexuality as a "moral issue." They're talking about homosexuality as a behavior and whether or not specific sexual acts are okay. Even many gay people think this way, for instance when they say that apart from what they do in the bedroom they are exactly the same as everybody else.
Religionists are joined in the debate over homosexuality by two groups that have rejected religion altogether: secularists and spiritualists. The secularists have rejected religion and with it the whole notion that there is a divinely-ordered meaning or purpose to human sexuality, finding insufficient evidence for the existence of a heavenly being. Homosexuality, they say, is a natural human variation and neutral in value. Its purpose can only be ascertained through objective empirical research by biologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and historians.
Gay spiritualists have also rejected religion, but for a very different reason. They look at the history of religion and notice that a dramatic shift occurred about 2,500 years ago in cultures across the globe. At that time, matriarchal and goddess-worshipping spiritual traditions were replaced by patriarchal religions that enforced rigid social hierarchies of male dominance. Evidence suggests that taboos against same-sex sexual behavior were non-existent in many of the pagan cults. Indeed, same-sex behavior was frequently given a place of honor in many tribes. Persons who would today be called gay were often revered as spiritual leaders. Gay spiritualists say that gays should stay away from homophobic religions that are beyond redemption and instead reclaim a pagan spirituality.
Recent Comments