Homosexuality:

Divergent beliefs about the nature of homosexuality:

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Quotations:

• "There could be hundreds of millions of straight men walking around with this gay allele [variety of a gene] but who are straight simply because it didn't penetrate." Chandler Burr, "A Separate Creation" ₁
• "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children." Anita Bryant, 1977 ₂
• "There is no scientific data that substantiates a genetic or biologic basis for same-sex attraction. Anybody can change."  Richard Cohen, at the year 2000 PFOX convention, 2000-MAY-19. ₃
• "The epitome of evil is having spiritual leaders condone hate, in the name of God, against others such as our gay brothers and sisters." Rory Lewis (performer)

Comparison of diverse beliefs about the nature of homosexuality

One author identified six different belief systems about homosexuality. Of these, the two most extreme belief systems are explained below. It is important to realize that many -- perhaps most -- North Americans hold beliefs that are intermediate between these two viewpoints. There is a strong variation of belief with age. Many youth and young adults have more liberal views; many middle aged and elderly persons hold strongly conservative views:

• Some conservative Christians believe that a homosexual's feelings of attraction to members of the same sex will dissipate once they repent of their lifetime of sin, trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, and are thereby saved. They base this on a Biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 6:11. One interpretation of that verse is that some of the recipients of his letter to the church at Corinth were homosexuals before they became Christians, but were converted to heterosexuality after becoming saved.
• Some religious conservatives believe that homosexual behavior is an addiction similar to drugs and alcohol. 
• All efforts to treat homosexuality as a normal and natural practice must be resisted. Otherwise, more youth will experiment with it and get trapped in the lifestyle. 
• Some religious conservatives believe that the institution of marriage was created by God thousands of years ago. They interpret the Bible as saying that marriages must only be between one man and one woman, and that any sexual behavior outside of marriage is forbidden. Thus, they feel that all same-sex sexual activity is a sin. They are aware that gays and lesbians can marry each other, in Massachusetts, Caifornia, Ontario, throughout Canada, etc, but they do not recognize these as true marriages. They conclude that homosexuals must remain celibate.

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More information on sexual orientation:

One's sexual orientation is defined by sexual attraction to men and/or women, by self-identification, and by one's sexual fantasies. Some people believe that there are only two sexual orientations:

• Heterosexual - a person who is sexually attracted only to members of the opposite gender, or
• Homosexual - a person who is sexually attracted only to members of the same gender.

This is not a useful model, because it ignores two minorities:

• Asexuals - people who have feelings of sexual attraction to neither gender
• Bisexuals - people who are attracted (usually to different degrees) to both genders

Most researchers into human sexuality look upon sexual orientation as a continuum:

• Those with solely heterosexual feelings form one extreme. They are free to select celibacy, or to seek sexual activity with members of the opposite sex.
• Those with solely homosexual feelings form the other extreme. They are free to enter into relationships with members of their own sex; some can choose to remain celibate.

• In the middle are bisexuals. Being sexually attracted to both genders they can choose:
  • Only heterosexual relationships
  • Only homosexual relationships
  • Relationships with both men and women
  • Celibacy

Human sexuality researchers generally believe that one's orientation is fixed and unchangeable. Exceptions are those specialists in human sexuality who are also religious conservatives. Many of the latter are members of NARTH, a small professional organization that promotes conservative religious beliefs about homosexuality. 

A number of techniques have been used to try to suppress homosexual feelings and/or create heterosexual feelings in gays and lesbians: ₁

• Lesbians had their breasts amputated.
• Lesbians had their perfectly healthy uteri removed.
• Male gays were given aversion therapy; e.g. clients were shown pictures of naked men and simultaneously shocked with electricity.

Other "treatments" included:

• brain surgery in the form of frontal lobotomies.
• castration.
• counseling and psychotherapy.
• drug therapy: e.g. animal-organ extracts, cocaine, estrogen, testosterone.
• positive therapy: e.g. men were asked to masturbate and then were shown pictures of women just before orgasm.
• prayer and spiritual counseling.
• therapy by tedium: men were shown homoerotic pictures until they became totally bored.
• During the Nazi regime in Germany, Himmler attempted to "cure" gays by requiring them to visit the camp brothel at Flossenburg. "Ten Ravensbruck women provided the services with little success. The women [were later]...shipped to Auschwitz" for execution.
• During the recent apartheid regime in South Africa, gays and lesbians were considered deviants. They were sent to a special ward of a military hospital to be "rehabilitated." This involved electric shock treatments and chemical castration. Those who could not be "cured" were given sex-change operations. A number of "patients" died.

The success rate of these therapies in actually changing clients' sexual orientation appears to have been between 0% and something less than 0.1%. The success rate at changing clients' sexual behavior is much greater. Some of these techniques can persuade homosexuals to be celibate -- perhaps only for a short interval -- either through terror, guilt, or persuasion that God considers same-sex behavior to be an abomination. They can persuade bisexuals to confine their sexual activities to members of the opposite sex. They may even be able to train gays to successfully have sex with a woman, while fantasize about making love to another man. But therapies do not seem to be capable of changing one's feelings -- one's sexual orientation -- in the vast majority of people. ₄

Related essays on this web site:

• What determines a person's sexual orientation?
• Is it unchangeable, abnormal or immoral?
• When do symptoms of homosexuality first appear?
• Is it beneficial to society; should homosexuals have equal protection?
   
• Attempting to change one's sexual orientation via reparative therapy
• What the Bible says about homosexuality.
• Lesbian/gay terminology
• Personal opinions of the webmaster

References:

1. Chandler Burr, "A Separate Creation: The search for the biological origins of sexual orientation", DIANE Publishing, (1996), Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
2. "Quotations," at: http://www.goldenvoid.com/ and many other places on the Internet.
3. "Best of the Federalist," at: http://www.msu.edu/
4. Paul Kirk, "Apartheid army forced gay soldiers into sex change operations," q-online, 2000-JUL-28, at: http://www.q.co.za/news/2000/07
5. Richard Green, "The 'Sissy Boy Syndrome' and the development of homosexuality", Yale University Press, New Haven CT (1987)
6. Op Cit, Chandler Burr, Page 116-7.
7. Frederick Whitam & Robin Mathy, "Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines and the United States," Praeger, New York NY (1986)
8. Bruce Bagemihl, "Biological Exuberance: Animal homosexuality and natural diversity," St. Martins Press, (1999) Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store

Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-AUG-16
Author: B.A. Robinson

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