Homosexuality is not a new topic. Fundamentalist Church goers have been quick to draw the ‘God hates fags’ card however this statement is being challenged. If God made us in an ideal image then why create something that isn’t deemed beautiful?
Homosexuality in Australian church communities
The Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity is a growing fundamentalist faith in Australia and has over 280,000 followers in Australia alone. Most Pentecostal pastors who were interviewed have said that they are “welcoming but not affirming essentially meaning that they will allow the homosexual individual to practice the religion but they will not accept the person for who they truly are. A pastor who was interviewed by Mark Jennings a journalist for the ABC explains explicitly that if you are going to volunteer for the church you have to identify as heterosexual “Now our position is that if you’re going to volunteer here that we would hold a fairly orthodox position of scripture… So yeah we do have a line and that line is drawn at volunteering” However, seven pastors that were interviewed allowed for celibate individuals to volunteer for leadership roles. The LBGT community should not be excluded from volunteering and should be able to feel comfortable in all aspects of the church, volunteering in a role of power within the church is not only a symbolic movement of acceptance but it can lead to careers within the church. These statements do not include the Catholic church and are only looking at the fundamentalist views.
When looking at what percentage of Australian’s follow the Christian faith it falls into second behind those who don’t practice a religion at all. The drop-in individuals who follow a religion can be linked back to the bias that is formed within a church. If you think about it, how would you feel being in a place where you know you’re not welcome and that the people there are not open to you and how you express yourself? Would you continue to go there or preach what is said by the organisation or community? Over the past 5 years the country’s attitude towards gay marriage rights have completely changed, 5 years ago the topic of gay marriage was still seen as taboo by many however 2017 has been monumental in making a move towards making it acceptable on all levels including marriage.
What opinions do other faiths hold?
The Islamic faith is like the Pentecostal-charismatic faith in the way that they view homosexuality. Homosexual act is one of the worst sins a person can commit. Muslims who are found to be homosexual are often put to death when they follow the Islamic faith. The Qur’an has extremely strict rules on love and sex, Muslims see sex as a gift from Allah to bring new life into the world and of course as a homosexual you are not able to reproduce with the partner you choose. Adultery is a punishable sin, temptation is noted as something that many men and women are susceptible to however if a person gives into that lust they are committing a punishable sin in the eyes of Allah however this only represents extreme cases.
Why do so many people resent homosexuals?
Why should our sexuality be related back to the faith we choose to follow? Unlike our faith, we cannot choose who we love. Love is love and individuals of all religions and races should become more accepting. The traditions that were adapted over 100 years ago have not changed or developed to fit the changes that society has made over the years. People’s attitudes are based on traditional stereotypes and although the AIDS breakout throughout the 1980’s was a tragic time that is no longer as prevalent in society, so why do we refuse to let go of what we used to know and allow new knowledge to develop. Many homosexual individuals should hide from the ones that they are closest with because of these unfair and unruly stereotypes and lack of knowledge.
The LBGT community in America makes up 10% of the population. That’s 32.31 thousand people in America alone that are openly homosexual. That’s 32.31 thousand potential nurses, veterans, astronaut or simply chef. 10% may not look big on paper but when you get down to it 10% is a large percentage of a population to identify as one thing. Homosexual. For a country that has 25% of their population identifying as catholic the balance isn’t too far off. Homosexuals in the Catholic church and other members of the church’s community have been actively working towards creating an accepting environment for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike.
“The priest, Fr Paul Morton of St Bride’s Church in Cambuslang, wrote: ‘We must do everything we can to redress the harm that has been done in the past by the negative stance we seem to have taken up [about gay people].”