Why do religious people bother so much about gay people?

Ononoke

Is that a control thing? If they thing they are going to heaven and gay people will go to hell, why bother? we wont meet anyway.

You know what? Interestingly, your question is generalizing stuff. Because truthfully, only hopeless fanatics who do NOT have proper and deep knowledge about their own religion that would discriminate, or as you say, 'bother so much' about LGBT. Meaning, not ALL religious people do that, only those who have SHALLOW understanding to their beliefs.

Since they have shallow knowledge, they tend to exaggerate themselves by claiming as God's soldier, to right the wrong, and bla bla bla. I was raised in a Christian family, but as I grew up, I began to learn about the Bible on my own level of understandings. In a, what I called as non-biased view. And guess what the whole point of Bible? "LOVE". Loving others, NOT hating, and never try to be a judge to others. It's clear that many so-called 'religious fanatics' aren't practicing this, because discriminating others is clearly against the basic fundamental of Christ's teaching. In fact, it's one of the 7 Deadly Sins, which do not relate at all to Christianity. So logically speaking, they can't really be categorized as religious people. Perhaps, bigots? fakes?

Good example of this? Pope Francis. He's the head of Vatican, and have spoken about how it is WRONG and sinful to discriminate others, including LGBT. In fact, he personally commanded those who do or did, to apologize not just to God, but also to the people they have hurt. I'm not pro Pope Francis, but it's clear that he's among those (sadly, probably the few) who understands the teaching of the Bible at a cellular level. Which is why, I have to disagree on the notion that 'religious people' tend to hate LGBT. That's generalizing. It's like calling all soldiers to be evil because they can carry a gun, or every White Americans are racist because some do, or every dogs are dirty just because some of them are strays in the wild. Whereas we all know, that's never the case. I considered myself as partially religious, and I try my best not to hate, because it's a SIN. Especially to LGBT people, when in fact I'm one of them. LOL. So just because some part of the religious community are taking the offensive and anarchist approach to things, doesn't mean that everyone is like that.

Hope that helps clear things up…

PS: Not just Christian. I've had discussions with those whose beliefs are Hinduism, Buddhism, and Moslem, and the fundamental basis of their religions are more or less the same. Some practices (like free sex) are indeed considered a sin to them, but they all agree that judging and cornering people who are different (read: HATING) is also considered as one of the biggest sin of all.

brianboru72

There are some who feel it is their duty to "correct" and "enlighten" lgbt people because they are living sinful lives based on the tenets and rules of their religion.

Others feel threatened- they genuinely believe that gays having rights and having the chance to get married is a threat to their religion and so they take action to suppress gay rights. It's all coming from fear. Fear of those who are different or don't live the way they do. Ironically, these people are using religion- something which was created out of a desire to promote love- as justification to persecute and spread hate.

As someone wiser than me once said-Love does not hurt people. Fear does.

Duvet

Well fisrt of all, the really religious people and the educated religious people do not say that and do not believe that. And to be honest I am a Christian Orthodox and most of the priests in our church do not believe that. Especially the ones that are really enlightened by God or educated. The thing is that God said other things and humans translated them according to how they wanted to use them. Personally I believe that the priests who have been consumed from the lust for power and lust to control, they use Gods words wrongly just to make sure they will be able to control humans through fear. And here's a little bit of what an educated priest said, here in Greece. In all the scrolls and texts God never said anything on gay people. EVER. Just an Apostole said it, but he also said so many things, so why not believe in God and believe an Apostole? Also since being gay is because of nature why would God just create a child of His just to send it to hell? He would never make a creation just to discard it to hell.

Azazaza

I'll respond with the real answer, but it may be too abstract and dispassionate for your tastes.

The concept of religion does not necessarily discourage gay sex, and I'm sure there have been a few really rainbow-coloured religions out there in the thousands of years of history… but the most successful and world-spanning of the modern religions do condemn gays. Therefore modern religious people simply follow their beliefs taught to them by the successful religion in which they were raised.

A religion is successful when it has as many worshippers as possible. All Abrahamic religions promote "Go forth and multiply" and this made them more successful at spreading themselves around the world than, say, Manicheanism which views all kinds of sex as impure. Sex often creates new followers in the process. Those followers spread across the globe. The religion becomes a widespread mainstream religion.

Gay sex does not create any little babies to become followers. Any religion that promoted gay sex as an equally viable lifestyle would eventually be outbred by the more procreative followers of the other religions that hated gay sex. Over a few centuries, an entire civilisation can be wiped out by low birthrates compared to its rivals. There's a reason why most of Europe will be Muslim-majority in 50 years.

Islam retains its "Go forth and multiply" mandate with very strong cultural measures to enforce it, such as keeping women domesticated and also throwing homosexuals off tall buildings. Consequently, Islam will produce more babies and will replace Christianity in Europe and North America in a few generations. Religions which maximize reproduction eventually crowd out religions which do not. Most long-term religions, therefore, actively disincentize gay sex by virtue of the fact that they lasted long enough to be long-term.

Just being honest!

QCDelights

@beau:

Is that a control thing? If they thing they are going to heaven and gay people will go to hell, why bother? we wont meet anyway.

I actually remember thinking the very same thing when I was 8 years old and heard my pastor talking about how horrible it was the gay people could get married in Hawaii. After studying a lot of religions I found that in all but Islam homosexuality really isn't a big deal. The fact is people like to feel superior to others so they use religious belief systems to do so going back a long way. For example the ruthless slaughtering of the indigenous peoples of America as well as enslaving Africans was deemed permissible to Christians because they believed that darkened skin was the result of the curse of Canaan and they people were naturally inferior to whites. As time progresses and certain groups gain rights new groups seem to fill the void. Fortunately for gay people the new thing to hate seems to Muslims so we're about to be off the chopping block, but mark my words they will find a reason that God hates them too.

upNXT

because organized religion is awful

SemenDemon

Generally speaking, religion and politics have always been deeply enmeshed. They have always been used in conjunction by ruling classes as a means of asserting control over people. As someone already said, intolerance of gays, at least within the context of Abrahamic religions (i.e., Judaism, Christianity, Islam), basically boils down to the fact that sex without procreation means less followers to perpetuate a faith-based political power structure. A lot of non-Abrahamic religious and secular cultures also consider homosexuality problematic, though (some more so than others). It is still seen as a social obligation for people to marry and have children, as much to preserve individual family lines as to perpetuate cultures at large.

This is all speculation, to be honest. I haven't done any research to back these theories up, but they've always seemed to be the most obvious, logical explanations.

poltergeist

Maybe because they think it's extremely against every bit of religious views and God himself they say does not accept them. For some in my country, gay people can also be seen as a sign that we are getting closer to Judgment Day…

topio

Well all of the above is more or less the how, the why is that people are just plain stupid. So be smarter

unpleased

@Azazaza:

There's a reason why most of Europe will be Muslim-majority in 50 years.

Your thinking is brilliant & enlightening.

This in particular has to be seen:
it will happen only if muslims would not involve in the community maintaining their own habits & culture.

That would be very sad, cultural contamination would be a good thing for both Europeans & Muslims.
Personally I hope in a "remix" of the same old story.

Domosuke

Because of acceptance.

Murder, stealing, lying etc. Are all things which in biblical times were considered wrong, and today in present time, I think for the most part everyone can agree are considered wrong.

Homosexuality, which was something in biblical times that was considered wrong, today in present time is widely accepted and even forced by some to agree with or like.

So people of course say other sins are wrong, so why is this one accepted now? It's very complex and difficult to understand.

As a gay black man, I don't give a fuck is somebody hates homosexuality. That's their choice.

As a gay christian, I also understand their anger and trite.

frontlemon

Why religious people bother so much about gays?
1. Because we take great pleasure in proving ourselves right and
2. Because we prove ourselves right by proving others wrong and
3. Because we are too lazy to discover what's right or wrong by ourselves.

ilmodello

no idea