CROSS-CULTURAL PREVALENCE OF HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Ford and Beach, Survey of 76 small, preindustrial societies

          64 percent have some type of acceptable homosexual activity

The second most common pattern is a liason between men or boys who are otherwise heterosexual.
Example: Sambia of New Guinea

Historically Christianity has been highly intolerant of homosexuality

Threat to celibate clergy

Translated into sodomy laws

A major element of the development of modern societies has been the disembedding of individuals from communal, familial, and religious institutions and reduction of patriarchy. These changes have produced greater individuation and fewer behaviors being determined by biological sex The result is a shift from sex-for-reproduction to sex-for-pleasure relationships

Preferred sexual pattern in familially based sex-for-reproduction relationships

Purpose of sexual liaisons must be procreation and the focal act must be vaginal intercourse

There must be two (one male, one female) participants

Birth control is forbidden

Pleasure and satisfaction are incidental

Individually based sex-for-pleasure relationships

Purpose of sexual liaison is rarely procreation, and the focal act may be manual, oral, anal, virtual

There may be more or fewer than two participants, male and female in any combination

Birth control is mandatory

Satisfaction is the preeminent goal
 

INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN ORIENTATION TO HOMOSEXUALITY

 Media

1953 Lucille Ball prohibited from using the word pregnant although she and her co-star husband were expecting a baby

1968 Captain James Kirk and Lieut. Uhura engage in the first interracial kiss (coerced by alien telepathy)

1972 Maude (Bea Arthur) gets an abortion

1991 Murphy Brown (Candice Bergan) decides to become a single mom

1990s Numerous shows with homosexual characters (The Simpsons, Melrose Place, Friends)

1990s Women permitted to kiss on network television (Roseanne, L.A. Law)

1997 Ellen Degeneres "comes out" on national television as the first leading character in a series to avow a homosexual identity

J.C. Penny and Chrysler discontinued sponsorship of the show

Jerry Falwell responded

 Professional and Interest Groups

American Psychiatric Association depathologized homosexuality in 1973 and the World Health Association followed in 1991

Amnesty International agreed to defend individuals imprisoned for homosexuality in 1991

Gay rights organizations

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is admitted to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in 1983

More militant gay rights groups form in later 1980s (ACT UP, Queer Nation)

Numerous international gay rights organizations formed and began lobbying for same-sex sexuality as a "human right" (International Lesbian and Gay Association,1978; International Gay and Lesbian Human rights Commission, 1990)

October 7, 1998 -- beating of Matthew Shepard. Died October 12, 1998

Public Opinion Changes

There was increasing liberalism in attitudes toward race relations, women’s rights, equal rights, abortion, civil liberties, divorce, sexual morality between the 1960s and 1980s. Some attitudes became more conservative in the late 1990s.

Most national survey data indicates a decline in the willingness of Americans to restrict the civil liberties of homosexuals

Characteristics of the population associated with negative attitudes toward homosexuality (older, less educated, African Americans, Southerners and Midwesterners, males, residents of small towns, religious fundamentalists)

Characteristics of the population associated with more favorable attitudes toward homosexuality (young, well educated, whites, residents of the Pacific Coast, females, residents of big cities, religious liberals)

Attitudes toward the morality of homosexuality have become more favorable but remain negative. In 1987, 75% of the public reported in a NORC survey that homosexuality was always wrong; in 2006 that percentage was 61%.

Attitudes have also varied. They were more liberal in the early 1970s, increasingly conservative through 1990, and more liberal between 1990-2000.

Attitudes toward civil liberties have also become more favorable.

In 1973, 39% of the public reported that it would not restrict any civil liberty of homosexuals; in 1998 that percentage was 65 %.

In 1977, 43% of the public in a Gallup survey responded that homosexuality should be legal; in 2008 the percentage was 55%

In 1982, 34% of the public in a Gallup survey responded that homosexuality should be an acceptable lifestyle; in 2008 the percentage was 57%

In 1977, 55% of the public in a Gallup survey said homosexuals should have equal job opportunities; in 2008 the percentage was 89%

What accounts for the changing attitudes toward homosexuality?

Increased education
Belief that being gay is an innate characteristic
Greater support for civil libertarianism
Openly gay friends and co-workers
Activism by GLBT communities
Dissociation of homosexuality and AIDS
The public makes a clear distinction between morality and civil rights.

Legal Changes

In 1960, all states had sodomy laws (anal intercourse by a man with a man or woman), but since 1960 37 states have repealed those laws

Between 1984 and 1995 24 nations changed policies sex between men, between women, or both, almost always in a liberalizing direction

Same-sex marriages are recognized nationwide in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, and, beginning in May 2009, in Sweden.

In 1996 the federal government passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defining marriage, for federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman. It also allows states to declare void same-sex marriages performed legally in other states

Between 1973 and 2004 38 states have banned same-sex marriage. Some states have moved toward allowing some type of civil union.

STATE LAW CHANGES RELATED TO SAME-SEX UNIONS/MARRIAGE (1973-2009)

States Enacting Same Sex Marriage/Union/Partnership Bans

Most states banned same-sex marriage between 1973 and 2008
Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage have been approved in every state where they have been on the ballot

Bans took the form of defining marriage as a solely opposite-sex institution, prohibiting officials who solemnize marriage from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, or simply prohibiting same-sex marriages (Texas amended the Family code to prevent the issuance of marriage licenses to persons of the same-sex; (2) prevent the recognition or, or declare void, same sex marriages even if performed legally elsewhere (North Carolina); (3) combining these approaches (Arizona prohibits the performance of same sex marriages and voids same-sex marriages)

1973 Texas

1995 Utah

1996 Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Okalhoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee

1997 Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia

1998 Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Washington

1999 Louisiana

2000 California, Colorado, West Virginia

2001 Missouri

2002 Nevada

2004 Ohio, Louisiana

2007 Maryland

2008 Arizona, Maryland, Florida

States Enacting Same Sex Marriage/Union/Partnership Laws

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in 2003 that the state may not "deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry." The governor sought a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex civil marriages. The legislature sought a compromise proposal prohibiting civil marriage but authorizing civil unions. The proposal did not gain necessary legislative approval, and the Supreme Court ruling stands.

The Supreme Court in Connecticut ruled that civil unions were an unequal institution, legalizing same sex marriage in October 10, 2008.
The Connecticut state legislature previously enacted a civil union law in April, 2005 giving couples who enter into civil unions all of the same rights and responsibilities as spouses under state law.

Vermont became the first state to legalize same sex marriage through a legislative vote in 2009.
The Vermont legislature previously passed the Vermont Civil Union law, which went into effect on July 1, 2000. The law doesn't legalize same-sex marriages but does provide gay and lesbian couples some or the legal advantages (rights to annulment, divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, domestic violence, adoption, and property division; rights to sue for wrongful death and other, loss laws concerning spousal relationships; medical rights such as hospital visitation, notification, and durable power of attorney; family leave benefits; joint state tax filing; property inheritance when one partner dies without a will). Rights under federal law are not included (Social Security benefits, immigration privileges, or the marriage exemption to federal estate tax).

The Iowa Supreme Court struck down a state statute banning same sex marriage as unconstitutional in April, 2009

Same sex marriage was legal in California between June 17 and November 5, 2008. The California Supreme Court ruled that "California legislative and initiative measures limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violate the state constitutional rights of same-sex couples and may not be used to preclude same-sex couples from marrying." Same sex marriage was banned by popular vote on Proposition 8 on November 4, 2008.

The Maine legislature enacted a domestic partnership law offering some limited benefits to registered partners (legal custody in cases of disability, inheritance, and end-of-life issues). Most other marital rights are not included. In November, 2009, Maine voters repealed a state law (implementation was stayed) that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed.

New Jersey enacted a domestic partner law in January, 2004 with some marital benefits (equality with married couples in insurance coverage and medical decision making; option to file joint state tax returns).

Hawaii passed the Reciprocal Beneficiaries law, which provides some marriage-like benefits (hospital visitation rights, the ability to sue for wrongful death, and property and inheritance rights)

California updated its domestic partner law as of January 1, 2005. Registered domestic partners have many of the same rights and obligations as legally married spouses.

In 1998, Washington State’s legislature passed a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In 2005, the State Supreme Court ruled against marriage equality for same-sex couples and upheld DOMA. In 2007 the legislature passed a domestic partnership bill. In 2008 the legislature added an additional 160 of the rights and responsibilities of marriage to domestic partnerships. And in 2009, the legislature expanded domestic partnerships once again in the “everything but marriage” bill, which provides the same state rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married spouses, while specifying that domestic partnerships are not marriages. A public referendum on the legislation was included on the November ballot, and Washington became the first state to adopt equal marriage rights for gays by popular vote (53-47)

The state of New Hampshire legalized civil unions as of January 1, 2008. The law went into effect in January, 2010.

The state of Oregon legalized domestic partnerships on February 1, 2008

In 2010, the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage when the D.C. Council voted (11-2) in favor of the measure. The legalization campaign began in 1975.

THE CONFLICT OVER HOMOSEXUALITY WITHIN CHURCHES

Ordination of gays is somewhat less controversial than marriage rites because there are many kinds of ministry

Marriage rites are more controversial

Same sex wedding liturgies have been approved by only one major mainline Protestant denomination, the United Church of Christ. Alternatives are called “services of commitment,” “covenant services,” “holy unions”

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches does perform same sex weddings

The basis for marriage in the Bible is founded on the complementarity between male and female and procreation as the God ordained ideal

The biblical idea of “two becoming one flesh.”

In Genesis 2:24: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." Jesus repeated that teaching twice in the Gospels: Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9.

Biblical marriage rituals go back to the wedding of Isac and Rebecca in Genesis

Biblical prohibitions on same-sex genital relations

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22, an Old Testament law repeated with the death penalty in Leviticus 20:13).

"God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error" (the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:26-27).

The number of church sponsored same sex unions remains very small

The controversy in mainline Protestant denominations often rises out of local urban congregations where there are concentrations of homosexuals and out of theology schools with liberal faculties

Episcopal Church (2,4000,000 members)

There are 25,000,000 Anglicans in England (but only 1,000,000 churchgoers) and 77,000,000 worldwide in 164 countries. Anglicans claim to be the third largest Christian denomination.

The Anglican Communion consists of 38 self-governing provinces. The Episcopal Church is the American wing of the Anglican Communion.

In 1976 the Episcopal Church voted to ordain wome as priests

In 2006 Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

In 2003 V. Gene Robinson, who has a same-sex partner, was elected Bishop of New Hampshire.

In 2003 the Russian Orthodox Church severed contacts with the US Episcopal Church calling Robinson’s appointment blasphemous and anti-Christian.

In 2003 the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) with 17,000,000 members severed its relationship with the US Episcopal Church

In 2003 Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh said Robinson's supporters are betraying Christianity's one ``source of truth, the Bible in the holy tradition of the church'' and declared that Orthodoxy's official talks with the Episcopal Church are ``defunct.''

In 2003 At the Vatican, Pope John Paul II told Carey's successor, Archbishop Rowan Williams, that ``new and serious difficulties havearisen on the path to unity.'' The pope said the problems ``extend to essential matters of faith and morals.''

In 2009 the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that that the Episcopal Church and not the local congregation owns church property.

In 2009, the Episcopal General Convention affirmed that gay and lesbian priests were eligible to become bishops. In 2010 Re. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore was elected an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

In 2000, the national convention of Bishops and Deputies (clergy and lay people) voted to reject a proposal to develop rites to bless couples living outside of marriage, which would be applied particularly to gay couples

A resolution was approved acknowledging unmarried couples living in long-term relationships, deploring promiscuity and supporting monogamy, and calling for giving those couples “pastoral care” and “prayerful support”

Bishops were allowed to ordain gay priests and local clergy were permitted to bless same-sex unions without fear of reprisal

Reactions to initiatives

Deep divisions between liberal and conservative wings of the church

Within the U.S. church, a group of conservative dioceses, the Pittsburgh-based Anglican Communion Network, called for church leaders not only to change their policy but to repent.

25 parishes (of 7,384) have left the church and joined the Anglican Mission in America

In 2002 "flying bishops" policy to provide temporary oversight to dissident conservative parishes at odds with the national church on sexual morality and other issues.

Anglican archbishops of Rawanda and South East Asia consecrated two American priests as “missionary bishops” to conservative Episcopalians in liberal parishes

In 2007 Kenya's Anglican Archbishop consecrated two conservative American priests as bishops. They are in charge of 30 U.S. ongregations

In 2007 Uganda's Archbishop consecrated a conservative American priest in Virginia

The total number of Episcopal congregations under the direction of African and Asian primates is now 200-250 (out of 7,000)

In 2008 Bishop Robinson was invited to the Lambeth Conference as an observer but declined

In 2008 230 of 880 Aglican bishops boycoted the worldwide Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion, which is held every ten years. Several African bishops have stated they are no longer "incommunion" with the Episcopal Church.

In 2008 four breakaway dioceses formed the Anglican Church in North America. The new province has received support from the primates (leaders of national churches) of Nigeria, Rawanda, Kenya, and the Southern Cone (Argentina). The new province claims 100,000 members.

In 2009 the Diocese of South Carolina (75 parishes) voted to distance itself but not completely split from the national Episcopal Church (withdrawing from church councils and governing bodies) because of church positions on same-sex unions and ordination of gays.


Presbyterian Church (USA) (3,600,000 members)

In 1997 a sexual conduct standard was inserted into the church’s constitution. Ministers are required to “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness”

In May, 2000 the highest church court upheld homosexual candidates for ordination and same sex “holy unions” because they were not defined as marriages

In March, 2001 a proposal passed by the national assembly in 2000 to ban same sex ceremonies was not ratified by regional legislatures and was thus defeated. That ruling allows clergy to perform same-sex union services so long as they are not confused with marriage.

Reactions to initiatives

Deep divisions within liberal an conservative wings of the church

250 conservative congregations joined the Confessing Church Movement within two months

In 2006 a half-dozen Presbyterian ministers across the nation face disciplinary action for marrying same-sex couples

In 2007 the church put a minister on trial for conducting a marriage ceremony for two women

Two dozen congregations have left the denomination since 2006

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 Positions and Events in Other Faiths

In 1972 the United Church of Christ became the first major Christian denomination to ordain an openly gay minister. The United Church of Christ affirmed homosexual ordination in 1983 and local ministers are free to perform rites as they choose.

In 2001, church officials said more than 300 congregations had quietly left the denomination over the previous decade.

In 2005 the United Church of Christ's rule-making body voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so. The vote is not binding on individual churches,

50-75 of the UCC’s 5,725 churches have withdrawn from the denomination.

In 2007 the United Church of Christ affirmed equal rights for couples regardless of gender

In 2000 rabbis in Reform Judaism affirmed same sex unions through appropriate Jewish rituals and allowed development of the ceremonies

In 2000 at the church's national meeting a majority of Methodist leaders supported a ban on ordination of gays. Church leaders also retained 1972 language in its doctrine stating that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching."

In 2001 and 2002 charges against two pastors openly declaring themselves practicing gays were dismissed rather than sent to church trial.

In May, 2000 the United Methodist Church affirmed its 1996 ban on “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions”

In 1999 96 Methodist clergy defied church rules and blessed a homosexual union

In 1999 a Methodist minister was suspended for a year for presiding at a same sex union

The Vatican ruled in 1986 that same sex attraction “must be seen as an objective disorder”

In 2005 Pope Benedict imposed restrictions on homosexuals becoming priests, saying only men who had overcome "transitory" gay tendencies could be ordained.

Within the Catholic Church the Dignity USA movement supports homosexuals

In 1993 Lutheran Church bishops ruled against “an official ceremony by this church for the blessing of a homosexual relationship”

In 2000 the Greater Milwaukee Synod voted to let pastors conduct the blessing of committed same sex relationships

The American Baptist Church policy is that "homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching"

In 2006 American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest (300 churches) voted to recommend severing ties with the denomination because it has not disciplined pro-gay congregations

In 1992 the Southern Baptist Convention revised its bylaws so that “affirming, approving, or endorsing in any way the active practice of homosexuality would be deemed not in friendly cooperation with the SBC”

Over the last two decades a number of conservative Christian churches have initiated “change ministries” designed to encourage homosexuals to adopt heterosexual practices. Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell refers to homosexuality as "the last frontier for evangelical ministry."

Other Implications of Liberalizing Marriage Rites

Bisexual couples

Transgender couples

Multiple partner couples