Religious condemnation of homosexuals denies human rights
Michael Kirby; 30/6/08
A thousand conservative Anglican leaders met in Jerusalem last week, among them Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria who was reported as saying that Anglicans who preach the inclusion of homosexuals in God’s church were guilty of apostasy. He is not alone in this view. In Zimbabwe, the former bishop of Harare, an ardent supporter of President Robert Mugabe, withdrew from the Anglican province in May saying he could not co-exist with so many gays and lesbians in the church. Many of us know the passage from the Old Testament book of Leviticus that declares homosexuals an “abomination”. It is one of a long list of denunciations that has profoundly affected the way three great world religions — the “People of the Book”: Jews, Christians and Muslims — have responded to sexual minorities. Only in a few countries is there a strict separation of church and state, so what they teach about morality influences secular laws by which most people on the planet are governed. The problem is that those who believe in the inerrancy of religious texts find it difficult, or impossible, to tolerate those who deny or doubt their truth.
Tags: Australia, Christianity, Global, Homosexuality