Casey Hallahan

Composition 2
April 5, 2011
Opposing view-points

Religion’s Persistent Effect in Reference to Homosexuality

Within today’s society hatred is as common as pennies. Whether it’s a

disagreement, a disinterest or blind faith in a handbook, people do not get along. A
topic receiving much scrutiny for what seems like a century now is that of
homosexuality. Homosexuality, plain and simple, is the sexual attraction of one
person to another of the same gender. This issue breeds both an oppressed group of
said homosexuals and the oppressing group consisting of people who disagree with
the act.
My stance is that homosexuality is none of my business. I have no right
interfering with another’s emotions. My life is my own. I, and only I, have the ability
to choose what I do. In Baylor University’s Academic article “Sacred Rites and Civil
Rights: Religion’s Effect on Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Unions and the Perceived
Cause of Homosexuality”, Andrew L. Whitehead lists and unbiased means of
understanding the situation. He starts with an initial objective to discover the effect
religion has on the perception toward homosexual unions. He then details a method
of going about his objective. Mr. Whitehead used the Baylor Religion Survey (2007)
to estimate logistic models predicting the effect of religion on and attribution beliefs
on attitudes toward same-sex unions.
His finding:” First, religion is strongly associated with the belief that
homosexuals choose their sexual orientation. Second, religion maintains a
significant association with attitudes toward same-sex unions despite inclusion of
an attribution variable.” Andrew concludes that even if a biological explanation for
homosexuality is ultimately proven, unfavorable attitudes toward same-sex unions
will most likely endure due to religion’s persistent effect.
In a 2003, Los Angeles Times a poll was taken for the Public opinion on the
causes of homosexuality, their source was “Nature vs. Nurture” in Opinion of
Homosexuals: Religious Beliefs Underpin Opposition to Homosexuality, Part 1:
Opinions of Homosexuals. Within in this pole are questions such as, “Why are people
homosexual?” And, “Is Homosexual orientation something that can be changed?”
Though the results are a little outdated, I believe the numbers provide a consistent
base in which to apply my theory.
People are afraid of that which they don’t understand. Whether it’s Captain
Planet reminding kids that knowledge is power, or adults taking time out of the day
to think for themselves instead of with their generation, fear of the unknown is a
prevalent issue in society. History repeats itself. Oppression is oppression. As
science improves and answers are found, I believe the argument on whether
homosexuality is right or wrong will become less and less customary.