...Sochi, Gay Rights and the Catholic Church The Sochi Olympics like many Games that preceded it, is symbolic of human endurance and excellence, where thousands of athletes travel across the globe, to compete under the banner of their respective nations. While the Olympics are undoubtedly a showcase of individual pursuits of glory, the cultural significance of this event cannot and should never be underestimated. The Olympics could be described as a cataloged history of nations coming together under the five ‘interlocking’ rings, to collaborate and celebrate on a world stage. It is a chance to reflect on the differences and uniqueness of all those who attend, and to put aside the political, cultural and religious discontent that can often impose itself on the global community. Unfortunately for many of us, these games did not symbolize the progress we have made in this respect, but came to symbolize the morally reprehensible position of the Kremlin’s position on Homosexuality, and its authoritarian reaction to individual and groups who questioned the legitimacy of their laws. It also highlighted through the inaction of the global community, a sinister pervasiveness of homophobia throughout the world. During one of the many debates that often ensue during my history class; the topic of homosexual rights was put to the class. What transpired from this debate was a series of thought provoking questions that inspired me to write this particular article. Upon conducting my own research...
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...The Catholic Church Attempts Bringing Their Own Back On the Same Sex Marriage Issue Abstract The following paper will argue for the Catholic Church against those Catholics within the institution what agree with same sex marriage. In fact, a little more than 50 percent of Catholics according to a recent survey by Pew Research accept and support homosexuality and same sex marriage (Lipka, 2014). There will be four opposing arguments make by the magisterium, which is the teaching of the Catholic Church, against same sex marriage. These arguments include; the teachings which prohibit homosexual activity, teachings that need to include those that promote the dignity of the person, the good of marriage as a social institution, and their religious liberties as they exist today. Pope Francis declares that homosexuals are good people they just practice immoral acts that are not accepted within the institute of marriage (Hale, 2015). Arguments are based on the magisterium and our religious liberties. There is hope that that those Catholics in agreement of same sex marriage will return to the beliefs followed by the magisterium following the reading of this information. Introduction The Catholic Church Attempts Bringing Their Own Back On the Same Sex Marriage Issue The Scriptures are not silent within the Catholic Church (Montoya, 2000). He claims that homosexuality in the eyes of the church is treated as a violation according to Scriptures, and a major one standing out is...
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...I recently listened to a series of insightful lectures on the American Civil War given by Dr. Gary Gallagher, a professor of History at the University of Virginia. Early on, Dr. Gallagher analyzed the failure of America’s political leadership to find a compromise on slavery in the days and years leading up to secession and the catastrophic and bloody war. There was the careful attempt to admit to the Union, in tandem, one slave state and one Free State to insure the balance of power in the Senate. Henry Clay of Kentucky, the “great compromiser” helped to work out the division of Western territory so that this balance was to be preserved “in perpetuity.” Slavery, however, was not a political battle that could ultimately be negotiated; it was rather a moral battle that did not lend itself to compromise. It pitted a new consciousness against a dying definition. Slavery could not be partially moral or moral under some circumstances. It was either moral or immoral. There was no middle ground. In the slavery debate, those who shared the new consciousness were quite clear. Human beings cannot be held in bondage. This new consciousness challenged those definitions, which suggested that some people did not qualify as human beings; that some people were primitive, childlike, created to be subservient, and were, therefore, fit for nothing other than manual labor. Within that definition, slavery was deemed to be morally acceptable and those who held this position actually believed that...
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...David Burianek Robert Morehouse Christian Morality REL-330 11 April 2014 Same-sex Marriage: Church and State Whether homosexuality is a matter of biological wiring of the human mind or a learned choice is not relevant to this paper. What are relevant are the perception, acceptance, and possibly tolerance of homosexual love, and whether the next logical step in the expression of this love (marriage) has a place in our society and our relationship with God. The American Constitution created a separation of State and Church in order to establish a fair governance of the people, regardless of their religious beliefs. The intent of the ideal of separation of church and state also prevents one form of religion from dictating and overpowering other belief systems. Worldwide we now have a system of democratic norms that, in theory, prevent the establishment of an unfair constraint on human happiness. What is at the heart of this debate over allowing and recognizing the union of same-sex couples? The gay community, the current government and even public opinion see the choice of recognizing same-sex marriage the as a question of equality. Why do the religious institutions reject same-sex marriage as a view of equality? After all, most of the western religions denounce homosexuality and same-sex marriage as being a violation of the religious norms held by each belief system. Let us begin with the gay community’s views regarding same-sex marriage. The gay community sees the rejection...
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...moral codes and values for individuals and people of their faith. All religions have the promise of peace with in an individual regardless of how life can be. Most religions share the theme of helping people that are suffering from illness, being poor and less fortunate while always showing compassion. Almost every religion has a God that is the supreme judge for the way in which we as humans live their lives. In each religion, their God is also an overseer of the person’s life, finances and family of which ever faith a person believes in. How is this religion responding to challenges in the modern world? There are many Challenges in the modern world many religions are faced with. The religion I am going to talk about is the Catholic Church. Quick overview, the...
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...Axia College Material Appendix F Impact Matrix Assignment Directions: Assume that you are on the school board of your school district and you are tasked with the job of strategic planning for issues facing your district. Complete the matrix below to determine the potential response of each of the religious groups in your community. Use the attached links to research the basic moral and ethical principles believed by each group. Then determine how you believe each group will react to the issue based on what you find. Provide a brief justification for your answer. After completing the matrix, write a 300- to 500-word summary of the significant similarities and differences among the different religious groups. SCHOOL ISSUES Prayer in School Creationism v. Evolution Studying Women’s Rights in the Middle East Saying the Pledge of Allegiance Starting a Gay and Lesbian Support Group Inter-Racial Dating COMMUNITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Pro/Con Justify your answer Atheist Con According to the BBC website, many atheists are "hostile" to any special treatment given to organized religion; they may find prayer in school to be offensive, as atheists tend to believe that a God is not a necessary belief. Pro Evolution Atheists would be pro-evolution, as evolution tends to use scientific evidence to justify its assumptions. According to the BBC website...
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...Third Gender – Equality and Truth http://caissg.org/third-gender-equality-truth/ It is a brave and honest person who can stand apart from the masses and openly challenge its most treasured beliefs. ~ Donna Evans As humans, we understand a little about our complex bodies even with the greatest medical science. It is what it is. Then why lie? Secrecy and stigma are worse than the condition itself. Without truth and transparency, it is difficult to pass laws, provide equal rights, offer support and help for all. We need to have an environment which encourages truth, tolerance, and respect for all. Are there only two genders or is there a third gender?Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, we can all agree thattruth is always the right option and secrecy and lying have no place for a long-term solution in a civilized society. There are several issues withsecrecy and lying. First it is wrong. Second it does not take into account the feelings and trauma of the person being lied to. Third it could lead to criminal acts such as if lying is a crime under oath. What are the bioethics for disclosure to spouses? It is NOT about gender identity or it is NOT about the sexual identity, it is about the HUMAN identity which is to say the truth. As a human being, everyone deserves a feeling of “belonging”, understanding and acceptance. Without recognition of the truth, how will an intersex person marry legally or how can an intersex couple (who are infertile) adopt a child legally...
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...Same Sex Marriage: Standing Against In the United States, there is social unrest regarding the government’s denial of the right to marry for homosexuals. Plenty of conservatives are completely against gay marriage; and many of liberals are fighting for equal treatment. The neo-Christian politicians are using religious arguments to establish that homosexuality is an abomination. While this may be their belief system, this country was founded religious freedom, where the people are allowed to worship how they see fit. A ground rule, set up from the beginning, states that separation needs to be made between religion and government, so the two shall never join to become a theocracy. With the issue of gay marriage, lines are blurred and religion rears its head to influence a government’s decision of who shall be married and who will be refused. The understanding of both pros and cons to the matter, my personal belief is being against gay marriage. There are many different reasons that why myself and others are against gay marriage. One of those reasons is religious purposes. “In the Bible it states that marriage should between a man and woman. So, to religious people that statement rules that there should be no same sex marriage in this country” (Interview). Another factor against same sex marriage is the children aspect. “Research” has found that many children succeed and thrive in a home with both a mother and father. Another factor is teaching of same sex marriage...
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...BIOETHICAL ISSUES AND MORALITY Bioethics refers to the systematic study if the human conduct in the areas of the life sciences and health care. Based on the foregoing arguments, these are the following issues, namely surrogate motherhood, drug addiction, suicide, murder, self-defense, euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, and mutilation. Surrogate motherhood is the transaction through which a woman bears the child for the convenience of another woman. It is one of the progressive ways of alleviating infertility. However, Catholic Church is strong in saying that reproduction outside marriage is illicit, and therefore, immoral. Drug addiction is not immoral if the drug intake is meant for curing an illness. However, the immorality of drugs would surface if used outside their purpose. Suicide is to kill oneself. It is an immoral total cessation of a God-given life. Therefore, suicide is immoral. Murder is the art of killing of an innocent person. It is immoral since it violates the right of God over human life. Self-defense is not our duty to kill an aggressor; but we have the right to defend ourselves from any unjust and illegal attack of aggressor. It is justifiable since killing here is not a murder. Euthanasia or mercy killing is defined as the intentional killing of the life of the presumably hopeless person. It is inherently wrong because it violates the nature and dignity of human beings. Since life originates from God, therefore, He alone has a sovereign right over...
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...In the first synod Pope Francis is challenged in Vatican showings. This synod was specifically about family issues and was overshadowed by doctrinal differences. A synod is a meeting of the Bishops from around to world. This article was interesting to me because it was decided that after a divorce and remarriage the Catholic the got divorced could someday receive communion again. The article explained how the Cardinals acted toward the Pope by saying that there were predetermined results. Same-sex marriage would not be considered marriage. Some countries feel pressured to pass laws on abortion and homosexuality which had me wonder why they were pressured. I wonder that because if passing a law is the right thing for the church then the...
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...Hinduism on the contrary recognizes the existence of many. Two essential points of Christianity, particularly sin and salvation, aren’t present in Hinduism. The two religions nevertheless have several points of similarity. Hindus worship a number of gods and Catholics worship several saints; both of them make use of the burning of candles and incense before the statues for purposes of worship. Both religions make use of images, icons, music and rituals. Catholics chant prayers, whilst Hindus chant mantras; both of them have tremendously wealthy temples, full of statues and golden artefacts and make use of priesthoods that intermediate between humans and gods. Such similarities and dissimilarities notwithstanding, these two religions have distinct and deeply entrenched religious ethos and epistemologies that govern their practice and the attitudes, approaches and behaviours of their members. The goal of this is to compare and contrast Catholic and Hindu approaches towards gender, sexuality and violence. 2. Discussion and Analysis Gender and Sex Gender and sex have been subjects of significant controversy, intrigue, debate and discussion in the history of the Catholic Church. With the cultural influence of the Catholic Church being...
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.... what was morally right. The reason sexual abstinence is an issue today is because many people claim premarital sex is wrong. People base their opinions on what the Bible has said. When the Bible is used to justify any means of behavior, it usually becomes a moral issue. The main issue at hand is whether premarital sex is classified as morally right or wrong. The Catholic Church claims that premarital sex is wrong and immoral. Premarital Sex Pre-Marital Sex During the twentieth century, premarital sex has become an important issue. Sexual abstinence was the normal society lifestyle until the late 1950 s. Most men and ... Not only does the Catholic Church believe this, so does nearly every other Christian faith. In many other countries, premarital sex is not as huge of an issue as it is here in the US. The basis for this is unsure, but religion and culture seem to play into it largely. In the 1990 s, the teaching of abstinence is beginning to be implemented into the public school systems. The enthusiasm for the just-say-no Premarital Sex Pre-Marital Sex: Is It Worth The Wait? Pre-marital sex, young Catholics know it is wrong. So why do they do it? Most teenagers have heard or coined the phrases ... approach began with the G.O.P....
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...During the twentieth century, the tensions between the church and national governments occasionally led to absolute suppression of the church, as in the former Soviet Union and Communist Eastern Europe, Mexico, Spain, and China. Mussolini and Hitler also destroyed much of the church as they could. The century was noticeably marked because of the new trends which came into practice and in the case of the outlook of church. The main objective was basically a need for primary readjustment to overcome the problems associated with ethical aspects that were quite important regarding new ways of life and much higher anxiety due to difficult task that needs to be carried out in the church. Then the other movement followed after that was the revival of church by both laity and the clergy. In Western countries, it was especially very strong. The major issues that were highlighted were latest reforms, the acknowledgment with the diverse contributions related to the region and the present situation of the church, and the identification of the non-political value of the church. The other factor that was quite vital was the increase in revival because of the strengthening of relations between the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and various Protestant churches. During the 1962-1965, the growing value of currents which had lot of value at the time when Second Vatican Council was established during 1960s and even came under John XXIII and Paul VI which started large changes...
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...Love is a Human Right The right of adults to enter into consensual marriage is enshrined in international human rights standards. Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. For more than a decade, this non-discrimination principle has been interpreted by UN treaty bodies and numerous inter-governmental human rights bodies as prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has therefore become an internationally recognized principle and many countries have responded by bringing their domestic laws into line with this principle in a range of spheres including partnership rights http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/lgbt-rights/marriage-equality Gay marriage has divided the American people over the past few years. Yet such a sharp divide is a very recent occurrence. Only a decade ago, gay marriage was nil but an afterthought on the plates of many U.S. leaders. Liberal Democrats like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton did not even support or condone the idea that gays should be able to marry. Yet the turn of the century brought new life and perspective into this issue, and at this moment, a substantial majority of the American public actually support gay marriage. The...
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...The Nacirema people practiced extreme human behavior or ethnocentrism, in their rituals and culture. These people were highly economically developed, buy believed in witchery, magic, folklore of their religion, and many, many rituals. The focus of their rituals was the human body, through sexual exploitation of the human body, body fluids, and body parts. (Source: "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner). I found that the observed rituals concerning the mouth were most intriguing. The Nacirema people believe that there is a strong relationship between oral and moral characteristics and that if the rituals are not performed, not only will poor oral hygiene issues occur but their social life will be ruined as well through loss of friends and lovers. Through the case study it appears that tribe has a reason for everything that they do whether it makes sense or not. The only aspect that is not making sense to the observer, author, or myself is the extreme levels of pain that the Nacirema expose themselves to for reasons that do not require such physical torture. When reading through the case study, it appears that this tribe has some reasoning for their oral fetish and other body rituals but the pain associated with them is not necessarily required. (Source: "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner). The Nacirema people believed the human body was ugly because as it debilitates and causes diseases. Therefore, the human body was idolized for the “good”...
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