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How Religion Views Homosexuality

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How Religion Views Homosexuality

According to an article by Benjamin Radford with Discovery News, “Two-percent of Americans identify as gay.” You may be thinking that this percentage is much lower than you had expected. The gay community may be a minority; however, gay rights are a human rights issue. Whether there are four million gay Americans or only four, the Constitution applies to everyone. But why are homosexual Americans fighting for rights? This is because religion is prejudice against homosexuality. (Radford, 2011)
The bible is at the center of all of the questions concerning homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and gay rights. Religious practitioners look to it for the answers pertaining to these issues. There are several verses in the bible that have caused controversy, but there are two in specific that have raised more flags than the others. The first is Leviticus 18:22 and it states, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” This verse has caused an uproar of religious protests of homosexuals and their lifestyles, with religious practitioners claiming those who act on homosexual thoughts are committing sin and will be denied entrance to heaven. The other verse among the most controversial is Genesis 2:24, and it states, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Religious leaders and believers say these verses are proof that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are an abomination and therefore should not be permitted. (Online Parallel Bible Project, 2007) (Pearson, 2011)
The bible has a lot of different verses involving homosexuality and marriage, but it also has a lot to say about a wide variety of other things. For example, let’s look at some of the rules of Law found in Leviticus. Chapter 11 has rules about clean and unclean foods, stating

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