# Are there any religions which explicitly condone homosexuality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220 "2015-05-17T04:30:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gracefulfatsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@gracefulfatsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracefulfatsheba)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/1 "2015-05-17T04:30:50Z")
It has always struck me that virtually every religion, from Christianity to Scientology, seems to either condemn homosexuality or avoid mentioning it entirely. At best, it’s a debate as to what the position of the religion is. Homosexuality is never clearly condoned. Are there any religions, major or minor, which _explicitly_ condone or support homosexuality, especially in their founding texts? Are there any religions that were founded by gay men or lesbian women? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/2 "2015-05-17T04:59:56Z")
Does atheism count? Many atheists (myself included) are supporters of gay rights. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/3 "2015-05-17T05:01:42Z")
Unitarian Universalism is explicitly welcoming of gay members, will ordain gay priests of both genders and will perform gay marriage ceremonies. “we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift” > **[LGBTQ Justice](https://www.uua.org/lgbtq)** > > Each of us has worth and dignity, and that worth includes our gender and our sexuality. As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to... Buddhism is generally very tolerant of homosexuality, but you won’t see any explicit support for it, because all sexual activity is seen as a distraction to eventually achieving enlightenment, so they view homosexuality the same as any other relationship. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/4 "2015-05-17T05:18:29Z")
[Reform Judaism](http://www.reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/what-does-reform-judaism-say-about-homosexuality) explicitly condones homosexuality. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the organization for Reform Jewish rabbis, has been passing resolutions in support of LGBT rights since 1977. The current president of the CCAR is a lesbian. Of course other branches of Judaism have different beliefs, and the founding documents of Judaism and Reform Judaism do not condone homosexuality. But Reform Judaism as it stands today is entirely supportive and welcoming. > [@](#): > > LGBT Jews and their families are welcome in all Reform temples. LGBT Jews may be ordained as rabbis and cantors and they serve throughout the Reform movement. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/5 "2015-05-17T05:24:18Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Does atheism count? Many atheists (myself included) are supporters of gay rights. 1. Atheism is not a religion. 2. Not being a religion, it has no particular position on gay rights. It is neither for nor against gay rights. That said, there is no specific reason for atheists to be _against_ gay rights. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/6 "2015-05-17T05:27:34Z")
Also " Metropolitan Community Church, a denomination of 40,000 members, was founded specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community, and is devoted to being open and affirming to LGBT people." > **[Metropolitan Community Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Community_Church)** > > The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 countries, and the fellowship has a specific outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families and communities. > The fellowship has Official Observer status with the World Council of Churches. The MCC has been denied membership in the US National... ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/7 "2015-05-17T08:36:11Z")
Toleration of Homosexuality is mostly a cultural\* rather than a religious issue. People adhereing to the same religion can have different outlook on several issues. - Yes I know the two are intertwined. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/8 "2015-05-17T09:14:40Z")
In the NeoPagan world Dianic Wiccans tend to have a high number of lesbians and bisexual members, and the Radical Faeries were founded by gay men. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/9 "2015-05-17T10:21:23Z")
My take on the way that Jesus taught (sometimes called ‘The Way’ as apposed to Paul’s religion Christianity), was the curses of the law are removed and come and be accepted as you are and become a child of God. Since the law explicitly contained homosexuality ‘the way’ pretty much condones it through the removal of the penalty and acceptance into the family. One might argue that God will transform that person, this I would say is correct, however it does not equate to the removal of homosexuality, just removal of the stigma of it covered by love. Wicca has a creed ‘Do as you will and Harm none’, don’t know if they actually go into homosexuality explicitly. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/10 "2015-05-17T11:00:57Z")
I have read that some traditional, shamanic religions see homosexuals (and transsexuals) as people who can breach the divide between male and female, and are thus better positioned to breach the divide between the spiritual and the mundane. Many shamans were homosexual, as it was considered a job qualification. These religions tend not to have founding documents, and were mostly wiped out by Christianity, and other modern religions. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/11 "2015-05-17T11:03:18Z")
As a general rule, which is about the only way to talk about Wicca and its cousins, that which is not forbidden and harms no one is permitted. Most do not explicitly address homosexuality (two exceptions are noted in my prior post) but so long as no one is getting hurt what you do sexually with other people is solely the business of those involved, and sex is generally something to be celebrated rather than repressed. So, mostly positive although of course, since we’re dealing with people, you get random bigotry from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/12 "2015-05-17T14:20:48Z")
In many Native American cultures, the “[Two-Spirit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit),” formerly _berdache,_ held an esteemed position in their societies. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/13 "2015-05-17T14:26:41Z")
Temple prostitution by males was a feature of ancient near East religion. > [@panache45](#): > > In many Native American cultures, the “[Two-Spirit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit),” formerly _berdache,_ held an esteemed position in their societies. This is somewhat trumped up by the ‘noble savage’ crowd; Indian groups in which homosexuality is looked down upon, or the “two-spirit” identity either doesn’t exist or is considered socially inferior, far outnumber those described by the above. In larger American Indian groups, the attitudes more or less track that of the U.S. at large, unsurprisingly. [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/among-the-navajos-a-renewed-debate-about-gay-marriage.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/among-the-navajos-a-renewed-debate-about-gay-marriage.html) ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/14 "2015-05-17T14:31:19Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > Temple prostitution by males was a feature of ancient near East religion. Interesting. Got a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-which-explicitly-condone-homosexuality/720220/15 "2015-05-17T14:47:15Z")
Atheism is not an “ism” to which you adhere so even if you thought of it as a religion, the question makes no sense for us. It is a belief, but one that commits you to nothing. I keep saying that by knowledge I am agnostic, but by belief an atheist. I am certainly opposed to legal restrictions on homosexuality, including banning marriage, but I don’t think this has anything to do with my atheism.