Can someone support gay marriage even though their religious preference does not?

Only in some states allow that kind of thing. For gay marriage some of my friends support it, and don’t follow the lines of their religion.

i support it even though my church does not

I guess so, but its why im in favour non religious marriage. I dont understand why gay people would want to married in a religious ceremony if that religion is against it.

I have always wondered that myself.

It isn’t so much the religious ceremony they want but the legal rights and recognition. When someone dies their spouse is normally entitled to survivor benefits from Social Security, pensions, etc. An unmarried gay couple may have to pay higher taxes when they do not qualify for Earned Income Credit or Head of Household status. A surviving spouse automatically gets custody of kids though a serving gay partner does not. Foreigners who marry Americans get automatic citizenship but gay partners do not. There are ways gay and lesbian couples try to get the same rights as married couples but these wills, powers of attorney often are challenged and do not stand up in court.

Where in the Bible are you talking about? Jesus himself never even mentioned homosexuality in any of his sermons. If homosexuality was such a big deal wouldn’t Jesus at least mention it? Yes there is stuff in the Old Testament forbidding homosexuality but it also forbids many things that modern Christians don’t give a second thought to. It is listed as a sin in a few places in the New Testament but it isn’t singled out as a more grievous sin. Bigots used the Bible to justify slavery, segregation, anti-miscgenation laws, etc. Bigotry is still bigotry even if it wears a cloak of religious self-righteousness.

Thankyou, i never thought of it in that. We have civil partnerships here which i think give the same rights as married straight couples.

It is an individual CHOICE to follow or not follow what your Bible, Koran, etc on the subject….

Of course.

Depending on the religion.

Christianity: I know many pro-gay and gay Christians who fully support marriage equality, butt here are also others who oppose it. The term “homosexuality” wasn’t used until 1892 and was not put into the Bible until 1946 so before that the Bible only comments on homosexual acts, not the actual sexuality. For instance, Leviticus 18:22 says “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” That bans homosexual acts, not the actual sexuality. This is an anti-gay quote. However, some people do refer to the fact Jesus never spoke about sex. My Christian friends tell me they focus on his more important teachings: “Love thy neighbour”, “Love your enemies”, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you”.And also ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” which is yet to mention homosexuality. Islam: Its scriptures say in 27:55-58 “”Would ye really approach men in your lusts rather than women? Nay, ye are a people (grossly) ignorant!” and also “When a man mounts another man, the throne of God shakes.” I don’t know much about Islam but from what I do homosexuality is not well-liked. I do however have gay Muslim friends: one of them IS gay but he is married to a woman because it is part of his deen (duty) as a Muslim to get married, have children and raise them as Muslims. He is gay and married but his religion prevents him from being with another man like he wants. Paganism: This is is sometimes noted as a pro-gay religion (generally, not always) because some of its older practices included bisexual and homosexual acts. The Wiccan rede also says “And harm ye none, do what ye will” - do as you please as long as it hurts no one.

It really depends on the religion. You can pick and choose parts of almost any religious book to justify an opinion or action but since you can do that there will be many different views all in the same religion. Religion teaches a person how to live, but not how to necessarily think.

That what I was curious about. You made a good point. I think it’s annoying that people use Christianity to their conveniency yet ignore certain other things. I mean, isn’t that kind of being a hypocrite?

Wow. We just had a long discussion on this in my group this morning. Usually fundamentalist sects are the most against gays and gay marriage. They usually believe in a literal interpretation of the bible - although usually just the parts they want to. Just met a man (at the above mentioned meeting) who had been studying for the ministry, but he found that the more he studied the bible, and the more he asked about it, the less he believed in the inerrancy of it. He is now part of our nonbelievers group in central PA.

So in answer to your question, many liberal sects of christianity are tolerant and accepting of gays and gay marriage.

It depends on the group of believers of the faith. Some are totally agaisnt it and find it very wrong. while some say nomatter what everyone is accepted by God. But back in the days when Jesus lived, men did actually do “things” to pleasure other men. They were not necesarly gay but they did gay acts. It wasn’t something you yelled out to everyone around you but they happened. I beleive they are even mentioned somewhere in the Exodius part of the bible. I would also like to mention that men have a g-spt in there ans. and maybe they were born with one for a reason. you just never know ;)