THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR BELIEFS, DOCTRINES AND RELIGIONS
6. RELIGIONS AND SEXUALITY TODAY
Religions have been a constant source of comfort and suffering for many people around the world as a result of their sexual preferences. While most LGBTQIA + people have been brought up in an organized religion, and many continue to profess their faith, many of them have been forced to leave their religious communities due to the moral condemnation imposed on them. However, in recent years a growing number of organized religious groups in the United States of America have issued statements officially welcoming LGBTQIA + people as members. Many religious organizations have also adopted supportive positions on the problems that affect LGBTQIA + people around the world, such as the fight for gender equality, non-violence against women, freedom from discrimination, the solemnization of marriage between people. same-sex and openly LGBTQIA + clergy ordination, to name a few. For example, see the note: Pope Francis Supports Same-Sex Union, But the Church Must Do More (October, 2020): https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/pope-francis- supports-same-sex-civil-unions-but-the-church-must-do-more
Pro LGBTQIA + Religions and Doctrines in 2020:
Judaism
Christianity
Buddhism
Unitary Universalist Association
New Age or New Era
Raelian movement
Click on a religious tradition below for an overview of their position on LGBTQIA + people and the issues that affect them:
BUDDHISM
CHRISTIANITY
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Metropolitan Community Churches
National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
Old Catholics / Independent Catholics
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
HINDUISM
HUMANISM
ISLAM
JUDAISM
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM
Unitarian Universalist Association
Please note that this list is not exhaustive. There are people of LGBTQIA + faith in a number of religions not listed here, including Sikhism, or liberal Native American religions and many more. There are also many LGBTQIA + people who practice forms of spirituality that are outside of organized religion. We are working to expand this section so that we can represent as many religious and spiritual experiences as possible. https://www.hrc.org/resources/faith-positions
A simple compilation of Judeo-Christian thoughts on the gender of God
In Genesis, for example, women and men are created in the image of God "Imago Dei", suggesting that God transcends socially constructed notions of gender. Furthermore, Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible written in the 7th century BC, declares that God gave birth to Israel. In the 8th century oracles of the prophet Isaiah, God is described as a woman in labor and a mother who comforts her children. And the Book of Proverbs holds that the female figure of Holy Wisdom, Sophia, helped God during the creation of the world. In fact, the Fathers and Mothers of the Church understood that Sophia was the "Logos" or Word of God. Furthermore, the Jewish rabbis equated the Torah, God's law, with Sophia, which means that female wisdom was with God from the beginning of time. Perhaps one of the most remarkable things ever said about God in the Hebrew Bible occurs in Exodus 3 when Moses first meets the deity and asks his name. In verse 14, God responds, "I am who I am," which is simply a mixture of the verbs "to be" in Hebrew without any specific reference to gender. If anything, the book of Exodus is clear that God is simply "being," which echoes the later Christian doctrine that God is spirit. In fact, God's personal name, Yahweh, revealed to Moses in Exodus 3, is a remarkable combination of masculine and feminine grammatical endings. The first part of God's name in Hebrew, "Yah", is feminine, and the last part, "weh", is masculine. In light of Exodus 3, feminist theologian Mary Daly asks, "Why should 'God' be a noun? Why not a verb? The most active and dynamic of all." God in the New Testament
New Testament. kolosser417, CC BY In the New Testament, Jesus is also presented in feminine language. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus stands next to Jerusalem and weeps, saying: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone those who send you, how many times have I wanted to gather your children together, as the hen gathers her chicks under the wings, and you were not willing. "Furthermore, the author of Matthew equates Jesus with the feminine Sophia (wisdom), when he writes:" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her works. "In Matthew's mind It seems that Jesus is the feminine Wisdom of Proverbs, who was with God from the beginning of creation. In my opinion, I think it is very likely that Matthew suggests that there is a spark of the feminine in the nature of Jesus. Also, in In his letter to the Galatians, written around AD 54 or 55, Paul says that he will continue “in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” Clearly, female imagery was acceptable among the early followers of Jesus.
https://theconversation.com/what-the-early-church-thought-about-gods-gender-100077
Genesis 1:27 Women and men created in the image of God “Humanity was created as the reflection of God: in the divine image God created it; female and male, God made them. "Hosea 11: 3-4 God describes as a mother God:" However, it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took him in my arms; but they did not know that I He healed. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. I was to them like those who carry children to their cheeks. I leaned over to them and fed them. ”Hosea 13: 8 God describes how a mother bear "Like a bear deprived of her cubs, I will attack and tear them to pieces ..." Deuteronomy 32: 11-12 God described as a mother eagle "Like the eagle that waves its nest and hovers over its young, God spreads wings to catch you and carry you on pinions. "Deuteronomy 32:18 God who gives birth" You did not remember the Rock that gave birth to you; you forgot the God who gave birth to you. " Isaiah 66:13 God as a comforting mother God: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you will be comforted in Jerusalem. "Isaiah 49:15 God compared to a breastfeeding mother God:" Can a woman forget her child at her breast, or show no compassion for the child in her womb? Even these may forget, but I cannot I will forget you ". Isaiah 42:14 God as a woman in labor God: “For a long time I have been silent, I have kept quiet and I have restrained myself; now I will scream like a woman in labor, gasp and gasp. "
https://www.womensordination.org/resources-old/female-images-of-god-in-the-bible/
In Scripture, God is identified by many names and titles, such as God (elohim, theos), Lord (adonai, kurios), YHWH, and descriptors such as "Rock," "Comforter," and "Light of the world." At first glance, these words seem quite neutral in their gender of God. However, English frequently assigns masculine pronouns to God. God becomes a "he". This use of masculine pronouns is also common in Scripture, especially when the context includes a grammatically masculine name, title, or metaphor for God. In many modern churches, only masculine language is considered acceptable to God. This restriction is historical and, more importantly, biblically unfounded. The language we use to define, explain, and identify God shapes the way we understand God. By having an essentially male view of God, we blind ourselves to other ways in which we can connect with and understand God. Not only does this distort our image of God, but a purely male point of view also negatively affects the way we interact with each other, most prominently how the church interacts with women. By expanding our language of God to include female images, we expand the ways in which we can connect with God; This can begin to rectify a distorted view of God and change the harmful ways the church has engaged with women. Biblical language for God.
https://time.com/26318/gods-feminine-side-is-plain-to-see/
https://www.christserves.org/single-post/2019/03/17/The-Feminine-Side-of-God
https://enduringword.com/live-with-pastor-david-is-god-male-or-female/
