A Comparison Of Homosexuality In Catholicism And Islam

In religion, people believe certain things and practice certain rituals to ultimately satisfy and gain a relationship with the greater being that they believe in; most commonly the greater being is known as a God. Most religions believe that if this is achieved, they will reach heaven and avoid hell. There are certain things that some religions do not condone, homosexuality being one of them, yet homosexuality is becoming a growing and more widely accepted behavior in today’s society. In regards to religion, Catholicism and Islam have 2 widely different views on this concept and homosexuality has caused various religions to adapt their teachings. In doing so, Islam still rejects this behavior while Catholicism has become more accepting of it,

but this still causes negative outlooks by those of the LGBT community.
Views on homosexuality when it comes to those who practice Catholicism is greatly divided.

The Catholic Church holds the belief that homosexuality is an objective disorder and describes it as “moral evil,” yet is not considered a sin until acted upon (Ratzinger, 1986). Once acted upon, it is seen as a moral disorder in which it is “contrary to natural law” and that one “closes the sexual act to the gift of life” (“Catechism”). More over, the Catholic Church believes that marriage should be between a man and woman in order to continue the transmission of life (“Cathechism”). More recently, the Pope and Catholic Church have made statements saying that those with homosexual tendencies should not be discriminated upon, but given pastoral direction so that they can practice their faith properly under God’s will (Ring, 2016). In saying this, they still believe that homosexuality is

wrong.
More recently, an establishment of Catholic parishes in the United States have been grounded to support the LGBT community by providing outreach programs where those in this community are urged to embrace their homosexuality (Sciambra, 2017). All in all, Catholic churches in the United States tend to place greater stress on not discriminating against homosexual people while the Pope still places greater stress on the immorality and wrongfulness of homosexuality (Maher et. al, 2008). Yet with this shift in the view on homosexuality in the Catholic community, it has still shown to have negative effects by those who advocate for the LGBT community.
The Pope, being the leading figure of the Catholic church, recently has said that he believes that discrimination among homosexuals should not be allowed, but still believes their acts to be wrong in the eyes of God. This still continues to be an issue within the Catholic faith. In a news report on Pope Francis’ document on marriage and family issues known as The Joy of Love, he continues to state that homosexuality is not accepted by the Catholic Church (Ring, 2016). Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of LGBT Catholic Group DignityUSA, stated that this was a continued let down for those of the LGBT community and was not what they were hoping for in moving forward with the acceptance of homosexuality (Ring, 2016). The Pope, not long before this statement, had advocated for the acceptance of LGBT members into the Catholic Church, even having open arms for a transgender man helping him through his transformation and marriage (Awford & Summers, 2016).
Another news report stated that religious college campuses are becoming a lot more inclusive of the homosexual community. The report talks about how there was a LGBT rainbow sticker placed on the sign outside of a church, which came to signalize their open arms and welcoming to those who may have felt turned away before (Franks, 2017). Although this was a step in the right direction, some believed that this still is not enough for those in the LGBT community. Pres Seymore, a preacher’s daughter whom identifies as homosexual, believes that there needs to be more conversation about this issue rather than these small gestures (Franks, 2017). Although the Catholic church seems to be moving small steps in the right direction with accepting the LGBT community, they have not yet met the goal in fully and completely accepting these people. This has still led to negative views from those of the community which isn’t helping their case any further.
On the other hand, Islam still sees homosexuality as a sin just as it did in the past. The Islamic religion holds a negative outlook on homosexuality that be related back to the Quran. Per the Biblical stories, the Prophet Lot condemned homosexuality and warned his people of immortality if they practiced this behavior. The people were upset by this and they rebelled by trying to expel Prophet Lot from the city. In result, God destroyed these people by destroying the city of Sodom in order to save the prophet and followers (Akyol, 2015). They refer to homosexuality more as homoeroticism or sodomy and in Islamic countries, homosexuality goes beyond disapprovement and in many instances, condemns this act to death (Siker, 2007).
Shariah can be defined as “the fundamental religious concept of Islam, namely its law, systematized during the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Muslim era” (Coulson, 2012). This is the basis by which they use to condemn people not following religious beliefs in accordance to the law. Today, in Iran, sodomy is a capital offence and execution is far from rare. In Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania, sodomy is also known to be punishable by death, although there have been no reported cases of this in at least 10 years (Whitaker, 2016). The penalty in places in other Arab countries is imprisonment which can be up to 10 years. In countries that have no specific and focal laws on homosexuality, homosexuals can still be prosecuted under other laws (Whitaker, 2016). These laws and harsh punishments greatly affect the LGBT Muslim community and leave people of this community to live in silence and ultimately fear their lives.
These punishments have led to very few numbers of homosexuals coming out in Muslim countries (Kligerman, 2007).

Many people of the Muslim religion struggle with this identity because of such laws against the presence of homosexuality. It has been reported, although, that homosexuality is still prevalent in these countries, but happens in private and is not publicly exhibited (Kligerman, 2007). A news report stated that the government in Iran recognizes transgendered individuals, but recognizes them as having a psychosexual problem and suggests medical attention to try to solve this so-called problem (Bagri, 2017). One transgender individual mentioned that her life was far from normal and dealt with societal pressures her whole life. Doctors would not acknowledge that she was different and often would tell her that she would die or that there was no possible way she was born differently (Bagri, 2017). It was also reported in the same article by Bagri that it is said one must go through series of tests and even obtain a court order if that individual wanted to identify as the opposite sex and go forth with the transformtation (2017). Having such negative views of the individuals of the LGBT community and going through a long process just to be who you were meant to be causes more harm than good on these

individuals.
With these very different views on homosexuality and it being such a growing topic in today’s society, religious powers have to face the difficulties that go against their traditional beliefs and views. Religions like Catholicism have adapted more to this growing acceptance of LGBT people, although still have some stepping stones to turn over. The Islamic religion still struggles with this concept and goes as far as condemning death upon homosexual beings. As reported, these very different views still show negative impacts on those of this community within both religions. With this being said, reevaluation of religion or further exploration into the Biblical history of these religions might help turn these stepping stones over. This has the possibility to bring more acceptance to those who identify as homosexuals and allow them to continue to practice their faith without difficulty put forth by society.