Christianity: The Major Opposition Force To Homosexuality In The United States Of America

Among all the voices against homosexuality in the United States, Christian voices might be the loudest, longest, fiercest, and probably the most frequently cited as well. As a nation with nearly 77 % of the adult population identifying themselves as Christians, the United States has more than ample religious beliefs to breed or steer an opinion for or against anything out of religious reasoning. Homosexuals and homosexuality happens to be the targets deemed as"unnatural","sinful","unproductive","dangerous","immoral"and, most important of all,"unchristian"according to the message interpreted from the Holy Scripture in the eyes of many Christians in the United States.As a tentative study, this thesis examines the persistent consistent opposition of Christianity to homosexuality and the gay liberation movement in the United States. Homosexuality, the once"queer"sexual orientation, might enjoy a longer history than Christianity, but homosexual communities, ever after the institutionalization of Christianity in ancient Rome, have been largely confined within the periphery set by Christian values. This is still the case when it comes to the current gay liberation movement in the United States. On one hand, inspired by other civil rights movements in the Unites Sates, many American homosexuals have"come out of the closet"and gained a better recognition by society at large. Yet on the other hand, as far as gay marriage is concerned, Christian conservatives are still deadly against it, trying their utmost to deprive the gays of this right. The gay liberation movement, particularly the gay marriage issue, has been inexorably intertwined with politics and laws in the US. Indeed, it is labeled as one of the three thorniest problems facing the contemporary American society, along with abortion and ethic conflicts. The thesis attempts to explain why Christianity has constituted the major opposition force against homosexuality in the United States and whether the gay liberation movement will lead to a final victory of American homosexual community—the legalization of gay marriage in the 21st century.