Melissa Billings

ENGL 2010-427
09/05/15
Evaluation

Religion As a Weapon
I believe that one the most divisive topics in our country today is samesex marriage. Everybody has an opinion on this subject, and most of the time
it is a very strong opinion. It is very rare when you hear someone say, I
dont have an opinion on same-sex marriage or it doesnt matter to me.
People are usually all in on what they believe, and have a list of reasons why
they are on the right side of this issue. Unfortunately, many people who
are against same-sex marriage use religion as the excuse and the bible as
their weapon.
We can see the role religion plays clearly if we look at what states did
and those that did not allow same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court
made their ruling. Prior to June 26, 2015 only three states made same-sex
marriage legal by popular vote.( ProCon.org.) Those 3 states are Maine,
Maryland, and Washington. This three states rank very low in the population
of people who consider themselves to be very religious. (Wikipedia.org).
Thirteen states had same sex marriage bans prior to June 26, 2015. In their
article Religiosity And Same-Sex Marriage In The United States And Europe."
David Oppenheimer, Alvaro Oliveira, and Aaron Blumenthal note In brief, we

recognize that while correlation is not causation, the correlations are

dramatic here. In the United States, most of the states that are relatively
non-religious or secular now permit same-sex marriage, while most that are
highly religious prohibit it. Of the twelve most religious states, all have
constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. Of the twelve least religious
states, eleven have some recognition of same-sex relationships: eight have
same-sex marriage, two have domestic partnerships, and one has civil
unions. (Oppenheimer, Oliveira,Blumenthal p 197)
We can also see this religious bias in excuses people use when talking
about why they oppose same-sex marriage. We hear phrases like. God
made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, or even just the generic
Because the bible says it is a sin. Of course people also love to trot out the
bible passages that they perceive to indicate homosexuality is a sin. These
same people choose to ignore other actions that are common today that the
bible also states are a sin, like divorce, eating the flesh of pigs, eating
shellfish, getting tattoos, and even wearing gold (Monicks.net). When was
the last time you heard of someone being shunned because of the beautiful
gold jewelry they were wearing?
There are only seven passages that are found in the bible that refer to
homosexuality, however there are numerous verses that address not judging
others and loving one another. Why is it that people who claim to be good
Christians only like to point out what is in the bible that will further their

reasons for hate, but they ignore the parts in the very same bible that teach
love, understanding, forgiveness, and most of all, to not judge others?
Next we must consider if homosexuality is a choice, or if it is biological.
Something everybody who believes in God can agree on is that He does not
make mistakes; therefore you must believe that it is a choice to be gay. I
know that I most certainly did not make the choice to be heterosexual. I had
my first crush when I was seven years old. I did not say to myself, Do I want
to like a boy or a girl? I just liked a boy. Why do we then assume that it is
different for someone who has a same-sex attraction? Studies have shown
that people develop same-sex attraction at an early age, about 10 for boys
and 12 for girls (Whiteway, Alexander p.22). I cant not imagine a ten tear
old boy, or 12-year-old girl saying to themselves I think will I will like
another boy/girl. Much like it did for me with my first crush, it probably just
happened. It is the way they were made. In their paper Understanding The
Causes Of Same-Sex Attraction., Eleanor Whiteway and Dennis Alexander
say much of w hat is known about sexual attraction suggests that personal
choice may be a causal factor for only a small, possibly very small, minority
of SSA individuals, if it can be a matter of choice at all.(Whiteway,
Alexander p.22). I do believe, that for whatever their reasons, some people
do choose to be involved in a same-sex relationship, but I also believe that
number to be a very small percentage of the homosexual population.
I am not trying to put all religious people in the same box. I do realize
that there are many people out there who identify as religious who are very

accepting and loving toward same-sex couples. I just wish that more of them
would practice the ideology that you dont have to agree with something to
accept it.
If we can agree that homosexuality is biological, and that God does not
make mistakes, and if we are going to practice what the bible tells us to, and
not judge others and to love our neighbors then I think that we should
support someones right to love whomever they want, and they should be
able to show their love to each other and the world by making their union
legal with a marriage.

Works Cited
Monicks. Web 10 Sept 2015 http://monicks.net/2009/09/12/11-things-thebible-bans-but-you-do-anyway/net. 11 Things the Bible Bans, But You Do
Anyway. Monicks.net 12, Sept 2009.

Oppenheimer, David B., Alvaro Oliveira, and Aaron Blumenthal. "Religiosity

And Same-Sex

Marriage In The United States And Europe." Berkeley Journal Of

International Law 32.1 (2014): 195-238. Business Source Premier. Web.
4 Sept. 2015.

ProCon.org. "50 States with Legal Gay Marriage." ProCon.org. 1 July 2015.
Web. 4
Sep. 2015. http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.resource.php?
resourceID=004857

Wikipedia contributors. "List of U.S. states by religiosity." Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 11 Jul. 2015. Web. 4 Sep. 2015.

WHITEWAY, ELEANOR, and DENIS R. ALEXANDER. "Understanding The Causes

Of SameSex
Attraction." Science & Christian Belief 27.1 (2015): 17-40. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.