The Cause of Anti-Homosexual Movement in The Westboro Baptist Church
Religion is viewed as a set of beliefs and practices, usually involving the acceptance and acknowledgment of a spiritual or higher being or authority by which people are directing the conduct of their lives in both a practical and moral sense. Worldwide, 84% of people identify as religious, one third identify are Christian. Throughout history, Religions have answered the deepest questions about life and death, and it has influenced how many people behave and what they believe in. Although, Religion in many ways is seen as a way of life and a constructive influence in the social world, it has also led to many feeling as though it has now become a destructive effect on society due to an increase in religious terrorism and its influence in historical conflicts and modern violence, how fundamental some religions are, and their inability to adapt to revolutionary society and lastly, how religion promotes false hope, having too much faith in God.
In today’s revolutionary society, the world has come to accept those of different races, gender, and sexuality but unfortunately Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam have traditionally forbidden anyone who identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. They condemn the LGBTQ+ community. Some religious texts say that marriage is between a male and a female, but that same-sex marriage is now recognized in many countries. Numerous bible scriptures disapprove of homosexuality such as Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13 which support the scriptural condemnation of homosexuality; the latter verse even demands that such behavior be punished by death.
The Westboro Baptist Church in The United States speaks strongly against LGBT rights ensuring homosexuals that they are going to hell and that they are sinners. A quote by the Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps, “Same-sex marriage, by any name, civil union or otherwise, is the ultimate smash-mouth in-your-face insult to God Almighty”. The Westboro Baptist Church is constantly protesting about the hate they have for Homosexuals and has since been named the most hated religious group in America. Although the majority of society has accepted those who identify as LGBTQ+, many religious groups oppose it, seeing it as a sin that has had a negative influence on society and has impacted many people's lives.
To conclude, many religions are fundamentalist and feel as though they cannot accept homosexuals and same-sex marriage as it goes against their teachings. Research has found that the majority of Christian churches in Australia hold the position that marriage is between a man and a woman. The Anglican Diocese of Sydney donated $1 million to the No campaign against same-sex marriage, with Archbishop Glenn Davies saying the traditional understanding of marriage 'as a union of one man and one woman” was a 'positive good' for society. Baptists hold strongly to literal readings of the Bible, he said, and dissenting views are, in his experience, treated with anger and disappointment by mainstream congregants.
