Religion, Acceptance, And Social Change

While it is unclear exactly if homosexuality was indeed part of the Spartan society, but for other Greek states, it seems widely accepted. According to Xenophon for example the Boeotians, both man and boy lived together like a married couple, while the Eleians won the boys favour, while other forbid suites talking to the boys. Furthermore, in the other Greek state it would seem that homosexuality was unrestricted, and that it was only between man and boy. However, once married it was

Religion can be powerful under the right certain circumstances for social change. However it can be argued that religion can be a conservative force.

During the 1980’s indulging in homosexual activity was considered in crime, people were imprisoned when caught doing so. But in 2003 some parts of the United States, suspended the law, and made homosexuality legal, soon European countries such as Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands passed an act which approved of homosexual weddings (Bonvillain 2006). If one digs deeper into this issue, where these debatable, one can find that it roots back from religions. Most religion disapprove of homosexuality but in religions such as Hindu, for sexuality, scriptures of homosexual activity only stated that it was normal and natural, to be attracted to the same sex (Bonvillain 2006). But in today’s society the main issue is regarding the issue of males being attracted to each other, an example of this issue is ‘Homophobia of men’. Homosexuality is considered to be a cultural construct, which apart from the ‘lesbian identities’ gave rise to the ‘gay identities’ (Herek 1986). It is common for normal men, to avoid influencing with homosexual men, as they fear what the public might think of them being judged as not ‘masculine’, where as its more normal for woman to associate with lesbians or homosexual women, as they are not being judged by the rest of the females (Herek 1986). Studies showed, that the social construction of gay identities meant that there was something psychologically wrong with that person,

    Religious conscience in America has evolved considerably since the first settlers emigrated here from Europe. Primary settlements were established by Puritans and Pilgrims who believed "their errand into the wilderness [America] was above all else a religious errand, and all institutions - town meeting, school, church, family, law-must faithfully reflect that fact" (Gaustad 61). However, as colonies grew, dissenters emerged to challenge Puritan authority; indeed, many of them left the church to join untraditional religious sects such as "the Ranters, the Seekers, the Quakers, the Antinomians, and the Familists" (Westbrook 26). Debates over softening the stance on tolerance in

The changenig patterns of religious adherence have been changing since the 1947 Australian census. The biggest change has been the consistent drop in the number of people identifying themselves as belonging to the Anglican church since the 1947 census up to the 2011 census, from 39 percent to 17.1 percent of the population as shown in figure 1.3, which shows the comparison between the 2006 and 2011 census data. Overall, the number of respondents being categorised as belonging to any Christian denomation has decreased since 1947. However, the number of respondants identifying themselves as Catholic has increased, from 20.9 in 1947, to 25.3 in 2011. Overall, Christianty is still the most popular religion in Australia as shown in the 2011 census data in figure 1.5. Within the different branches of Christianty there has been some trends recorded in the 2006 and 2011 census. The traditional churches, for example, such as the Uniting Church has experienced a decline. On the other hand, the newer Pentecostal movement gained increase. The Baptism, Catholic and Orthodox churches also experienced an increase. The respondants to be “other Christian” also experienced an increase in size. In 1947 census, the percentage of respondants claiming to belong to other religions other than Christianty were about 0.5 percent of the population. However, between 2001 and 2011,

Greek influences on the American Democracy is exceptionally similar in today American society.Giving example, homosexuality was a subject that existed and was common.Mature men showered younger boys with gifts which was acceptable as long as it haulted with marrage.In todays cultures not everyone accepted the idea of two men together but according to goverment it is now lawful.Times have evovled around that subject.Since the changes in law i belive more people have adopted the idea as normal. Here in the united states legitimate marriages orrur through out states.Everyone should be themselves despite there relationship liking without

Homosexuality was never favored upon and still isn’t to this day. Discrimination against homosexuality started a long time ago. It was pronounced illegal in many cultures and religions. Many homosexuals would face the death penalty for breaking the laws and many were blamed for natural disasters such as earthquakes, because homosexuality was not favored. It is said that in ancient Greek culture that the physical attraction was considered

Homosexuality has been considered taboo since around 300 A.D. (Henderson, Long, 2016). Homosexual is a greek word; in which means the same and sexus means sex. For many years, people were executed for their homosexuality; having sex with the same sex.

In order to understand the issue of religious accommodation and LGBT rights in America, it is important to understand where certain beliefs come from; this can be achieved by having an understanding of the views of different civilizations that have influenced American culture and society regarding homosexuality and their evolution throughout the ages. A good place to start is with a well-known, highly sophisticated culture, the ancient Greeks. It is widely known that homosexuality in ancient Greece was not looked down upon by society. It is not uncommon for vase paintings, social commentary, and poetry to contain homoerotic scenes in which an older man and a younger man engage in sexual activity. An important thing to understand, however, is that this relationship was not thought of as homosexual, a term coined around the nineteenth century when homosexuality was made into a medical condition, but was referred to as eros, which is the Greek word for romantic love. In ancient Greece, most men would take a wife, with whom they had children, and also have younger male and female lovers which was not uncommon because,

The Jesuits finally reached their goal of religious autonomy in the 1670s. After the Indians had witnessed France’s military capabilities, Jean Pierron used the prospect of diminishing French trust to instigate the Iroquois-Mohawks to adopt Christianity. Pierron began by citing the fact that Christian beliefs were vastly different from animism. He went on to threaten them by stating that, “we (the French) shall never believe that you wish to live on good terms with us until you serve the same Master (Christian God) as we serve” (Page 145). The Iroquois’ approval was noticeable by their cries of joy when he asked them to renounce their version of God, Agreskoue and their shamans’ sorcery- two major features of the Iroquois religion and culture. The adoption of Christianity is further confirmed when Claude Cauchetiere talks about how some of the Indians would break and drain out alcohol bottles and face anger from the rest of the community, “endure(ing) martyrdom to prevent offenses to God” (Page 153). Clearly, these Indians of the 1670s who adopted Christianity with cries of joy are vastly different from those who rebuked Le Jeune for joking about the importance of beaver souls in the 1630s. This transition in their religion’s belief system is one of the principle changes the Indians went through while they were under the French rule.

Ancient Greece is considered as being the most accepting of homosexuality. The belief that the human body was worthy of respect and admiration is one of the reasons that homosexuality was tolerated and often accepted in society. They did not see it as an evil thing because

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

Homosexuality is not a 20th century situation but has been in history from the age of ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and even China. The attitude toward homosexuality always has been a variable, depending on the social, cultural and morality, or even the political development (Barnecka et al., 2005). Back in Greek history the concept of relations between two men was seen as the highest form of love, whereas the Judaic view always was against and frowned upon these relations considering it immoral and illegal. However, when the Roman rule was destroyed and the Christians took over Europe, homosexuality was seen as perverse (Woodward, 1997).

Throughout history, religion has proved to be the main source of social stability in different communities and cultural groups. Everything that is part of a societal system, including law, is influenced by religious beliefs and practices of that society. This being said, most religions are based on the theory that there is a single more powerful entity, that has control over aspects of which humans do not. For the longest time in history, sociologists have argued that peer group, political movements, schools and most importantly, the family to be agents of socialization. Because of this reason, they have ignored the role played by religion in the perpetuation of cultural as well as social

Unlike twenty-first century America, ancient Greece viewed human sexuality depending on the person’s control on their sexual impulses. Bisexuality was very accepted and the most widespread same – sex relation was between an adult man and a pubescent boy. This relationship was usually just for sexual pleasure, than an actual emotional committed relationship. Like mentioned before ancient Greeks did not believe in sexual orientation rather, it depended whether the person was the penetrator or the penetrated. As a dominant male centered society, men imposed their