Over claypot rice

Last night, over claypot rice, my friend Kelvin Wong mentioned to me that his fellow Buddhists have been posing him these questions: 

• Why is it so important for gay people to ask how their religion sees homosexuality? 
• Why are they looking for acceptance by their religion? 
• What if the religion frowns on homosexuality – you won't accept the correctness of that?

Kelvin wanted my response. I gave him my views, but as these sound like important questions for many gay people, I shall elaborate on them here.

First, I will preamble my answer here like I preambled it to Kelvin over dinner: Personally, I have a very secular approach to religion, and my views strongly reflect that approach. I don't use as my starting point any assumption that there is absolute truth. I see religion as a social phenomenon, which means that the ultimate reference is the consumer.

The human need is for spiritual fulfillment, and perhaps a way to make sense of this world. Religions, through their narratives, their explicatory logic, their rites and sense of community, provide means to this end. There is no way to know if any one of them contains any absolute truth. They all claim to be true, but in reality, it goes no further than a claim on each person's belief.

In other words, the consumer's belief, trust, acceptance, is the pivot. It's up to each consumer to buy into a religion. How do we buy anything? We tend to ask, what does it do for me?

For gay people, their minority sexuality is a big issue. Many critical aspects of their lives are affected by this – love, honesty, family ties, careers, and of course, their place in the community. Surely, they'll want some answers out of their religion about all these.

But what if the answer is negative? The gods made you defective. What you want to do, what you can; help but feel is the route to damnation. You're unclean. You must figuratively burn yourself at the stake. You must live an entire life of penance, deny yourself the comfort of love or sex….

I think it's only human then to say, damn it, I'm not buying this. I'll go look for something else. Why should I make my life even more miserable than it already is?

Of course, those who are absolutely convinced that their religion contains the absolute answers will ask, who are you, mere mortal, to deny the Truth?

But from my secular view, nobody knows the truth. Some are just more fervent in their BELIEF that they know the truth.

But aren't some people – theologians, for example – more learned and therefore in a better position to judge than lay people? How is the lay person equipped to judge? In my view, he uses his instincts, that's all. If something feels right, if he feels comforted, spiritually fulfilled, then that's what he's going to buy. After all, how do patients judge doctors? They don't know anything about medicine, but as consumers, they still do make a judgement which doctor they will put their trust in.

I know the idea of people shopping around is deprecating for those who fervently believe that their religion (or rather, their interpretation thereof) is the Truth. But shopping around happens. Traditionally, in many cultures, that might be difficult. People lived in small communities and ostracism could be a life-and-death matter. It could be impossible to challenge your local priest, because there was no alternative. But the moment alternatives arrived, religious migration often took place.

For centuries, India was solidly Hindu, but after Islam appeared, millions converted. I understand from what I've read that it was mostly the lower castes who quit Hinduism and went over to Islam. They were sick and tired of being told they're dirt, and were attracted by the message of equality that Islam brought.

In Singapore today, there is a creeping Christianisation at the expense of the amorphous Chinese-Taoist-Buddhist mix. I think what is happening is that a younger generation, schooled in the English language, absorbing Western cultural influences, find Christianity more in alignment with the cultural values they have imbibed. In addition, Christianity has a stronger narrative and more ready answers about the current world. The amorphous Chinese religious mix has not been updated from the level of old-fashioned rites for seeking divine intervention and appeasement of gods. It just feels so backward and unfulfilling.

But what do the local Christian churches say about homosexuality? From many accounts, they tend to be rather homophobic, and I have long felt that this Christianising trend is not helpful…. but that is another story. 

© Yawning Bread 

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