The Connection Between Christianity and Homophobia

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Recommended: Characteristics of religious fundamentalism

We have all at some point or another heard someone say that God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. This saying is an excellent example of how a large number of Christian fundamentalist feel about the homosexual community. Studies have shown that there are more Christian homophobes than there is homophobia in any other group or religion in the United States (Wolff, J. R., Himes, H. L., Kwon, E., & Bollinger, R. A., 2012). Homophobia is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. In Christianity, homophobia represents misunderstanding and fear of the unknown.
It is more difficult to understand something that one has not been exposed to or has not experienced. An example would be younger siblings, from the ages of two and four, that are jealous of the older child(ren) who have the ability to go to school. It can be explained to this child time and time again that school is not exactly fun and games, but he or she will only assume that (s)he is being lied to only to prevent them from throwing a tantrum. Children do not fully understand the complexity that school can offer until they have experienced it for themselves. Like the child that has not yet been exposed to school, many highly religious homophobes have not experienced any of their loved ones turning out to be gay. People with homosexual friends or family members (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) are less likely to judge someone on their sexual preferences(Wolff, J. R., Himes, H.L., Kwon, E., & Bollinger, R. A., 2012).
People who are raised in better accepting environments are also a lot less likely to be anti-gay than those who are not.(Chonody, J., Woodford, M. R., Smith, S., & Silverschanz, P., 2013). A good ...

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...m http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/12/19/at-fox-news-christianity-is-a-free-pass-for-hom/197360
Mustanski, B. (2013, June 12). Are violent hate crimes against lgbt people on the rise?. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-sexual-continuum/201306/are-violent-hate-crimes-against-lgbt-people-the-rise
Rader, D. (2012, January 4). What daniel radcliffe worries about . Retrieved from http://parade.condenast.com/101372/dotsonrader/daniel-radcliffe-outtakes/
Tarico, V. (2012, October 23). Will the christian right hang itself with its own homophobia?. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/will-christian-right-hang-itself-its-own-homophobia?paging=off
Wolff, J. R., Himes, H. L., Kwon, E., & Bollinger, R. A. (2012). Evangelical Christian College Students and Attitudes Toward Gay Rights: A California University Sample. Journal Of LGBT Youth, 9(3), 200-224.

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