Religion and sexuality: strange bedfellows?

God reposing on Sabbath day. Illustration from... — Image via Wikipedia

Last week I read an article which rattled the old thinking cap a bit, it’s a bugger to get a snug fit at the best of times… However, as I’m not in the pub I’ll take a stab at a couple of subjects that you never discuss over a beer, or at least you shouldn’t. It’s also Sunday (as I write this) so what better day to post on these topics?

Immediately there will be some who question why I use ‘Sunday’ as a reference point, and probably want to consign me to the bigoted Christian waste basket. So to appease those concerned people; for ‘Sunday’ read ‘Friday’ (or Jumu’ah – The day of assembly), failing that, please substitute whichever Sabbath day (day of rest) is applicable to your own personal beliefs. There will of course be some who see every day as a ‘day of rest’, so that also undermines my reference but so be it. Now that diversity and multicultural issues have been addressed, I’ll continue…

BBC: British gay Muslims are joining the global fight for equality and seeking gay Islamic marriage. The BBCs 5 live Investigates speaks to one couple about their nikah – a Muslim matrimonial contract – and asks how they balance their sexuality with the Islamic faith… (Read more)

By their very nature, the topics of religion and sexuality often lead to heated debate and strong viewpoints, vociferous opinion from all sides is usually born out of the deep passions and personal beliefs involved. Juxtaposing religion with sexuality is always destined to be a difficult comparison. After all, many of wars that have been fought over the years have been born out of differences of religious opinion.

I’ve often wondered why can’t we just live and let live, except people for who they are and what they believe, even if it doesn’t fit your own personal set of ethics? After all, you don’t have to believe what someone else believes and, it would be a strange and scary world if we were all the same!