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Major
World Religions on the Question of Marriage A
Research Summary from the Marriage Law Project Last
Updated: January 2001 I.
Introduction In
the This
fact could lead one to conclude that the major world religions are
evenly—or at least deeply—divided on the question of whether marriage
requires both a man and a woman. This is not the case. An examination
of the official or historic teachings of Christianity, Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism reveals overwhelming support for the
view of marriage as the union of men and women, and virtually no
official endorsements of the idea of same-sex “marriage.”[1] Representations
to the contrary may reflect the views of particular individuals,
or of interest groups within religions, but they do not represent
the official views of these religions.[2] The
following summary reviews the views of each of these five major
world religions. It identifies (1) who is involved, (2) what they
believe, and (3) how many people they represent.[3] How
does one identify the position of a religious body on the definition
of marriage? Explicit statements on the issue of same-sex “marriage”
are obviously the easiest to identify. Where we have not found such
a statement, we have looked at statements: (1) on the definition
of marriage and/or (2) on homosexual behavior. If a religious body,
for example, teaches that a Creator created the two sexes to live
together in marriage, and/or teaches that homosexual behavior violates
moral and religious principles, one can reasonably infer that this
religious body supports the traditional view of marriage.[4] One
should keep in mind that the question, Does marriage require a man
and a woman? was not posed in a significant manner to any major
Since
that time, homosexuality has become a major topic of controversy
in at least Western societies (and scholars are looking for signs
of it in all societies). Gradually, religious communities have responded
to it. Between the 1960s and the 1990s resolutions spoke more to
the morality of homosexual behavior. With few exceptions, the specific
issue of the legalization of same-sex “marriage” was not on the
table in the The
Abottom line@ is that very few religious bodies have endorsed same-sex
Amarriage,@ and those that have represent a very small fraction
of believers in the world=s five major religions: Christianity,
Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. To put this in more concrete
terms: 1.
In the 2.
Worldwide, of 4,237,254,000 total adherents of the five religions,
4,232,732,599 are in religious bodies which affirm the classical
definition of marriage (99.9 percent), and 4,521,401 are in religious
bodies which support same-sex “marriage” (0.1 percent). We
will consider each major world religion in turn, with citations
for our claims.[7] II.
Christianity AChristianity@
is a term that can cover a diverse array of communities, and here
we construe it broadly. Yet within this diversity, the overwhelming
consensus among Christians is that marriage, by definition, requires
a man and a woman. There are only minor exceptions (see II.E below).
These amount to 2.4 percent of Christians in the A.
Catholicism The
Roman Catholic Church believes that marriage requires a man and
a woman, and is explicitly opposed to same-sex marriage.[8] There
are an estimated 59,859,502 Roman Catholics in the B.
Orthodoxy Orthodox
Churches understand marriage to be a relationship between a man
and a woman, and are therefore opposed to same-sex Amarriage.@[11]
There are an estimated 4,000,667 Orthodox in the United States [12]
and an estimated 213,743,000 Orthodox worldwide.[13] C.
Protestantism AProtestantism@
is a more amorphous category. Aside from the bodies mentioned below
in II.E, the Protestant Churches we can identify still define marriage
as the union of a man and a woman, and none of them have endorsed
the idea of same-sex Amarriage.@[14] This includes churches in the
following Protestant traditions, which include an estimated 72,529,114
members in the United States and an estimated 316,445,000 members
worldwide: Anabaptists,[15] Baptists,[16] Episcopalians/Anglicans,[17]
Evangelical Quakers,[18] Independent Evangelicals,[19] Lutherans,[20]
Pentecostals,[21] Reformed and Presbyterian,[22] Seventh-day Adventists,[23]
and Wesleyans/Methodists.[24] Despite many controversies in the
United States and elsewhere, these religions maintain the historic
position.[25] The
year 2000 brought fresh struggles on these questions in several
major The
Southern Baptist Convention in June 2000 updated their constitution
to list homosexuality alongside abortion and racism as sins to be
opposed. The Position Statement on Sexuality and Sanctity of Life
and affirms the family of one man and one woman in the Baptist Faith
and Message. [26] The constitution states that churches affirming
homosexual relationships will no longer be in the cooperation with
the convention. The
Seventy-Third General Convention of the Episcopal Church in
July 2000 was presented with the recommendation to develop liturgical
rites for same-sex unions that would be analogous to marriage. This
resolution was defeated. However, a resolution was adopted expressing
support for couples living in Alife-long committed relationships@
outside marriage.[27] The
General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the third
largest denomination in the On
June 30, 2000 the Representatives of the 212th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the USA, in a close
vote, passed a proposed amendment to the Directory of Worship affirming
Afidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman
or in chastity in singleness,@ and forbidding the blessing of same-sex
unions. Between now and next year=s General Assembly, it must be
adopted by a majority of presbyteries in order to take effect. [29]
D.
Latter-day Saints The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that marriage
between a man and a woman is ordained of God.[30] Further, the First
Presidency of the Church has issued a formal statement opposing
the legalization of same-sex Amarriages.@[31] There are 5,113,000
members of the church in the United States and 10,752,986 members
worldwide.[32] Homosexuality
is forbidden in church doctrines that express the Mormon understanding
of sexual purity and lifestyle. Speakers at general conferences
during the last few years have steadfastly refused to alter this
position.[33] E.
The Exceptions Some
Protestant bodies have endorsed same-sex Amarriage.@ They have done
so either by their own statements and/or by signing onto the Marriage
Resolution. This Resolution, sponsored by the Marriage Project of
the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, states: The
first body is the Unitarian Universalist Association.[35]
The Unitarian Universalist Association totals about 217,000 members
worldwide.[36] The
second is the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches (MCC) which was established as a denomination with
a policy supportive of same-sex relationships. The MCC reports 45,000
members overall, which we count in both Third,
a number of Quaker meetings associated with the Friends General
Conference and/or the Friends United Meeting have endorsed same-sex
Amarriage.@[38] These meetings are part of the Baltimore and New
England Yearly Meetings, so they represent, at most, the views of
the 8,876 U.S. Quakers associated with these meetings, rather than
all FGC or FUM Quakers.[39] Finally,
some unfamiliar religious groups have also endorsed the Marriage
Resolution.[40] III.
Judaism For
Judaism, Jews
in the If
we add together Orthodox and Conservative Judaism on one side, and
add Reformed and Reconstructionist on the other, and omit those
unaffiliated with any of these bodies, then we get the following
results. In the Worldwide,
there are an estimated 13,025,000 Jews. If we assume that the proportion
of unaffiliated Jews worldwide is analogous to the IV.
Islam There
are an estimated 3,332,000 Muslims in the United States,[49] and
1,164,622,000 Muslims worldwide.[50] Although Islam has different
branches, all are united in their belief that God has created two
sexes, male and female, who have the duty to form a unique marital
community.[51] While limited polygamy is allowed under Islamic law,
being single is deeply frowned upon. Muslims assume, as a matter
of principle, that marriage involves the union of men and women.[52] V.
Hinduism There
are an estimated 1,285,000 Hindus in the United States,[53] and
761,689,000 worldwide.[54] The various branches of Hinduism consider
marriage to be an important social and religious duty which is marked
by a rite of marriage (viraha)[55] in which a man and a woman become
Aone spirit.@[56] Within the history of Hinduism, one finds a variety
of views on homosexual feelings and behaviors, ranging from indifference
to disapproval to strong opposition. Some of the strongest opposition
to same-sex “marriage” can be found today in neo-Hindu movements.[57] VI.
Buddhism Buddhism
is perhaps the hardest of the five major world religions to analyze
in terms of the question of the definition of marriage. There are
a reported 565,000 Buddhists in the Buddhism
has three major traditions: Mahayana (56 percent), Theravada or
Hinayana (38 percent) and Tantrayana or Lamaism (6 percent).[60]
In addition, there are Buddhist renewal movements which emerged
in Much
of Buddhist practice involves the effort to transcend one=s body
as part of the quest for nirvana. This lends itself to at least
three possible Buddhist perspectives on marriage. The first is neutrality.
Jose Ignacio Cabezon argues that Buddhism is neutral about
homosexuality. He acknowledges criticisms of homosexuality in the
tradition, but argues that they are reflections, especially by monks,
of a more general anti-sexual hostility.[62] This comports with
the statements of others that ABuddhism is not concerned with the
ceremony of marriage@[63] and regards it as a Asecular@ function.[64] Yet
Cabezon himself acknowledges a Atension@ within Buddhism, where
an anti-sexual tradition competes with the tradition Aof the sexually
active and procreative householder.@[65] He also recognizes that
Buddhism has developed in strongly familial societies, although
he is reluctant to acknowledge any firm connection
between the Buddhism and the family-ism.[66] The
second perspective, then, would affirm both sides of the tension.
One could argue that Buddhism simultaneously affirms both monasticism
and marriage, while tolerating homosexuality to a greater or lesser
extent, depending upon the particular culture involved. This seems
like a reasonable description of Asian countries with strong Buddhist
traditions.[67] One can argue, therefore, that at the very least,
Buddhism in these countries does not endorse same-sex Amarriage.@
The Dalai Lama has not spoken definitively on the matter
of homosexuality, but alluded to the inappropriateness of homosexual
sex, an act that runs contrary to the natural functioning of the
body. However,
a third interpretation has been adopted by one Buddhist group in
the VII.
Conclusion The
preceding review of the five major world religions makes one thing
clear: the overwhelming consensus across these traditions is that
marriage, by definition, requires a man and a woman. In the As
we have seen, these traditions vary in the extent to which they
speak officially to any issue, with Christianity and Islam on one
end of the spectrum, and Hinduism and Buddhism on the other. In
any case, those religious bodies which have endorsed same-sex “marriage”
represent a small number of the adherents of the five major world
religions. As
we have also seen, in the We
have noted, however, that virtually every one of these religious
traditions has dissenting voices. Some of these are academics who
are attempting to reinterpret their tradition to support their views.
Others are clergy or activists who are supporting campaigns to legalize
same-sex Amarriage.@ Whether these efforts at reinterpretation will
be successful over the long run, in any or all of these religions,
remains to be seen.[67] In the meantime, despite the cacophony of
religious voices in the debate over the legal definition of marriage,
especially in the United States, it should be clear where the balance
of official religious opinion lies. The
question of how relevant that opinion should be to courts is a different
question. In the The
Marriage Law Project is based at the VIII.
Endnotes 1.
We put the term “marriage” in quotes because we do not believe that
same-sex “marriage” exists. We realize that this puts us at odds
with some other groups, and may offend some people. No offense is
intended, only a sincere statement of our convictions about the
definition of marriage. We do not believe that the facts which follow
represent a biased assessment on our part because of our position
on this question. We remain open to correction from any quarter. 2.
For lists of clergy, congregations and religious movements that
support same-sex Amarriage,@ see Lambda Defense and Education Fund,
Marriage Resolution: Selected Signatories (December 9 June 17, 1999)
at <www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/pages/documents/record?record=142>;
Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples, Where to Get a
Religious Blessing: Gay-Welcoming Denominations in the United States
at <www.buddybuddy.com/blessing.html>; We Are Family, Religious
Organizations Working for Gay & Lesbian Inclusion at <www.waf.org/religious.htm>. 3.
We are aware that, by limiting ourselves to these five major religions,
we have excluded others, including traditional religions of Latin
America and Africa, the Baha=is, Chinese and Japanese religions
such as Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto, and many New Religious
Movements which have emerged since World War II and fit uneasily
into any categorization. We welcome suggestions of first-hand religion-based
websites and/or second-hand scholarly sources. Two sources which
we have found helpful, if used with care, are in Burgiere, et al,
A History of The Family, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1996), and Arlene Swidler (ed.), Homosexuality and World
Religions (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1993).
(The latter source, it should be noted, is clearly supportive of
homosexual relationships.) 4.
On the other hand, the affirmation of homosexual relationships,
or even of Agay and lesbian rights,@ does not necessarily translate
into support for same-sex Amarriage.@ For instance, significant
groups within the Amainline@ Christian denominations in the United
States support various rights and protections for homosexuals, but
none has endorsed same-sex Amarriage.@ Even the United Church of
Christ (UCC), which officially affirms the moral legitimacy of homosexual
relationships, has not adopted a resolution in support of same-sex
Amarriage.@ For the time being, at least, even the UCC is still
officially in support of the classical definition of marriage. 5.
Persons with same-sex attractions have probably lived in every society,
and reports of homosexual behavior are rife through recorded history.
Likewise, each of the major world religions has responded, in various
ways, to homosexual behavior. See Arlene Swidler (ed.), Homosexuality
and World Religions (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International,
1993). But none of the five major world religions have officially
endorsed same-sex “marriage” in the past, despite the recent allegations
of various scholars. For a review of controversies over the medieval
church, compare John Boswell, Same-Sex Unions in PreModern Europe
(NY: Villard Books, 1994), with Robin Darling Young, AGay Marriage:
Reimagining Church History,@ 47 First Things (Nov. 1994),
43-48, or Brent Shaw, AA Groom of One=s Own? The Medieval Church
and the Question of Gay Marriage,@ The New Republic (18-25
July 1994), 33-38, 40- 41. See also the article by P. Lubin and
D. Duncan, AFollow the Footnote, or, The Advocate as Historian of
Same-Sex Marriage,@ 47 Catholic University Law Review 1271
(1998). 6.
This is not to deny that developments in other countries have also
played an important role. Debates about the morality of homosexual
relationships began earlier in European churches, particularly in
7.
We do not claim to be scholars in comparative religion. We are very
aware that we are amateurs in this area, and that our Western background
may distort our perceptions of non-Western religions. We have done
our best to work with sources that appear to us to be at best authoritative,
and at least helpful. We welcome corrections from scholars in these
areas. 8.
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a Acovenant, by which
a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of
the whole of life...@ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1601.
It also teaches that A>homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,=@
(CCC 2357, quoting Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, Persona humana 8), and that A[h]omosexual persons
are called to chastity@ (CCC, 2359). In addition, the Chairs
of the Committee on Marriage and Family and the Committee on Domestic
Policy of the U.S. Catholic Conference issued a AStatement on Same-Sex
Marriage@ on July 24, 1996 which states, A[W]e oppose attempts to
grant the legal status of marriage to a relationship between persons
of the same sex.@ The full text of the Statement can be found in
Origins, Vol. 26, No. 9, 132-133 (Aug. 1, 1996). 9.
The Official Catholic Directory part II ( 10.
Ibid, 233 11.
The Orthodox view of marriage is so taken-for-granted that only
one Orthodox church has found it necessary to pronounce on the question
of marriage and its relation to homosexuality. AGod wills that men
and women marry, becoming husbands and wives.@ AHomosexuality is
to be approached as the result of humanity=s rebellion against God,
and so against its own nature and well-being. It is not to be taken
as a way of living and acting for men and women made in God=s image
and likeness.@ ASynodal Affirmations on Marriage, Family, Sexuality,
and the Sanctity of Life,@ Orthodox Church in America: Tenth All-American
Council, July 1992. 12.
This figure was obtained by adding the members of the following
churches: Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America, the American Carpatho-Russian
Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Diocese
of North America, the Apostolic Orthodox Catholic Church, Armenian
Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Diocese of America
of the Armenian Church, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North
and South America, the Orthodox Church in America, the Romanian
Orthodox Episcopate in America, the Serbanian Orthodox Church in
the USA and Canada, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the True
Orthodox Church of Greece, and the Ukranian Orthodox Church of America.
Numbers come from the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches,
ed. Eileen W. Linder, 66th ed. ( 13.
AYear in Review 1993: Religion@ Encyclopedia Britannica Online.AYear
in Review 1998: Religion@ Encyclopedia Britannica Online. <http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?teu=1&tbl_id=136729>
14. In some cases, individual pastors or specific congregations
disagree with the official position of their denomination, either
singly or as an organized interest group. But none of these pastors
or congregations can be said to represent the official position
of their denomination. So, for instance, one can find web pages
galore of gay/lesbian caucuses within many churches, even though
there may be virtually no likelihood of the denomination ever agreeing
with them. 15.
The term AAnabaptist@ includes churches from the Brethren and Mennonite
traditions. There are an estimated 553,339 Anabaptists in the 16.
There are an estimated 36,418,107 Baptists in the 17.
The term AAnglican@ includes both Anglicans and Episcopalians. There
are an estimated 2,542,634 Anglicans in the 18.
There are reportedly 38,000+people affiliated with Evangelical Friends
(Quaker) churches in 19.
There are an estimated 5,760,471 Independent Evangelicals in the
20.
There are an estimated 8,319,348 Lutherans in the 21.
There are an estimated 10,311,140 Pentecostals in the 22.
There are an estimated 6,143,513 Reformed Christians in the 23.
There are an estimated 809,159 Seventh-day Adventists in the The
Adventist Church adopted an official statement in 1999 delineating
their position on homosexuality ASeventh-day Adventists believe
that sexual intimacy belongs only within the marital relationship
of a man and a woman.@ Seventh Day Adventist Position Statement
on Homosexuality <http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/main_stat46.html>
The Adventist Church has since also endorsed the AChristian Declaration
on Marriage@ declared in November 2000 <http://www.adventist.org/News/news/data/2000/10/974856669/index.html.en>
24.
There are an estimated 15,016,167 Wesleyans in the 25.
Some Protestant groups have caucuses or groups which endorse same-sex
unions, even though their denomination or movement as a whole does
not. This includes some Baptists, Congregationalists, Disciples,
Episcopalians, Mennonites, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians,
and Quakers. There are no reliable estimates of either membership
or influence. For websites with listings of pastors, congregations,
and movements, see Note 2 above. 26.
<http://www.sbc.net/default.asp?url=bfam_2000.html>http://www.sbc.net/bylaws.html 27.
<http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/resolutions/d039fin.html> 28.
<http://umns.umc.org/gc2000news/stories/gc066.htm> 29.
http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/info/homosexu.htm 30.
The Family: A Proclamation to the World (September 23, 1995) at
<http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,FF.html>
31.
First Presidency Opposes Efforts to Legalize 32.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Media Guide, Key
Facts and Figures, at <http://www.lds.org/media2/library/display/0,6021,198-1-168-10,FF.html>. 33.
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-138-28,00.html 34.
Lambda Defense and Education Fund, Marriage Resolution: Selected
Signatories (December 9, 1999) at <www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/pages/documents/record?record=142>.
35.
Most Unitarian Universalists consider themselves to be non-Christian,
but because its roots are in Christianity, the UUA is included here
with other Christian religions. Unitarian Universalist Association
at <uua.org> 36.
Official UUA Statistics at <www.uua.org/statistics> 37.
www.ufmcc.com/perrybio.htm 38.
Meetings endorsing same-sex “marriage” include Baltimore (MD), Northampton
(MA), Hartford (CT), South Berkshire (MA), Mt. Toby (MA), Putney
(VT), Beacon Hill (MA), Middlebury (VT), New Haven (CT), Hanover
(NH), Cambridge (MA), Burlington (VT), Portland (ME), Yarmouth (MA),
Storrs (CT), Amesbury (MA), Belfast (ME), Cobscook (ME), North Shore
(MA), Farmington (ME), Smithfield (RI), Fresh Pond (MA), Mondanock
(NH), Dover (NH), Framingham (MA) and Midcoast (ME) Monthly Meetings.
http://www.fgcquaker.org/ 39.
Meetings endorsing same-sex “marriage” include Baltimore (MD), Northampton
(MA), Hartford (CT), South Berkshire (MA), Mt. Toby (MA), Putney
(VT), Beacon Hill (MA), Middlebury (VT), New Haven (CT), Hanover
(NH), Cambridge (MA), Burlington (VT), Portland (ME), Yarmouth (MA),
Storrs (CT), Amesbury (MA), Belfast (ME), Cobscook (ME), North Shore
(MA), Farmington (ME), Smithfield (RI), Fresh Pond (MA), Mondanock
(NH), Dover (NH), Framingham (MA) and Midcoast (ME) Monthly Meetings.
These meetings are part of the 40.
These groups, with which we are completely unfamiliar, are called
the Ecumenical Catholic Church, the Evangelical Anglican Church
in 41.
This is because the American Jewish Year Book provides specific
breakdowns for various Jewish movements in the 42.
American Jewish Year Book, ed. David Singer, volume 98, (New
York: The American Jewish Committee, 1998) 169, 477. 43.
Judy Harrison, AEmbracing Reconstructionism@ Bangor Daily News
(Jan. 16, 1999). 44.
Bernard Lazerwitz, J. Alan Winter, Arnold Dashefsky, and Ephraim
Tabory, AA Study of Jewish Denominational Preferences: Summary Findings,@
American Jewish Year Book, ed. David Singer, volume 97, (New
York: The American Jewish Committee, 1997) 130. In the absence of
further information, we have therefore removed the 14% from all
our calculations. 45.
AThe Orthodox Union views with great dismay the current effort to
portray homosexuality as morally equivalent of heterosexual monogamous
relationships and as constituting a valid >alternative lifestyle.=@
Resolutions, (New York: The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
of America, 1998) 48; AWe will not perform commitment ceremonies
for gays and lesbians.@ The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards
of the Rabbinical Assembly, March 25, 1992. 46.
Until recently, the position of the Reform movement was to support
same-sex civil marriage but not to perform same-sex religious
marriages. However, in 2000 the Central Conference of American Rabbis,
the rabbinical group of Reform Judaism, issued a resolution supporting
the decision of its clergy to officiate at Jewish same-sex commitment
ceremonies. The conference resolved Athat the relationship of a
Jewish, same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate
Jewish ritual@ but does not require rabbis to perform such ceremonies
if they object to them <http://www.ccarnet.org/cgi-bin/resodisp.pl?file=gender&year=2000>
The JRF, like the UUA and MCC, has endorsed the Marriage Resolution.Lambda
Defense and Education Fund, Marriage Resolution: Selected Signatories
at <http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/pages/documents/record?record=142> 47.
Once the numbers of unaffiliated Jews are removed, the 48.
These figures assume, as stated above, that there are 7,020,000
Jews outside the 49.
Encyclopedia Britannica 1997 Book of the Year, quoted in
Yearbook of American and CanadianChurches, 5. 50.
AYear in Review 1998: Religion@ Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
<http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?teu=1&tbl_id=136729>
51.
See, e.g., the entries on AMarriage and Divorce@ in Esposito (ed.),
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, Vol.
3, 48-54 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), and in Faruqi
and Faruqi, The Cultural Atlas of Islam (NY: Macmillan, 1986),
149-151. 52.
While Islam officially allows men to have four legitimate wives,
polygamy is only widespread in non-Arab Muslim West Africa. In Arab
countries the proportion of polygamous marriages is lower, and continues
to decrease. For more on these trends, see Philippe Fargues, AThe
Arab World: the Family as Fortress,@ 339-374 in Burgiere, et al,
A History of The Family, Vol. II: The Impact of Modernity(Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1996). There are, of course, AQueer Muslim@
groups, operating via the Internet, based in the 53.
Encyclopedia Britannica 1997 Book of the Year, quoted in
Yearbook of American and 54.AYear
in Review 1998: Religion@ Encyclopedia Britannica Online. <http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?teu=1&tbl_id=136729>
70% of Hindus are Vaishnavites, 25% are Shaivites, and 2% are neo-Hindus
and reform Hindus. Ibid. 55.
See Simon Weightman, Hinduism in A New Handbook of Living Religions
287-288 (John R. Hinnell, ed. 1997). 56.
Edith Turner & Pamela R. Frese, Marriage in 9 Encyclopedia
of Religion at 218 (Mircea Eliade, ed., 1987). 57.
In an article detailing Hinduism=s view of homosexuality, Arvind
Sharma writes that ADharma and Artha literature is somewhat opposed
to [homosexual behavior]@ but that as Aa religion Hinduism is perhaps
more tolerant of homosexuality than it is as a culture.@ Arvind
Sharma, AHomosexuality and Hinduism,@ Homosexuality and World Religions,
ed. Arlene Swidler (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International,
1993) 68; On the other hand, according to Sharma, modern India=s
ANeo-Hinduism is now so hostile to [homosexuality] that >no community
admits of homosexual practices=...@ Ibid., 70, quoting from G. Morris
Carstairs, The Twice-Born (Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1967) 320. 58.
Encyclopedia Britannica 1997 Book of the Year, quoted in
Yearbook of American and CanadianChurches, 5. 59.
AYear in Review 1998: Religion@ Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
<http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?teu=1&tbl_id=136729> 60.
Ibid. 61.
See Malcolm David Eckel, Buddhism in The Illustrated Guide to
World Religions 194 (Michael D. Coogan, ed., 1998). 62.
J.I. Cabezon, AHomosexuality and Buddhism,@ 81-82 in Swidler (ed.),
Homosexuality and World Religions (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press
International, 1993). 63.
Christmas Humphreys, Popular Dictionary of Buddhism 125 (1997),
s.v. Amarriage.@ 64.
Edith Turner & Pamela R. Frese, Marriage in 9 Encyclopedia
of Religion at 218 (Mircea Eliade, ed., 1987). 65.
Cabezon at 83. 66.
Ibid. at 83. 67.
For complementary and contrasting views on this point, compare Cabezon
with the discussions of Asian family traditions in Burgiere, et
al, A History of The Family, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1996). 68.
Marriage Digest, vol. 1, no. 15 at <http://abacus.oxy.edu/pub/marriage/digests/v01.n015>. 69.
SGI-USA, About the Soka Gokkai International in the 70.
Even if all branches of Buddhism eventually reinterpreted their
doctrines to endorse same-sex "marriage," and the numbers
of Buddhists were subtracted from our calculations, 92% of the adherents
of the five major world religions would still affirm the classical
definition of marriage.
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