Being Baha'i and Homosexual.

[StarryNightshade]

Baha'i claims that it is in perfect harmony with science. Science has evidence that homosexuality is epigenetic/genetic and is found in nature. Yet, traditionally, Baha'i frowns upon homosexuality and says it can be "cured"; as if it is a disease.

How can Baha'i claim to be 100% compatible with science if they condemn something found in nature? Branching from this, can one be gay while in a monogamous, loving relationship and still be accepted as a Baha'i?

 

[arthra]

Baha'i claims that it is in perfect harmony with science. Science has evidence that homosexuality is epigenetic/genetic and is found in nature. Yet, traditionally, Baha'i frowns upon homosexuality and says it can be "cured"; as if it is a disease.

How can Baha'i claim to be 100% compatible with science if they condemn something found in nature? Branching from this, can one be gay while in a monogamous, loving relationship and still be accepted as a Baha'i?

Thanks for your question... The following is my own "take" on this issue as a Baha'i...

Harmony between science and religion is a principle of our Faith and allow me to explain a bit what that entails...

With regard to the harmony of science and religion, the Writings of the Central Figures and the commentaries of the Guardian make abundantly clear that the task of humanity, including the Bahá'í community that serves as the "leaven" within it, is to create a global civilization which embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions of existence. The nature and scope of such a civilization are still beyond anything the present generation can conceive.

- Universal House of Justice

Also "Science" as you are aware is an unfolding process... rather than rigid dogma. What was considered "scientific" say fifty years ago may not be "scientific" today.. The textbooks are constantly being revised.

The sphere of religion in my view deals more with our own responsibility in this life. The issue of our behaviour then has more to do with our judgements. Knowing people have certain proclivities in some areas and that each person is really unique and inherits various personal aspects together with the social milieu they were raised in still requires in our view choice and judgement which are the province of religion.

The House of Justice has further delineated:

"Man's physical existence on this earth is a period during which the moral exercise of his free will is tried and tested in order to prepare his soul for the other worlds of God, and we must welcome affliction and tribulations as opportunities for improvement in our eternal selves. The House of Justice points out that homosexuals are not the only segment of human society labouring at this daily task -- every human being is beset by such inner promptings as pride, greed, selfishness, lustful heterosexual or homosexual desires, to name a few which must be overcome, and overcome them we must if we are to fulfil the purpose of our human existence."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, July 16, 1980)

(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 367)

Hope that helps...

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Baha'i claims that it is in perfect harmony with science. Science has evidence that homosexuality is epigenetic/genetic and is found in nature. Yet, traditionally, Baha'i frowns upon homosexuality and says it can be "cured"; as if it is a disease.

How can Baha'i claim to be 100% compatible with science if they condemn something found in nature? Branching from this, can one be gay while in a monogamous, loving relationship and still be accepted as a Baha'i?

There are many streight people who never experience sex in their whole life and die virgin, as some phsycologists say.
Ok, there are homosextuals. whether or not it is genetic or changable or not. The fact is, they can choose Not to have sex, as streight people can choose not to have sex. This is what the Baha'i Text says. It does not deny that Homosextuality exist.
And the main reason for marriage according to Baha'i Texts is to have Childeren.
So, when homosextuality does not produce childeren, what other purpose homosextuals marriage does it serve?

 

[muziko]

Branching from this, can one be gay while in a monogamous, loving relationship and still be accepted as a Baha'i?

I would actually like to offer a different viewpoint for those that read this thread. I would like to say to this question, yes, you can be both gay and Baha'i. The answer lies more in your community than the religion itself, at least, this is what it seems to me from my experience. (My community is actually quite accepting in these matters)

The greatest commandment is to love others. There are some hateful people out in the world, no doubt some can be Baha'is, but compassion for others is key when dealing with subjects like these. No one can live their life without breaking the commandments. :yes:

I hope that helps give a different viewpoint for anyone else who reads this.

 

[Sen McGlinn]

The idea that homosexuality could be cured, which was current in medicine from the 1930's into the 1980's, has been shown to be mistaken: what was thought to be a cure was worse than the 'problem,' in a very large number of cases. But "can be cured" is a function of two questions: is it a problem, and is there a fix for it? There's no cure available today, that a reputable therapist could recommend. Maybe there will be one in the future, but that still leaves the question "is homosexuality a problem?" We won't know until we have a society free of discriminations and prejudice. I expect it will be clear then, that the problem lay with social prejudices, and disabilities such as not being allowed to marry, rather than with the homosexual orientation in itself.

The idea entered Bahai thinking from society, and from letters on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, giving advice to individuals. It is not part of Bahai teachings as such:

"The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc. When he feels that a certain thing is essential for the protection of the Cause, even if it is something that affects a person personally, he must be obeyed, but when he gives advice, such as that he gave you in a previous letter about your future, it is not binding; you are free to follow it or not as you please."
(Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 33)

Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyeh Khanum also believed in homeopathy, which on the evidence today is just the placebo effect wreathed in a halo of optimism.

One of the friends of Persia wrote to Shoghi Effendi and asked this question: "Is it true that 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said that biochemical homeopathy, which is a form of food medicine, is in conformity with the Bahá'í medical concept?" The beloved Guardian's reply to this question in a letter dated 25th November, 1944 was as follows: "This statement is true, and the truth thereof will be revealed in the future."
(From a letter on behalf of the UHJ, in The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 485)

Shoghi Effendi is not an authority on scientific matters. At a time when pharmaceuticals were still quite limited, intelligent and well-read people did think there might be something in homeopathy. He was a man of his time in this respect.

 

[Sen McGlinn]

...
And the main reason for marriage according to Baha'i Texts is to have Childeren.
So, when homosextuality does not produce childeren, what other purpose homosextuals marriage does it serve?

I think Shoghi Effendi has explained that:

The proper use of the sex instinct is the natural right of every individual, and it is precisely for this purpose that the institution of marriage has been established. The Bahá'ís do not believe in the suppression of the sex impulse but in its regulation and control."
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, September 5, 1938: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, p. 108)

There could well be a link between denying homosexuals the right to marry, and unhealthy promiscuous male homosexual lifestyles. In other words, if you forbid "the proper use of the sex instinct" under "regulation and control" what you get is improper and unhealthy manifestations of the sex instinct. As more countries decriminalise homosexual activity and regulate for same sex marriages, we're getting a better and better idea of how much legal discrimination has contributed (along with prejudice and ignorance) to making homosexuality a social 'problem.'

 

[Sundance]

Baha'i claims that it is in perfect harmony with science. Science has evidence that homosexuality is epigenetic/genetic and is found in nature. Yet, traditionally, Baha'i frowns upon homosexuality and says it can be "cured"; as if it is a disease.

How can Baha'i claim to be 100% compatible with science if they condemn something found in nature? Branching from this, can one be gay while in a monogamous, loving relationship and still be accepted as a Baha'i?

As to my answer to your question, I'll give you an extremely emphatic YES! As a Unitarian Universalist (UU or simply Unitarian) Bahai, I'm passionately affirmative of the fact that different people choose to love who they wish. As a very liberal Christian, I believe that no matter who you or anyone else chooses to be or love, Jesus' words still strike a chord, “Love your neighbor as yourself."

 

[Triumphant_Loser]

And the main reason for marriage according to Baha'i Texts is to have Childeren.
So, when homosextuality does not produce childeren, what other purpose homosextuals marriage does it serve?

So what about infertile couples that are unable to produce children? Should they be forbidden to marry?

 

[arthra]

So what about infertile couples that are unable to produce children? Should they be forbidden to marry?

Nope... Of course couples after their marriage may discover one or the other is infertile and they are free to consult with physicians on that and reach their own decisions or they can adopt... The purpose of marriage in a spiritual sense is for the advancement and oneness of the souls..

"The institution of marriage, as established by Bahá'u'lláh, while giving due importance to the physical aspect of marital union considers it as subordinate to the moral and spiritual purposes and functions with which it has been invested by an All-Wise and loving Providence. Only when these different values are given each their due importance, and only on the basis of the subordination of the physical to the moral, and the carnal to the spiritual can such excesses and laxity in marital relations as our decadent age is so sadly witnessing be avoided, and family life be restored to its original purity, and fulfill the true function for which it has been instituted by God."

(From letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, May 8, 1939: Ibid)

(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 226)