Same Sex Marriage

With this ring . . .

by Alex Hutchins

The relationship between religion and homosexuality can vary greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. Present day doctrines of the world's major religions vary vastly generally and by denomination on attitudes toward these sexual orientations.

The bottom line is that very few religious bodies have endorsed same-sex marriage, and those that have represent a very small fraction of believers in the world’s five major religions:

1. Christianity
2. Judaism
3. Islam
4. Hinduism
5. Buddhism

To put this in more concrete terms:

In the United States, of 152,684,283 total adherents of the five major religions, 149,979,207 are in religious bodies which affirm the classical definition of marriage (98.2 percent), while 2,705,076 are in religious bodies which support same-sex “marriage” (1.7 percent).

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).   Check it out here

While the above data is 10 years old (2001), it could not be more clear that only

 one-tenth of 1 percent

of the population of the entire world, in which we live, and regardless of religious beliefs, indicate that they are for same sex marriage.  Let me repeat,

one-tenth of 1 percent

What does the Bible say about all of this? 

Here are some references,

Gen. 1:27 - "male and female created He them"

Gen. 2:18 - "I will make a helper suitable for him"  Gen. 2:24 - "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh" Prov. 31:10-31 - "An excellent wife, who can find? Her worth is far above jewels."

Song of Solomon - (God's marriage manual)

Mal. 2:14 - "she is your companion and your wife by covenant" Mal. 2:16 - "I hate divorce," says the Lord."

Matt. 19:3-12 - "What God has joined together, let no man separate." I Cor. 7:1-40 - "Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her  husband."

 

I Cor. 11:3 - "the man is the head of a woman"

Eph. 5:21-33 - "Wives be subject to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives.." I Pet. 3:1-7 - "wives, be submissive...husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman"  

 

 

To read more  about these Biblical quotes 

Each religion has its own traditions and ritual when it comes to the marriage ceremony – to view those, click here 

For more facts on worldwide religions, click here  

A quick search reveals more than 500 Old and New Testament references to the words "marriage," "married," "husband," and "wife." 

Gen. 2:18, 21-24

The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.