How Do the Religious and Atheists Compare on Homophobia?

Biblical_Family_Law

In Summer 2008, I gave a talk at the American Psychological Association Meetings, which were held that year in beautiful Boston. While taking a conference bus from the hotel to the convention center, I struck up a conversation with a graduate student who was pursuing her doctorate in clinical psychology (if memory serves me right). During our chat, she asked me whether evolutionary psychologists had tackled the issue of homosexuality (to the extent that strict homosexuality is a Darwinian cul-de-sac from a direct reproductive fitness perspective). I explained that one evolutionary-based theory (albeit it remains somewhat tentative and speculative) is that homosexuality can be maintained within the repertoire of sexual strategies via kin selection (see here for a recent test of this hypothesis).

As I finished my explanation, a gentleman sitting in the seat in front of us turned toward us and began to "explain" his alternate theory of homosexuality. The gentleman in question was Arthur Goldberg, the director of JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality). He spent the next thirty minutes or so lecturing me about the "established" strict environmental genesis of homosexuality (i.e., there is apparently no proof that homosexuality is innate). Not surprisingly, his organization promises to "heal" homosexuals from their "misguided choice" via an immersion into the teaching of the Torah and the Talmud. I should mention that until 1973 the mental health profession held the position that homosexuality was a mental illness! Hence, whereas the religious might not be the sole group to have ever displayed homophobic attitudes, they are certainly much more likely to do so.

If one were to explore the position taken toward homosexuality within the holy books of each of the three Abrahamic religions, one does not walk away with a warm glow of love, acceptance, and compassion. As a matter of fact, a recent exhaustive review of the literature on atheism and secularism conducted by Phil Zuckerman reveals that atheists are substantially less homophobic than the religious (see p. 954 for relevant references). I do not wish to imply that no atheists have ever harbored homophobic tendencies, or that there are no religious folks who are accepting of homosexuality. However, if we compare the two groups, non-believers and the religious, atheists display much greater compassion, tolerance, and compassion on a wide range of issues be it homosexuality, social injustices (e.g., women's rights), and environmental concerns (see one of my earlier posts here regarding people's unfavorable perceptions of atheists). Of course, the religious would argue that this is a manifestation of the immorality of atheists. How could one support that which God has declared an abomination?

Thus, whereas religiosity can engender institutionalized disdain if not outright hatred toward a group of people, this is much less likely to occur within the context of atheism and secularism. Most atheists are not in the business of caring about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom. However, if you proclaim to have a direct line to God's mind, and you are convinced that God frowns upon same-sex unions, then it's nothing but a hop, skip, and a jump to good-old fashioned homophobia.

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