Few issues today cause more public – and private – debate than the interaction of homosexuality and religion. From the question of gay marriage to the place of gays and lesbians within faith communities, religious leaders and lay members must deal with these issues for now and for years to come. What is the historical position of the major denominations? How are people of faith balancing their beliefs? This encyclopedia provides an overview of the various attitudes and responses that religions have had to the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons within their communities. This is the most comprehensive volume to date on the intersections between religion and homosexuality.
Features
The coverage in Homosexuality and Religion: An Encylopedia is comprehensive:
- Synthetic overview essays examine topics such as Homosexuality, Religion, and the Law, Homosexuality, Religion, and the Biological Sciences, and Homosexuality, Religion, and the Social Sciences.
- The A-Z entries cover a wide range of religious traditions across the world. From African American Churches to Buddhism, Episcopalians, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, the Metropolitan Community Church, Mormonism, Presbyterians, the Roman Catholic Church, Seventh Day Adventists, Southern Baptist Churches, Unitarian Universalist, and more.
- Entries contain significant bibliographic references, including websites, for further study Homosexuality and Religion treats the complete cross-section of religious traditions and their understanding of and approaches to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.
Reviews
"Siker has brought together an impressive group of contributors to write about one of the most difficult cultural intersections. The book is divided into three parts: 1) synthetic essays, 2) the encyclopedia, and 3) bibliography. The first part includes chapters such as Homosexuality, Religion, and the Law, Homosexuality, Religion, and the Biological Sciences, and Homosexuality and Spirituality. The encyclopedia, the core of the book, consists of alphabetically arranged essays on various denominations, religions, and LGBT support groups. It also has thematic entries, most importantly on queer aspects of the topic. Finally, the bibliography pulls together all the references from the essays. Encyclopedia entries are written primarily by experts from the various religious groups discussed or by academics with solid credentials. Each entry is accompanied by a bibliography....Undergraduates will find this a very good starting place for research; it is suitable for most academic libraries. Recommended. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates."—Choice, June 1, 2007
"Scholars mostly of religion but also of gender and other concerns in the social sciences begin with synthetic essays on how the relationship between homosexuality and religion plays out in law, the social sciences, the biological sciences, and spirituality. The core articles survey attitudes and practices in a range of religions and Christian denominations; and consider such topics as AIDS and HIV, clergy and ordination, marriage, and queer theology."—Reference & Research Book News, February 1, 2007
"[T]his book would be a useful starting point for someone doing research on homosexuality and religion....Since there are few encyclopedias on this topic, this would probably be a useful volume for any library."—Catholic Library World, September 1, 2007
"The entries are brief enough to belong to a reference volume, yet detailed enough to give the reader a good introduction to each religious tradition's views of homosexuality....[t]he book is well written, the information may be easily accressed, the viewpoints are respectfully discussed, and sources for further study are made available in the form of recommended readings and useful websites....Homosexuality and Religion is a much-needed reference volume and should be made widely available to clinicians and training programs working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered populations."—PsycCRITIQUES, September 19, 2007
