Religion 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

That is one of the most profound messages in the Bible that there is. But is the message for everyone?

R for Religion (and for faith)

Over the course of years one of the most common questions, apart from which one is the woman and which one is the man, has definitely been “how can you believe in God, when you are gay?“

Why couldn’t I believe? Why shouldn’t I believe? And why wouldn’t I believe?

Myself, I come from a quite secular country with some troubles at the governmental level when it comes to combining religion and politics. There is one particular party, the Christian Democrats, who try to legitimise hatred towards the LGBTQ people in any way possible. And that, for me, is not acceptable. If you are turning a Holy Book into a hammer to bash people, it tells me a lot about you as a person.

Luckily, at the same time, we have millions of faithful people following all Abrahamic religions, just like I am, plus those who follow other religions who have no problem with LGBTQ people at all. As this is the case, why should I not believe?

I am not Christian, even though I come from Finland, which is a Christian country. I left Christianity when I was a very young adult, as I saw my religious path being led somewhere else. One of the reasons was that I was gay and at the time, I didn’t see a way to exist inside an institution that abhorred me for who I am. It still, in a way, does. Currently, in 2024, the bishops in the Finnish Evangelic-Lutheran Church are in a very heated discussion should there be a non-nominational service procedure to bless same-sex couples. I’m not holding my breath for miracles on this.

But, back to my story. After many years, actually over a decade, there was a moment when things changed. Nowadays I would say I was called by God – and I answered. And if this kind of thing happens, doesn’t it mean that I am approved? Why else would I, or anyone else for that matter, be spiritually awakened or reawakened. Of course, this topic is more meaningful for those who have a system of belief, like I have. But I digress.

Even if I was called by God, and I answered, does it mean that I will be instantly accepted? No. Of course not, and as much as I would love it, it is a harsh reality that it will not be the case. And I am OK with it. Not because I want to steer away from conflicts, but because my faith is between me and my God.

Similarly, it is great to know that the scholars in Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the world’s oldest functioning Islamic University, have decreed that the gender reaffirming surgery is acceptable under Islamic Law (sharia) already back in 1988. The same was decreed by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini back in 1987.

Take a look at the dates and ponder for a moment, which countries around the world allowed politically the same back at the same years.

Whilst thinking of faith and religion, the question of LGBTQ rights is a difficult one. It is like a prism that breaks a beam of light into multiple beams. Each of the beams is a different perspective, and whilst we have to stay true to ourselves, we should seek to understand, if not even accept, different perspectives. If we are not willing to do that, the beams can not be combined.

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