Abstract
The aim of the article is to illustrate that prejudice differs fundamentally from legitimate presuppositions that come into play when people interpret the Bible or reflect theologically on contemporary issues such as homosexuality. It is argued that prejudice leads to the theologically untenable phenomenon of homophobia. Though the rejection of prejudicial attitudes does not mean that “anything goes”, it is a theological necessity to expose harmful attitudes and behaviours regarding sexuality. To this end the article investigates the labels “homosexual”, “gay” and “queer” that, on the one hand, express and perpetuate homophobia and on the other hand represent a search for authentic identity on the part of sexual minorities. The article reflects on the effect of underlying social identity theories on homophobia. Such theories include nominialism with its focus on “sameness” and essentialism that focuses on “difference”, as well as primordialism with its emphasis on the immutability of social identity formation and constructionism that highlights change.
Highlights
The aim of the article is to illustrate that prejudice differs fundamentally from legitimate presuppositions that come into play when people interpret the Bible or reflect theologically on contemporary issues such as homosexuality
It is argued that prejudice leads to the theologically untenable phenomenon of homophobia
Though the rejection of prejudicial attitudes does not mean that “anything goes”, it is a theological necessity to expose harmful attitudes and behaviours regarding sexuality. To this end the article investigates the labels “homosexual”, “gay” and “queer” that, on the one hand, express and perpetuate homophobia and on the other hand represent a search for authentic identity on the part of sexual minorities
Summary
The transformation in the late 1960s of homosexual societies from being “in the closet” to public gay rights organisations was the beginning of the public discourse on homosexuality. Queer theory’s radical historicism rejects any claims to deontological authority anywhere except as fabrication and deployment of power With this approach, queer theory joins the theological debate “about the sources and authority of traditions that define social norms and human identities in terms of sin, redemption, good and evil, as these categories are expressed through gender and race” (Schneider 2000:209). Queer theory joins the theological debate “about the sources and authority of traditions that define social norms and human identities in terms of sin, redemption, good and evil, as these categories are expressed through gender and race” (Schneider 2000:209) In this process many different categories of people have been marginalized. Schneider (2000:212) remarks: “What queer theory principally provides is an intellectual framework for treating sexuality as a meaningful site of difference that could illuminate texts and traditions in helpful if sometimes unsettling ways.”
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