FOR those who insist on the exaggerated idea that the recent pro-homosexuality decision by the United States Supreme Court possibly marks the beginning of the end for mankind, it must be said that the development may just be the beginning of another beginning. The evolutionary clock is still ticking and not about to stop.
It is a wonder that over 20 countries have embraced same-sex marriage rights, and in this strange category are developed countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden. It is predictable that the passion will spread because homophobic arguments based mainly on religion, culture and nature are inadequate.
With the sound and fury of anti-gay voices in the background, my mind went to a thought-provoking moment during the 10th Orisa World Congress held in July 2013 at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. In the course of stimulating discussions on issues of interest in the context of Yoruba religion and culture, the subject of homosexuality came up. Many were curious about the position of the religion on this controversial question. It was a reflection of the times. After a lively debate, it was Prof. Wande Abimbola who had the last word. He said: “We cannot say exactly how Ifa views this. There is no need for us to get involved in this controversy.” In a global village of multiple faiths and definite religious positions on homosexuality, his indefinite comments were confounding.
It was a fascinating intervention particularly because Abimbola, a retired academic who will be 82 this month, is a Yoruba culture exponent and a distinguished Ifa priest. “Ifa is the heart and soul of the culture and philosophy of the Yoruba people. It is not dead, but parts of it are going into oblivion.” Abimbola said while making a contribution to a discussion during the five-day programme.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005 listed the IfaDivination system among “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” Multitudinous gods or orisa make up the Yoruba pantheon, with Ifa as the oracular mouthpiece of Olodumare, the Almighty in Yoruba religion. The religion is also known as the Orisa tradition.
The variegated gathering at Ile- Ife, which included participants from the United States of America (USA), Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico, demonstrated the appeal of the religion beyond its local provenance and brought instructive international perspectives. An all-male family of four from Cuba, a Chinese couple who live in Venezuela and a densely bearded white American were among the alluring sights.
It is a point to ponder that many religious people in Nigeria base their hostility to homosexuality on faith morality, which is why Abimbola’s ambiguity is complicating from a religious point of view. Interestingly, also in July 2013 Pope Francis, head of the world’s largest Christian church with an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics, at least 19 million of them Nigerians, expressed a non-judgemental position on homosexuals. The Catholic Herald reported: “Speaking to members of the press during a flight back to Rome from Rio de Janeiro after World Youth Day celebrations, Pope Francis responded to questions about the Vatican’s alleged gay lobby, by saying: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” Also relevant: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, representing the Church of England, in a joint letter addressed to then President Goodluck Jonathan on Nigeria’s anti-gay stance, made it clear that “The victimisation or diminishment of human beings, whose affections happen to be ordered towards people of the same sex, is anathema to us.” They emphasised that homosexual people “are children of God, loved and valued by Him and deserving the best we can give – pastoral care and friendship.”
The complexity of the religious argument against homosexuality can be better appreciated in the context of the information that there are an estimated 4, 200 religions in the world. It would be enlightening to know how many of them have a problem with homosexuality or same-sex relationships. In other words, how many religions regard homosexuals as ungodly perverts? Is it a contradiction in terms to speak of godly or god-fearing homosexuals?
When homosexuality bashers don’t play religion or don’t play God, they reach for the weapon of culture. When they do so, they conveniently forget that human culture is expandable and always a work in progress. What has been culturally unacceptable may become acceptable and what has been culturally conceded may become inconceivable.
It should be appreciated that today’s triumph of gay rights in the United States, which is the fundamental implication of the majority opinion of the Supreme Court legitimising same-sex marriage anywhere in the country, is not an overnight achievement and resulted from a campaign that dates back to the 1970s. Important milestones leading to the destination include: May 17, 2004, when Massachusetts became “the first U.S. state and the sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalise same-sex marriage”; May 9, 2012, when Barack Obama became “the first sitting U.S. president to publicly declare support for the legalisation of same-sex marriage”. Also, on November 6, 2012, “Maine, Maryland, and Washington became the first states to legalise same-sex marriage through popular vote.”
Before the June 26, 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that revolutionised the gay narrative in the country and made it “the twenty-first and most populous country to legalise same-sex marriage”, a CNN poll on February 19, 2015 “found that 63% of Americans believe gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, up from 49% in August 2010.” It is revealing that CNN polling also found that 59% of Americans felt the U.S Supreme Court’s endorsement of same-sex marriage was “correct”.
It is especially significant that the reportedly popular court ruling “overturned a precedent”, meaning there was a time when a contrary idea prevailed. The court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that “the denial of marriage licenses and recognition to same-sex couples violates the Due Process and the Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” This information is similarly important: “Gay and lesbian couples already can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The court’s ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.”
With religious and socio-cultural interpretations of human homosexuality reimagined, the question of naturality may have been subtly answered. Central to the controversy is the nature of homosexual desire in human beings, whether it is biologically driven or socially influenced. It is interesting that there is evidence of homosexual behaviour in certain mammals, birds and fish. So, it is not an exclusively human phenomenon.
In a world of expanding freedoms, the homosexual orientation is likely to enjoy increasing accommodation as one of the possibilities of human sexual expression. Of course, there will be consequences.
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