Christianity and homosexuality

Christianity developed during the 1st century AD as a Jewish Christian sect and, as such, many of its views were rooted in Jewish teaching. As Christianity established itself as a separate religion, with its own scriptures, some views moved away from the Jewish roots while others remained firmly grounded in Jewish tradition. The view within Christianity is that the Jewish scriptures within what became known as The Old Testament, as well as passages within what became known as The New Testament, both make clear that same-sex sexual behaviour is sinful – an interpretation supported by the wording of certain translations of the Bible.

Today, most denominations teach that homosexual behavior and acts are sinful, and both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church officially condemn homosexual activity as sin. However, some mainly liberal denominations, churches and individuals hold views that differ from traditional interpretations and some of the mainline Protestant denominations in the USA, Canada and the UK now view same-sex behaviour as equally valid and allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages.