Marriage is a socially constructed institution embedded within our societies for many years joining two individuals together. Within the most recent history, these two individuals usually consisted of a man and woman uniting in the form of marriage to procreate and form a household together. Religious and civil institutions are used in order to legitimize the joining of these two individuals and granting them the status of being married. In the recent years, since the inception of the twenty first century, the conventional principle of marriage is being challenged by homosexual individuals around the world (Lahey and Alderson, 2004). Homosexual individuals are seeking the right to marry the person of the same sex of their desire and to
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(2002)”. It is important to recognize that marriage itself is not a natural or biological necessity for human survival. Marriage itself is an institution introduced to society by religious leaders. Its definition was offered to our society and embedded in the same through religious beliefs that are ancient; accordingly the definition itself created by men can be challenged and revisited to include the right of the homosexuals to marry (Merin, 2002). Merin further explains that in the ancient times, marriage was performed between a man and a woman for reasons such as procreation, land, wealth, politics, etc., however, in the contemporary era, one might get married as a result of mutual love, affection and even sexual pleasure (Merin, 2-2). Accordingly, it is odd that the heterosexual love is socially accepted and celebrated by the governing bodies of countries, however homosexual love is taboo and frowned …show more content…
His assertion was supported by Laura Olson, Wendy Cadge, and James T. Harrison who conducted a research on the topic in a book called Religion, and Public Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage. The content of the book examines the correlated relationship of religion and traditional values and its influence on how one perceives homosexuality and a marital union between two homosexual individuals. Olson, Cadge and Opinion submit that, “Religion, as measured by individual’s religious affiliation, behaviours and beliefs, also has a clear and consistent influence on their opinions about homosexuality” (2006). An example of the above made submission is the State of Massachusetts, which was the first state to legalize same sex marriage after hearing the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003) (Olson, Cadge and Opinion, 2006). However, the decision was successfully reversed by anti-gay activist to prohibit same-sex marriage. It appears that reversal resulted from immense efforts by large groups of conservative religious groups in 11 different states to amend legislations and to disallow marriage between individuals of same sex (Olson, Cadge and Opinion,
(2002)”. It is important to recognize that marriage itself is not a natural or biological necessity for human survival. Marriage itself is an institution introduced to society by religious leaders. Its definition was offered to our society and embedded in the same through religious beliefs that are ancient; accordingly the definition itself created by men can be challenged and revisited to include the right of the homosexuals to marry (Merin, 2002). Merin further explains that in the ancient times, marriage was performed between a man and a woman for reasons such as procreation, land, wealth, politics, etc., however, in the contemporary era, one might get married as a result of mutual love, affection and even sexual pleasure (Merin, 2-2). Accordingly, it is odd that the heterosexual love is socially accepted and celebrated by the governing bodies of countries, however homosexual love is taboo and frowned …show more content…
His assertion was supported by Laura Olson, Wendy Cadge, and James T. Harrison who conducted a research on the topic in a book called Religion, and Public Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage. The content of the book examines the correlated relationship of religion and traditional values and its influence on how one perceives homosexuality and a marital union between two homosexual individuals. Olson, Cadge and Opinion submit that, “Religion, as measured by individual’s religious affiliation, behaviours and beliefs, also has a clear and consistent influence on their opinions about homosexuality” (2006). An example of the above made submission is the State of Massachusetts, which was the first state to legalize same sex marriage after hearing the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003) (Olson, Cadge and Opinion, 2006). However, the decision was successfully reversed by anti-gay activist to prohibit same-sex marriage. It appears that reversal resulted from immense efforts by large groups of conservative religious groups in 11 different states to amend legislations and to disallow marriage between individuals of same sex (Olson, Cadge and Opinion,