Personal Statement

PERSONAL STATEMENT

“There's this illusion that homosexuals have sex and heterosexuals fall in love. That's completely untrue. Everybody wants to be loved.” ~ Boy George

Gay and lesbian theology is a growing body of thought that brings the experiences of same-sex-loving people into conversations about ultimate meaning and value in a range of religious traditions. It began in the late 1960s in Christianity and Judaism and is now emerging in most of the major world religions. Though they do not necessarily use the term theology, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Chinese religions, and indigenous groups are dealing with the impact of people from a variety of sexualities on ways of being religious. Those are properly discussed under the rubric of religion and same-sex love, while this theological focus is narrower.

The experiences of bisexual and transgender persons and of those who use the more generic term queer, meaning anyone who transgresses the heterosexual norm, are more recent additions to the conversation. A common way to refer to this work is as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) theologies, emphasizing both the variety of starting points and the plurality of conclusions. It is controversial and contested but a dynamic part of contemporary theology and religious studies (Mogul, et. al., 2011). Some seminaries, rabbinical schools, and departments of religion offer courses on gay and lesbian theology. The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (www.clgs.org) at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, is dedicated to promoting scholarship and practice in the field. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Religious Archives Network (www.lgbtran.org) is a resource center and clearinghouse for the historical records of LGBTQ religious movements (Meem, et. al., 2010).

After giving the brief introduction that what actually the paper is all about, I want to convey to the readers that this is what; is the reality of my life that I am a Gay. I know for some of the readers this may be something unique that a person confessing on his own that I am Gay. Before going into further discussion, I want to share something with the readers that at the age of 12 I came to know that I am a Gay; however, I took a courageous step and told my parents about my physical abilities. My parents are nice and I share a positive understanding with them, therefore, they understand me and I conveyed them that I am happy with the way I am. However, the demographics didn't support me well. At the age of 2, my family shifted from Saudi Arabia to Dubai, the place I belonged to didn't support the Gays, and I know how I survived there.

Sometimes, I really felt that what is my mistake, why people ignore and didn't support me. I am not responsible for the way I am, but people were not ready to accept me the way I am. However, at that time I realized that these people will never understand me; therefore, it's better for me to shift to United States, so that I could continue my studies ...