LGBT

Echoes of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision reverberated far and wide. Naturally, many in that powerful country have voiced their support.

The decision was also welcomed by several European countries. They took to the streets with rainbow colors, a symbol of the diversity of life.

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. This means that all states must recognize same-sex married couples. Prior to this, only 30 U.S. states permitted same-sex — also known as LGBT — marriage.

This decision is seen as a form of recognition of human rights. It is not impossible that this move by the U.S. may be followed by other countries with a similar belief. In fact, some European countries recognized same-sex marriage ahead of the U.S.

I am sure that there is a small group of Indonesians — adherents of LGBT behavior — who share this happiness about the ruling. They certainly hope that this delightful news from the U.S. will travel this way and our government, too, will issue a form of official recognition of same-sex marriage.

But the majority of people in this country do not agree with the legality of same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is considered a form of deviation from moral and religious norms.

Let us look for a moment at the opinion of several religions in Indonesia on same-sex marriage. In Buddhism, same-sex marriage is an obstacle to reaching enlightenment. Homosexuality is even regarded as one of the factors causing a decline in public morals, where a good moral foundation is necessary to reach enlightenment.

According to Protestant ideology, the main purpose of marriage is the preservation of the species or procreation. This is only achievable when the couple getting married is heterosexual.

The Catholic Church also has the same understanding. A marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. The followers of this religion also consider homosexual behavior a form of deviation.

Hinduism also rejects same-sex marriage. This religion clearly prohibits marriages between couples of the same sex.

Confucianism has the same understanding as the four religions above. Adherents of Confucianism believe in a tenet that marriage is between a man and a woman.

What about Islam? Almost everyone knows that Islam strongly rejects same-sex marriage. The ban on same-sex marriage is expressly stated in Surah A-A’raf 7:80-84 below:

“And (We sent) Lot, when he said to his people: Do you commit an abomination which no one in the world did before you? Surely you come to males with lust instead of females. Nay, you are a people exceeding bounds. And the answer of his people was no other than that they said: Turn them out of your town; surely they are a people who aspire to purity! So We delivered him and his followers, except his wife — she was of those who remained behind. And We rained upon them a rain. See, then, what was the end of the guilty!”

Article 1, letter a, of the Compilation of Islamic Law also clearly states that marriage is between a man and a woman. Moreover, Article 1 of the Marriage Act (No. 1 of 1974) expressly states that marriage is a physical and spiritual bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife in order to form a happy family under God.

This is reinforced in the clarification of Article 34 paragraph 1 of the Population Administration Law No. 23 of 2006. It states that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman in order to form a household.

The majority of LGBT adherents disregard religious teachings. Initially, they were adamant that the world recognize same-sex marriage because, beside being a human right, sexual orientation is determined at birth. Generally, they claim that LGBT behavior is a gift from God and therefore can’t be cast aside.

There is a researcher from Germany, Magnus Hirschfeld, who in 1899 expressed an opinion that gay behavior is hereditary. Hirschfeld submitted the discovery of “gene theory” as the reason behind homosexual behavior.

Hirschfeld’s far-fetched theory was further examined by Dr. Michael Bailey and Dr. Richard Pillard in 1991. No conclusive evidence of hereditary or genetic factors in gay behavior was found.

Dean Hamer, who is gay, picked up the research with a study on 40 pairs of homosexual brothers. He found that homosexual behavior was transmitted by mothers through chromosome Xq28. This finding is merely a hypothesis without any concrete evidence to back the claim.

Professor George Rice of the University of Western Ontario in Canada looked at the thesis in depth by studying 52 pairs of homosexual brothers. He came to the conclusion that there was no evidence that chromosome Xq28 was the cause of homosexual behavior.

Similar research was conducted by Professor Alan Sanders of the University of Chicago in 1998-1999. Sanders’ conclusion didn’t support the theory of genetic factors in homosexual behavior. In the end, Rice and Sanders’ research demolished Hirschfeld’s “gay gene” theory.

Thus it is now clear that neither religious teachings nor scientific theories are able to accept or explain LGBT behavior. There is absolutely no basis for its recognition.

In the context of Indonesia, we do admit that our country is not a religious state. However, religious views have always been the footholds of every step we have taken, in accordance with the first principle of Pancasila. For this reason, religious references should be the basis of the government’s decision to reject and refuse to recognize same-sex marriage in our country.