Religion and LGBTQ people

The relationship between religion and sexuality, as well as with gender identity, ranges widely – from viewing sex and sexuality as clearly negative, to believing that sex is the highest expression of the divine, from condemning any gender variance to looking to transgender and nonbinary people as religious leaders.

Within the social sciences, religious practice and institutions have been studied for their role in orienting heteronormative societies in how they relate to LGBTQ people and same-sex couples, and their abilities to be functional beings in societal contexts. The main authoritative bodies, texts, and doctrines of the world's largest religions may view these negatively, especially those that belong to Abrahamic religions. This can range from discrimination and discouragement of self-disclosure directed at LGBTQ people, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual activities and/or gender reassignment among adherents, actively opposing social acceptance of LGBTQ identities, to the criminalization and violence against LGBTQ people, such as the death penalty for people engaging in homosexual practices while tolerating gender reassignment in specific cases.

Liberal and progressive voices within these religions tend to view LGBTQ people more positively, and some liberal religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages, as well as accepting and marrying people who are transgender. Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, revered and/or tolerated same-sex relationships and non-heterosexual identities; such mythologies and traditions can be found in numerous religions around the world; elements of religious and cultural incorporation of non-heterosexual identities can still be identified in traditions that have survived into the modern era, such as the Berdache, Hijra, and Xanith.