Few issues today cause more public - and private - debate than the interaction of homosexuality and religion. From the question of gay marriage to the place of gays and lesbians within faith communities, religious leaders and lay members must deal with these issues for now and for years to come. What is the historical position of the major denominations? How are people of faith balancing their beliefs? This encyclopedia provides an overview of the various attitudes and responses that religions have had to the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons within their...

Outstanding authorities on Scripture, tradition, reason, biology, ethics, and gendered experience discuss one of the most divisive debates in the church today: the place of homosexuals in the community of faith. Each perspective is explored by two writers, one more conservative, the other more liberal.