Christian views on homosexuality

Summary

Homosexuality has been the subject of much debate within Christianity. Christianity developed during the 1st century AD as a Jewish Christian sect and, as such, many of its views were rooted in Jewish teaching. As Christianity established itself as a separate religion, with its own scriptures, some views moved away from the Jewish roots while others remained firmly grounded in Jewish tradition. The traditional view within Christianity is that both the Jewish scriptures that became known as the Old Testament and passages within what became known as the New Testament make clear that same-sex sexual behavior is sinful – an interpretation supported by the wording of certain translations of the Bible, though this view is becoming less supported in some countries.