The ‘Born Gay’ Myth: When Ideology Masquerades as Science

[Michie]

COMMENTARY: The available research does not support the claim that same-sex attraction has an immutable genetic origin.

Science says: No one is born gay.

Actually, it is more accurate to say, “The available science is inconsistent with the claim that people are born gay.” I made the deliberate overstatement to dramatize a point: We are being conned with ideology masquerading as science. We are being consistently told that science says “being gay” is an inborn immutable trait of an individual that is beyond their power to change. Therefore, holding people morally accountable is cruel, unreasonable, and, worst of all, out of date and unscientific. The Catholic Church must abandon her ancient teaching that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” in order to keep up with the most modern findings of science. But what if “science” says no such thing?

Before addressing this, let me point out an objective historical fact: The Catholic Church’s disapproval of homosexual acts was at one time the consensus of the entire Judeo-Christian tradition. The Church’s specific language that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” flows in part from her long dialogue with Greek philosophy and has a specific philosophical meaning. Homosexual acts are not “ordered” toward the proper end of sexual acts, namely reproduction. Until very recently, the widespread Judeo-Christian view agreed roughly with today’s Catechism of the Catholic Church, that homosexual acts “are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved” (2357).

As a matter of fact, the available science analyzing the human genome clearly says there is no genetic basis for a homosexual identity. A large-scale study of the human genome concluded there is certainly no single genetic determinant of same-sex sexual behavior. The study concluded that “all tested genetic variants accounted for 8% to 25% of variation in same-sex sexual behavior … and do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual’s sexual behavior.” The lead author of the study told The New York Times that it is “basically impossible to predict one’s person’s sexual activity or orientation just from genetics.” Ruth Institute senior research associate Father Paul Sullins, professor emeritus of sociology at The Catholic University of America, summarized the results of this very technical paper as follows:

Continued below.

The ‘Born Gay’ Myth: When Ideology Masquerades as Science

COMMENTARY: The available research does not support the claim that same-sex attraction has an immutable genetic origin.

www.ncregister.com

 

[SavedByGrace3]

American Psychological Association admits:

“There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.”

 

[RileyG]

I believe a lot of LGBT occurs because of trauma or neglect IMHO. Or grooming.

 

[Carl Emerson]

American Psychological Association admits:

“There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.”