Different Ways of Doing Violence: Sexuality, Religion, and Public Health in the Lives of Same-Gender-Loving Men in Kenya

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 83; no. 4; pp. 930 - 946
• Main Authors: Blevins, John, Irungu, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Academy of Religion, Oxford University Press 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Roundtable on LGBTIQ Persons in Africa
• ISSN: 0002-7189; 1477-4585
• DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfv072

This article examines two perspectives commonly invoked in debates about homosexuality in African cultures: claims by religious leaders that homosexuality is sinful, and calls for full acceptance of LGBT persons by human rights advocates. These two perspectives create an impasse with proponents for each position often speaking past each other. The article argues that religious condemnation is not merely predicated on a traditional view of religious teachings but has arisen in response to suspicion of Western economic and development programs; in such a context, an appeal to a human rights framework can actually increase suspicions rather than answering objections. As an alternative, the article argues that liberation theology can help move the debate beyond this impasse and demonstrates this claim in the story of a same-gender-loving man from Kenya.