What are the reasons accounting for the negative view held by Jamaicans of male homosexuality?
Homosexuality is an embedded taboo in Jamaican society. In fact, it is so disgraceful that even parents can forsake their own children because of it. In a particular case reported in the Daily Observer by Karyl Walker involving the attempted lynching of a young boy suspected of being homosexual by residents and students of his school, it was confirmed that it was the boy’s father who instigated the violence directed at his son and left him to the mercy of the angry mob. The boy was set upon because it was felt that he was in discord with nature; he was -a freak. The negative view held by Jamaicans of homosexuality has its roots in religion and branches off to other areas such as the legal system and culture. In examining these areas one can see why it is that this particular aspect of homosexuality is so stigmatized.
Reverend Lenworth Anglin, convenor of the Umbrella Group of Churches, said that the condemnation of homosexuality evolved out of Jamaica’s Christian tradition. Religions established in colonial Jamaica encouraged the opposition to homosexuality as it was sinful, nasty and shameful in the sight of God. As the church became the “moral heartbeat of Jamaica” society adopted the church’s view of male homosexuality. Despite the often conflicting beliefs held by different denominations, this view is intrinsic to all religious circles in Jamaica. However, this view is not innate to churches alone.
The church’s influence extends to the institution of law. The views about sexual indecency inherited from Britain are entrenched in the country’s laws. The English Buggery Law (1553) criminalizing sodomy carried the death penalty and was firmly supported by the Church of England (LaFont 2001). A mirror of this is exists presently in Jamaican law in the Offenses Against the Persons Act (1564) similarly backed by the church. Take into consideration though that under the terms of the Act “buggery” is limited to males alone and lesbians do not face the penalty of
Reverend Lenworth Anglin, convenor of the Umbrella Group of Churches, said that the condemnation of homosexuality evolved out of Jamaica’s Christian tradition. Religions established in colonial Jamaica encouraged the opposition to homosexuality as it was sinful, nasty and shameful in the sight of God. As the church became the “moral heartbeat of Jamaica” society adopted the church’s view of male homosexuality. Despite the often conflicting beliefs held by different denominations, this view is intrinsic to all religious circles in Jamaica. However, this view is not innate to churches alone.
The church’s influence extends to the institution of law. The views about sexual indecency inherited from Britain are entrenched in the country’s laws. The English Buggery Law (1553) criminalizing sodomy carried the death penalty and was firmly supported by the Church of England (LaFont 2001). A mirror of this is exists presently in Jamaican law in the Offenses Against the Persons Act (1564) similarly backed by the church. Take into consideration though that under the terms of the Act “buggery” is limited to males alone and lesbians do not face the penalty of