Gender Issues and the Family

Throughout the extensive chronicles of human existence, homosexuality and gender reassignment, which were until recently seen as marginal, individual phenomena and were considered perversions by mainstream medicine, have gradually gained social, legal, and medical recognition over the past five decades, primarily in Western societies. Currently, homosexuality has ceased to be a social phenomenon and has become a social movement.  Moreover, individuals, organizations, and states that do not embrace this condition are under global pressure. Based on fundamental sociological knowledge, the family, which serves as the bedrock of society and plays a crucial role in imparting social norms to individuals, has faced persistent challenges such as unmarried partnerships, postponed marriages, childlessness, and rising divorce rates. The increasing prevalence of homosexuality has exacerbated the challenges faced by the institution of the family. Not only is there a lack of a traditional family structure, but social conventions are completely reversed. Religion is often regarded as a means to avert the impending social apocalypse that humanity has brought upon itself. However, Protestant churches in the Western world have increasingly succumbed to the influence of LGBT advocacy groups. Consequently, it has begun to endorse the prevailing circumstances from a religious standpoint, permitting the appointment of homosexual priests and the solemnization of same-sex marriages within the church. The remaining prominent religions worldwide, particularly the Catholic Church and Islam, are significantly influenced by the explicit or concealed actions of LGBT advocacy groups. Today in Turkey, a significant number of religious folks, particularly among the younger generation, perceive homosexuality as a matter of personal volition and contend that religion should not meddle in such matters. This study seeks to examine the aforementioned issue from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. The compilation comprises writings by scholars specializing in diverse disciplines, including psychology, education, sociology of religion, religious education, and Islamic law.