“Love for All” versus Religious Teachings: Attitudes towards LGBT among Heterosexual Malaysians
Abstract
In Malaysia, LGBT is a punishable crime not only under the Syariah law but also under the civil laws. The present study examined how personal rationalisations mediate religious teachings on LGBT among heterosexual Malaysians, focusing in particular on their rationalisation for rejecting or accepting LGBT. Interviews were conducted with 12 participants from different religious backgrounds and the data were analysed thematically. The results of the study showed that a majority of Muslims and Christians rejected LGBT on religious grounds. The findings also revealed three rationalisations of Muslims and Christians rejecting LGBT. (1) LGBT goes against the teaching of God. It is viewed as a sin and this religious belief should be passed down to the next generation. (2) LGBT is morally wrong. (3) LGBT is physically wrong as they believe God creates male and female to produce offspring. Some participants acknowledged that Christians should be compassionate to LGBT individuals by giving moral support to them. However, one Buddhist participant rationalised the need to accept LGBT because of the core Buddhist teaching on love. The admonition of Buddha is not to harm others through sexuality. The study identified religious beliefs as one of the main influences people rejected LGBT culture but accepted LGBT individuals on the basis that they were human beings who deserved to be respected too.
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Ng, C. G., Yee, A., Subramaniam, P., Loh, S. H., & Moreira, P. (2015). Attitudes toward homosexuality among nursing students in a public university in Malaysia: The religious factor. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 12(3), 182-187. DOI:10.1007/s13178-015-0182-0
Owoyemi, M. Y., & Sani, A. Z. (2014). Ideology?: Sharing the experience of a former practitioner in Malaysia. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(12),62-69
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Teh, S. T., Ee, S. K., Pua, X., & Tan, S. A. (2016). Attitudes towards homosexuals among heterosexual undergraduate students in Malaysia. Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Psychology (ICEduPsy16), 306-317.
Worthen, M.G.F., Lingiardi, V., & Caristo, C. (2017). The roles of politics, feminism, and religion in attitudes toward LGBT individuals: A cross-cultural study of college students in the USA, Italy, and Spain. Sex Res Soc Policy 14, 241-258. DOI: 10.1007/s13178-016-0244-y
Alagappar, P. N., & Kaur, K. (2009). The representation of homosexuality – A content analysis in a Malaysian newspaper. Language In India, 9(10), 24-47.
Ahrold, T. K., & Meston, C. M. (2010). Ethnic differences in sexual attitudes of US college students: Gender, acculturation, and religiosity factors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(1), 190-202.
Arif, M. I. A. M., Shafie, M. S., Hanapi, H., & Mohd, F. (2018). Salah laku LGBT dalam perundangan Malaysia: Undang-undang sebagai mekanisme pembanterasan dan kawalan. Misconduct of LGBT in the Malaysian law: Law as the Mechanism of Obliteration and Control. Journal of Advanced Research in Social and Behavioural Sciences, 13(1), 19-34.
Banerjee, K. (2021, January 19). ABCD Malaysian government mulling harsher laws against LGBTQ community for “unhealthy activities”. International Business Times. https://www.ibtimes.sg/malaysian-government-mulling-harsher-laws-against-lgbtq- community-unhealthy-activities-55001
Brown, M. J., & Henriquez, E. (2008). Socio-demographic predictors of attitudes towards gays and lesbians. Individual Differences Research, 6(3), 192-202.
Boo, S. L. (2018, September 22). Suhakam does not support gay marriage. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/09/22/suhakam-does-not-support-gay-marriage/1675357
Caulfield, J. (2019). How to do thematic analysis. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/thematic-analysis/
Cheng, F. K. (2018). Being different with dignity: Buddhist inclusiveness of homosexuality. Social Sciences, 7(4), 51-66.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2010). Population distribution and basic demographic characteristics 2010. Putrajaya, Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.statistics.gov.my/
Foong, A. L. S., Liow, J. W., Nalliah, S., Low, W. Y., Samy, A. L., & Zahra, F. K. (2019). Attitudes of future doctors towards LGBT patients in conservative Malaysian society. Sexuality and Culture, 24, 1358-1375. doi: 10.1007/s12119-019-09685-5
Goh, J. (2011). Balanced genitals: YouTube confessional disclosures and signposts for Malaysian gay theologies. Theology and Sexuality, 17, 279-295. 10.1179/tas.17.3.y521585055787g78.
Goh, J. N., & Kananatu, T. (2019). Mak nyahs and the dismantling of dehumanisation: Framing empowerment strategies of Malaysian male-to-female transsexuals in the 2000s. Sexualities, 22(1–2) 114–130. DOI: 10.1177/1363460717740256
Haridi, N. H. B. M. (2016). Kumpulan lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgander (LGBT) ancaman terhadap keamanan dan keharmonian beragama di Malaysia. Islam Realitas: Journal of Islamic & Social Studies, 2(2), 211-218.
Human Rights Watch. (2012, December 5). Malaysia: Respect rights of LGBT people: Prime Minister Najbi should act to end discriminatory laws, practices. https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/05/malaysia-respect-rights-lgbt-people
Human Rights Watch. (2021, January 25). Malaysia: Government steps up attacks on LGBT people. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/25/malaysia-government-steps-attacks-lgbt-people
Jerome, C., Ting, S. H., Yeo, J. Y., & Ling, H. N. (February, 2021). LGBT in recent times Malaysia: Exploring the views of the different segments of Malaysian society. Paper presented at International Conference on Business, Management, Social Science, Technology, Education and Engineering (ICBMTE 2021), Penang.
Lee, J. C. H. (2012). Sexuality rights activism in Malaysia: The case of Seksualiti Merdeka. In M. Ford (Ed.), Social Activism in Southeast Asia (pp. 184-200). Routledge.
Lim, S. H., Brown, S. E., Shaw, S. A., Kamarulzaman, A., Altice, F. L., & Beyrer, C. (2020). “You have to keep yourself hidden”: Perspectives from Malaysian Malay-Muslim men who have sex with men on policy, network, community, and individual influences on HIV risk. Journal of Homosexuality, 67(1), 104-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1525946
Malaysiakini (June 26, 2012). Najib: No place in Malaysia for LGBTs. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/201913
Mokhtar, M. F., Wan Sukeri, W. A. E. D. & Latiff, Z. A. (2019). Social media roles in spreading LGBT movements in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Media and Communication, 3(2), 77-82.
Ng, C. G., Yee, A., Subramaniam, P., Loh, S. H., & Moreira, P. (2015). Attitudes toward homosexuality among nursing students in a public university in Malaysia: The religious factor. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 12(3), 182-187. DOI:10.1007/s13178-015-0182-0
Owoyemi, M. Y., & Sani, A. Z. (2014). Ideology?: Sharing the experience of a former practitioner in Malaysia. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(12),62-69
Reuters. (2018, September 21). Malaysia cannot accept same-sex marriage, says Mahathir. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-lgbt/malaysia-cannot-accept-same-sex-marriage-says-mahathir-idUSKCN1M10VA?il=0
Teh, S. T., Ee, S. K., Pua, X., & Tan, S. A. (2016). Attitudes towards homosexuals among heterosexual undergraduate students in Malaysia. Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Psychology (ICEduPsy16), 306-317.
Worthen, M.G.F., Lingiardi, V., & Caristo, C. (2017). The roles of politics, feminism, and religion in attitudes toward LGBT individuals: A cross-cultural study of college students in the USA, Italy, and Spain. Sex Res Soc Policy 14, 241-258. DOI: 10.1007/s13178-016-0244-y
Published
2021-07-01
How to Cite
YEO, Jiin-Yih; TING, Su-Hie; JEROME, Collin.
“Love for All” versus Religious Teachings: Attitudes towards LGBT among Heterosexual Malaysians.
Asian Journal of Behavioural Sciences, [S.l.], v. 3, n. 2, p. 80-91, july 2021.
ISSN 2710-5865.
Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajbs/article/view/14038>. Date accessed: 14 sep. 2024.
Section
Articles
