Why do people have these opinions?

[TheDeepestDepths]

There's a list of things below that religion has strong views on and I'd people to tell me what they think of them and, even more importantly, why, however I don't want people using religion or the Bible as reasons.

Abortion,
Contraception,
Homosexuality,
Sex Before Marriage,
Gender Roles.

Pick one to talk about, talk about them all, or even talk about things I've missed.

Personally I'm completely against abortion because I believe it's taking a human life. The baby inside your stomach is a person not just a nuisance that is disrupting your life. If you feel as though you're not ready to be a parent then there's plenty of people who would love to raise a child. However, I also believe abortion should be a choice. If you choose to abort I may find your decision somewhat revolting but it's still your life and choice and I'm not going to openly judge you for it.

[Celtic.]

i am also against Abortion, unless you were raped. i never understood what was so Wrong about Sex Before Marriage. I understand my mom's view of it. Like Don't do it until your married but IF it does happen Please use a condom.

Homosexuality. Ok now my FAMILY's (i have no part of it. I reallllllly cant stand Half there views) religion Goes as far as saying if you aren't a Jehovah Witness you worship Satan wither you like it or not. There is no in between. The believe if you are Homo you Will Die in Armageddon and never be brought back to life.

[randomnessqueen]

alright, time for the lightning round.

Abortion- i disagree
Contraception- not for me but its a choice
Homosexuality- rock on
Sex Before Marriage- please dont
Gender Roles- do what you want cause a pirate is free

[Jess]

I'm an atheist but I'm going to give my views.

Abortion, completely pro-choice on this (as in abortion is a woman's right/choice)
Contraception (to an extent), support, as it's a choice
Homosexuality, No problems with it. Support giving LGBT their basic rights
Sex Before Marriage, I have nothing against this
Gender Roles. Dislike

[Harry Smith]

I'm an atheist but I'm going to give my views.

Abortion, completely pro-choice on this (as in abortion is a woman's right/choice)
Contraception (to an extent), support, as it's a choice
Homosexuality, No problems with it. Support giving LGBT their basic rights
Sex Before Marriage, I have nothing against this
Gender Roles. Dislike

haha this basically sums up my idea's about it all.

[Fiction]

How is abortion revolting?

I mean I agree it shouldn't be taken lightly- it shouldn't be used as a form of contraception and careful thought and consideration should be taken when getting involved in a sexual relationship to prevent pregnancy and prevent the need for abortion, but a few cells is not a human! Those few cells are part of the mother. Until the embryo could live alone outside of the mother it is a part of her. Like choosing to have your tonsils removed. Where's the ethical issue in that?

What is revolting is bringing a child into the world that you cannot support or look after (Whether for financial reasons or emotional reasons such as in the case of rape). There are not plenty of people who are willing to look after a child. In the UK there are a huge amount of children in care with not enough people to adopt them. The idea that you should have the baby then give it away is worse than preventing the life before it's started. That child will grow up feeling unloved and uncared for, any caring mother would prevent that for their child, wouldn't they?

As for contraception it's the best way of preventing the above issue so I have no problem.

Homosexuality, it doesn't harm anyone so how can it be wrong?

Sex before Marriage- Marriage is a lovely sentiment but realistically nothing more than a piece of paper. People should be free to have sex with who they want when they want (providing it's consensual of course).

Gender Roles- I agree everyone should have the option to equal opportunities. Women can work, men can stay at home. People should be able to do what they like. However I think sometimes it's taken too far. Women are biologically wired to be the best carer for their baby. They have a maternal instinct. They give birth to it. To reject looking after it I find odd. I don't object to the idea of having a career and a child, but I don't understand the women who go back to a full time career or a career that involves work away from home when you have children. Women may not like the idea of being restricted, and they may not have chosen to be a woman but they did choose to be a mother, and there are many ways in which that differs to being a father.

[TheDeepestDepths]

How is abortion revolting?

I mean I agree it shouldn't be taken lightly- it shouldn't be used as a form of contraception and careful thought and consideration should be taken when getting involved in a sexual relationship to prevent pregnancy and prevent the need for abortion, but a few cells is not a human! Those few cells are part of the mother. Until the embryo could live alone outside of the mother it is a part of her. Like choosing to have your tonsils removed. Where's the ethical issue in that?

We seem to disagree on when the baby becomes a human being. You believe it's when the baby can live separately from the mother. I disagree, I'm not trying to say you're wrong, just that I personally disagree. The embryo might not have a brain or much else, but it has the capacity for it, the potential, and I fail to see the difference. It may only be a couple of cells but I still believe that it should be protected the way newborns are protected.

What is revolting is bringing a child into the world that you cannot support or look after (Whether for financial reasons or emotional reasons such as in the case of rape). There are not plenty of people who are willing to look after a child. In the UK there are a huge amount of children in care with not enough people to adopt them. The idea that you should have the baby then give it away is worse than preventing the life before it's started. That child will grow up feeling unloved and uncared for, any caring mother would prevent that for their child, wouldn't they?

Putting aside the case of rape, I blame the two people involved in creating the child for the situation. If they were not fully prepared for a child they should have made damn sure she didn't get pregnant. In this day and age when contraception is so easy to come by you have to be ignorant and careless to have an accidental pregnancy. Take me for example, I'm not ready for kids and in my college (I can't speak for any others but I wouldn't imagine it would be all that different) we have free access to condoms and I make damn sure that when I have sex two are being used. I'm also on the pill to help with the pain of my period as well as for protection. If for some reason you aren't protected or can't afford it, then don't have sex.

What I'm trying to some to above is that it's not the child's fault it was conceived and the child should not have it's chance at life stripped away before it began, due to the reckless behavior of it's parents.

There are a lot of children in foster care in the UK yes. But since we are talking about abortion it's fairly clear that the parents do not want the child so they're giving it up when it's born, we are talking about newborn babies, and in this case there are far more parents wanting to adopt than there are babies. And in most cases, chances are, if they're willing to adopt and care for a child for the next eighteen years, they are prepared to love it.

If I, by some weird fluke, found myself pregnant and unable to care for the child, I would much rather go to lengths to find a kind and loving home for the baby than to simply end it's life.

But despite all this, I still believe that abortion should be an option for people, even if I don't agree with the decision to do it.

[Reanne]

Abortion - Pro Choice, so If someone chooses it that's fine. To me it's not killing a life as something needs to be born to have a life. Usually abortion is done fairly early on up to 12-15 weeks. Women have miscarriages, abortion is an induced miscarriage.

Contraception - Agree with it. It should be freely available to anyone who wants it. The world is getting over populated, so why not help prevent unwanted pregnancy. Also can be good for preventing STD's

Homosexuality - It is what it is. It's a bit hard to tell someone not to feel a certain way when they do. The world needs to accept it and treat all people equally.

Sex Before Marriage - It's try before buy. Sex can be a big part in a relationship and if a couple aren't sexually compatible, then it adds pressure to the relationship. Is it worth getting married and then finding out your not sexually compatible? I don't think so. To me it's also like living together before getting married. See how you handle each other and the responsibilities.

Gender Roles - I think everyone should be seen as equal, paid as equal and treated as equal. If your talking about specific jobs, then that should be discussed and there should be give and take within a relationship.

[Cicero]

There's a list of things below that religion has strong views on and I'd people to tell me what they think of them as well as why, however I don't want people using religion or the Bible as reasons.

Abortion,
Contraception (to an extent),
Homosexuality,
Sex Before Marriage,
Gender Roles.


Abortion- Killing a baby. Conception of life. Keep it in your pants if you can't be responsible, there are three ways to avoid a pregnancy, spermicide, condoms, and birth control. I doubt all three would fail.

Contraception- I see nothing wrong with it

Homosexuality- It's seen as unnatural. Other than from religion, it would be accepted.

Sex before marriage- It's sacred and special. Not just something casual.

Gender roles- You shouldn't dress like a man if you're a girl and vise versa. Particularly men cross dressers. Someone has convinced me that women cross dressers should be accepted and I now agree.

[naglfari]

On abortion I draw the line at whether it has a brain or not

[workingatperfect]

(I'm not religious)

Abortion - I would never ever do it, and think that the only valid reason is if either you or the baby could die or have serious problems. Other than that, it could be put up for adoption. (edit) I forgot this part, but while I am very against abortion on a personal level, and would probably lose respect for someone that had one, I'm torn on whether or not it should be legal. It's safer if it's legal, and it IS her body, but I do consider it a person as soon as its conceived and attaches.

Contraception - I think it's great, and I'm on the pill not for contraception, but to balance my hormones, so it also has medical benefits.

Homosexuality - No problem with it.

Sex Before Marriage - Fine with it, and I don't plan to wait. I don't think sex has to be just about love. For some people, it can be purely physical and that's fine with me.

Gender Roles - Do not like them. I will act any way I want, and don't appreciate being called manly for it.

[TheDeepestDepths]

Gender roles- You shouldn't dress like a man if you're a girl and vise versa. Particularly men cross dressers. Someone has convinced me that women cross dressers should be accepted and I now agree.

Can I ask why you think it's okay for a man to be born in the body of a woman and to dress in a way which feels right to him, but you can't say the same about a woman in a man's body?

Sex before marriage- It's sacred and special. Not just something casual.

Also, do you have a reason to be against it that is not religiously based? I'm not trying to be offensive, but with this thread I'm trying to figure out if people would care about things such as Homosexuality and Sex Before Marriage without the influence of religion, or if they have a reason other than religion to be against them.

[LouBerry]

Abortion: Okay, well Religious beliefs aside, I truly believe that abortion is murder. I think it's sick, and I think it's wrong. That being said, I also believe that it should be legal, because I know that you can't change peoples minds. I think it's better to be able to get an abortion than to take matters into your own hands, because women have been accidentally killing both themselves and their babies for hundreds of years. I have no respect for women who get knocked up and then go get an abortion. Also, I think that it's kind of stupid, that if a boy doesn't want to be a dad, he either has to pay child support, or deal with it. He can't kill the baby if the mother is unwilling, that's murder. But if the father wants the baby and the mother has it killed, that's okay, right? Womans right's Aye?


Contraception (to an extent): I see NOTHING wrong with this. God, I wish more people would use it. Everyone needs to understand that condoms plus the pill = no babies. No one needs babies.


Homosexuality: Well, I have mixed views here, and I'm pretty sure everyone knows it, so I'll just not say anything.


Sex Before Marriage: I had sex twice this weekend, and I'm not married. Do I think it's wrong, from a religious stand point, yes. But besides that, making sex okay, it's losing it's significance. I mean, I'm not justifying my actions, but at least I've only had sex with one guy, and it's like the first time every time. I mean, if you love someone, and you just need to be with them like that, do it, but I think it's dumb to hop in bed with your BF of two months. Also, if you aren't responsible enough to deal with the consequences of your actions, don't do it. Because if you get pregnant or get someone pregnant, it really isn't fair to kill the potential baby, just because you got stupid.

[Gigablue]

Abortion
I've never understood why people say abortion is murder. At the time most abortions are performed, the fetus is a tiny clump of cells. It has no cognitive processes and is unable to feel any pain. It really isn't a human life, therefore ending the pregnancy isn't murder. The fetus definitely has the potential to become a human, but by this logic, sperm and eggs have the same potential, and wasting either of them is just as bad.

The mother, on the other hand, is clearly a human being, and should be given all her rights. No one should be able to force her to carry a child she doesn't want.

Contraception
I think contraception has been one of the most useful inventions of all time. It allowed people much more sexual freedom. Everyone should have easy access to contraception if they want it.

Homosexuality
Homosexuals should have the exact same rights of heterosexuals. Homosexuality doesn't hurt anyone, so there really is no valid argument against it.

Sex before marriage
Once again, who cares? If two people want to have sex, they should be able to, as long as both of them are ready for it.

Gender roles
Gender roles are stupid. They don't benefit society in any way, and restrict the freedom of anyone who doesn't fit within them. People should be able to express themselves however they like.

[Bethany]

Abortion
I'm very pro-choice. I support removing lots of anti-abortion regulations - parental requirements, bans on abortions after a heartbeat is felt, required messages that must be read to a woman before she aborts, required ultrasounds/showing the ultrasound to a woman.
Contraception
I support easy access to conctraception for women of all ages.
Homosexuality
Support - equal rights are a must.
Sex Before Marriage
I don't see sex as a big deal. Have sex whenever you want.
Gender Roles
I don't like them. I don't like there being a "right" and "wrong" way I should dress. I don't like people assuming I'm going to be a wife and mother someday.

[PerpetualImperfexion]

Abortion -
Women should be able to make a choice they think they can deal with.
The concept of when life starts is very abstract and as a result it comes down to opinion. You cannot make laws based on opinion. Instead leave it up to the individual to make their own choice based on their own morals/beliefs. Don't force your's on others.
Making abortion only legal for rape victims would do more harm than good. They would have to prove they were raped. This can be impossible if the women did not seek medical attention right away, which is often the case. It's traumatizing enough to have to testify in court to get your rapist convicted. In mexico a law does exist where only rape victims can get an abortion. Often times by the time rape is proven, the girl is too far along to get an abortion.
Lets agree for a second that a fetus may very well be a full fledged human. That fetus has the right to live. The mother has the right to her own reproductive system. The question is, whose rights are more important? The fetus is for all technical purposes raping the woman if she doesn't want to keep it. When a women is being raped she has every right to kill her assailant in self defense. If taking the fetuses life is the only way to protect her own rights, so be it.

Contraception - Good if used correctly. Can prevent a teen from having to make potentially traumatizing decisions. Government should not support organizations who give away free birth control. Businesses/institutions should not be forced to give away free birth control.

Homosexuality - no problem with gays or gay marriage. What does bug me is when people lose sight of whats important. People who seem to think gay equality is the ONLY thing that matters.

Sex Before Marriage - Sex itself may not be important to some people, but pregnancy is always a serious thing. When you elevate a relationship to that serious of a level the relationship can collapse. My mother has three children from three different fathers, she's been married and divorced three times now, and all of the children were conceived before marriage. She rushed into things three times and the relationship got too serious and as such collapsed.

Gender Roles - Be yourself and don't let the negative opinions of others bring you down. Instead let them inspire you to prove those people wrong.

[Bethany]

Homosexuality - no problem with gays or gay marriage. What does bug me is when people lose sight of whats important. People who seem to think gay equality is the ONLY thing that matters.


It's awesome that you mentioned this. I completely agree with this. As an member of the LGBT community, I feel like I'm expected to consider gay equlity and gay marriage the biggest, most important issue...when, if I were solely in control of Gov policy, gay equality would not be one of the first issues I'd address. It's an important issue, but there are issues I consider much more important.

[Cygnus]

Abortion - I approve because population control.
Contraception - Agree, enjoy life.
Homosexuality - Agree, let people love whoever they want to.
Sex Before Marriage - If the individuals are responsible then yes.
Gender Roles - Not really, we are all equal.

[OrKing]

Abortion: I have set in stone opinions on very few if anything so bare with me whilst I write my thoughts please. They may even contradict each other at points, but this isn't exactly a simple thing. I think snuffing out a possible life is kinda fucked up but I still believe it's good for both men and women (couples) and women in general to have that option just in case. No one really wants to go back to the days of back street abortions after all. I do think that people should take every possible precaution to avoid having to get an abortion if they don't want a freaking child but still, it's good that it's here if they feel absolutely trapped by the pregnancy. So, this is where it gets contradictory. On one side I think that getting an abortion because one doesn't have the mental or physical capacity to raise a child and thinks that it'd be kinder to prevent it before it gets anywhere near that stage is okay. Fucked up, but okay. On the other hand I can't help but think that humans can get through practically anything even if it is one hell of a struggle. Fucked up life or not everyone has the potential to be great if given the chance. Fucking Steve Jobs was adopted after all, and that dude gave us some awesome shit.

Contraception: It's awesome, we needed something after the Romans fucked the natural herb to extinction. Or at least one of them, I guess.

Homosexuality: It's a hell of a lot more natural than some of the shit that manages to turn me on, who the fuck am I to condemn it? Seriously, I have absolutely no issue with it whatsoever and think hatred against it should be treated with the same conviction as blatant racism. It's about as stupid after all. I'm sure as shit planning on having a lot of sex with pure love and physical bliss in mind, I don't see why anybody else should be denied that privilege simply because they can't reproduce. I think it's almost more innocent, they can't make babies by default, most of us hetero's actively try to avoid and prevent reproducing even though we have the right components.

Sex Before Marriage: Once again, do what you will. I'm not gonna let it stop me, why should you. That isn't to say if you were my partner I'd be completely cool with all of your past sexual partners in my mind. Once again I'm being a fucking hypocrite. The general concept is cool, fuck who you will, it's not hurting anyone as long as it's all done appropriately and why turn down what is considered among the most amazing physical experiences you can have. See, that's what I think by default, but if a partner of mine had that sort of free sexual past I'd likely be like "You fucked how many!?" See, I'm a mentally screwed hypocrite. Sue me, I'm still learning and figuring myself out here.

Gender Roles:Fuck gender roles. Boy, girl, man, women, dog, cat, chicken or fucking monkey you're still going to make me a bacon sandwich sooner or later. Seriously though, do whatever makes you happy. If people don't like it than fuck them, people didn't like black people sitting at the front of buses and some soldiers thought using anesthetic whilst getting their legs sawn off was cowardly, people tend to slowly realize that their being morons and get the fuck over it. It's the way of the world. I suggest quickly catching up and spending as little time looking and sounding like a douchebag as possible.

PS: Sorry, I suddenly seem to swear more than my girlfriend. :p

[Zarakly]

Abortion, I disagree with abortion, unless you were raped. If you wanted to have sex, you should have wore a condom and still understand the consequences.
Contraception, I feel really dumb because I don't know what it is off the top of my head.
Homosexuality, This one is weird. For a big part of my life I have been strongly against it. That was due to how I was raised and such. But now that I have started to think for myself, I am for it. I wont go out and wear rainbows and stuff to support it, I just won't make a huge deal anymore. I don't understand, being a Christian myself, why Christians should be against it. Doesn't it say to love one another and treat them how you want to be treated? By acting like that, that goes against that right there...
Sex Before Marriage, I want to say I'm against it, but I'm not sure. I have never had sex, but if the opportunity were to come up, I am almost certain i would.
Gender Roles. I'm not really sure on this one. There are just certain things that you do depending on how you were raised I think. In my house, there were 2 boys and 2 girls. Me and my brother had to always do all the dirty and hard work whereas my sisters stayed inside and cleaned and stuff. As a result of that, I have little knowledge on how to cook, but I will go out into a garage or under a house to fix stuff/clean stuff. In jobs I don't think it should be gender specific. But I don't think another gender should have an easier time getting a job and what not. The STEM field which I would like to go into has said that women typically find a job easier than men do which sort of makes me mad. I was also told that jobs such as being a nurse men have an easier time. Whether or not that is true, I don't think it should be that way.

[TheBassoonist]

Abortion
I think that if a woman doesn't want to give birth to the child she's carrying, she shouldn't be forced to by others. People, both in this thread and in "the real world," say, have said, and are saying that if you don't want to get pregnant, either don't have sex or use contraception. That leads me to sex ed: Teaching abstinence only sex ed doesn't work. Refusing to acknowledge birth control when teaching people about sex is stupid. You can't not mention birth control and then be surprised when teen pregnancy rates skyrocket.

Contraception
I think my views are clear in the previous section, but here they are again: make contraception readily available to an educated teen population, and teen pregnancy won't be as big as a problem. It really shouldn't be a surprise that teen pregnancy rates are highest in areas where abstinence only sex ed is taught, as this paper (http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(07)00426-0/abstract) found.

Homosexuality
It's none of my business what two consenting adults do in their private life. If two men want to get married, they should be able to. If two women want to get married, they should be able to. It really shouldn't be a big deal.

Sex Before Marriage
Why is this an issue? If you want to have sex before marriage, there's nothing wrong with that.

Gender Roles
Do whatever you want. I don't care. Wear whatever you want. I don't care.

In other words, the closed mindedness of a few shouldn't limit what others can and can't do. "We're forcing you to give birth to your child because it offends a few people." "We can't sell you birth control because some people don't agree with contraception." "You can't get married because there are people who don't like how you are." That doesn't make any sense. Just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right.