Separating the “Sinner” from the “Sin”: Religious Orientation and Prejudiced Behavior Toward Sexual Orientation and Promiscuous Sex

Abstract

This study extends research on the relationship between religious orientation, sexual prejudice, and antipathy toward value-violating behaviors. If intrinsic religion leads individuals to "love the sinner but hate the sin," homosexual sexually promiscuous targets should be treated similarly to heterosexual promiscuous targets. One hundred female introductory psychology students were provided the opportunity to help two students. They had no information about the first student. The second student disclosed through a note that she was gay or said nothing about sexual orientation, and further stated that she was sexually promiscuous or celibate. Participants scoring high in intrinsic religiousness helped the disclosing student less when she revealed she was sexually promiscuous, but did not help a gay discloser less than a straight discloser. High intrinsic scores seemed to be related to antipathy toward the value-violation, but not toward the gay person as an individual.

"As long as they behave themselves": Heterosexual recuperation in South Africans' talk about homosexuality

“…His repair involves constructing intolerance as aimed at homosexuality as an "activity" rather than at "people". This rhetorical strategy, reminiscent of the "love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin" rhetoric of some Christian churches (Mak & Tsang, 2008), allowed speakers to display tolerance or acceptance of homosexual people while still condemning homosexuality. The presence of such rhetorical work suggests "an orientation towards an attribution of homophobia as unhelpful or undesirable in this context" (Burridge, 2004: 327).…”

Religion and regionalism : congregants, culture and city-county consolidation in Louisville, Kentucky.

“…This sometimes takes the form of the classic distinction "love the sinner, hate the sin," language which has crept into the academic lexicon (Mak and Tsang, 2008). Thus, many…”

Cultural Capital and Attitudes Toward Homosexuals: Exploring the Relation Between Lifestyles and Homonegativity

“…People for whom religion is intrinsic are generally more homonegative than those for whom it is something offering security, comfort, and status (i.e. extrinsic religion) (Besen & Zicklin, 2007;Mak & Tsang, 2008). Secondly, religious affiliation is related with homonegativism (Besen & Zicklin, 2007;Finlay & Walther, 2003).…”