Gay Agenda

The Religious Right's attack on homosexuality has been one of the largest obstacles in obtaining equal rights for lesbians and gay men. Fundamentalist claims of a "gay agenda" seeking "special rights" prey (and pray) on people's fears of homosexuality as an attack on morality and an undermining of traditional family values. In his book - "The Gay Agenda," Jack Nichols exposes the critical flaws in the religious right's attacks and how the lesbian and gay community can win against fanaticism.Nichols begins with a critique on fundamentalist interpretation of Christianity and illustrates the absurdity of a completely literal translation of the bible. For example, an order to stone disobedient children should be followed with as much enthusiasm as fundamentalist treatment of homosexuality. Of course, it is not. Nichols also goes on to illustrate how homophobia and its underlying sexism hurts all people, not merely lesbians and gay men. The main criticism of "The Gay Agenda" is that it does not offer any positive contributions of religion or religious authorities to the advancement of lesbian and gay rights. A clear line needs to be made with those who are religious and those who are religious fanatics. Gay and lesbian friendly churches can be a major ally to the lesbian and gay communities through their broad-based community involvement and their influence on perceptions of family values and morality.That being said, "The Gay Agenda" is a quick but informative read about a major roadblock in the advancement of gay and lesbian rights. Let's hope that it gets to mainstream America!

The Gay Agenda by Jack Nichols is a comprehensive review of not only the religious fundamentalists argument against gay rights and contention that there is a "gay agenda", but also a valid argument against it. Nichols successfully, in my opinion, tears apart the arguments of the fundamentalists, by stating each of their claims and then argues why they are invalid. Other good parts of the book include Nichols careful analysis of our societies views of the sexes, the autonomous self, and ends with a self integration proclamation that advises everyone to look not only at homosexuality as one part of the sexual continuum, but also how we need to be a society that is inclusive, not exclusive. Nichols definitely has a love for poet Walt Whitman, and uses his words often throughout his book, devoting an entire chapter to his ideals.The only problem I have with this book is in the beginning. Nichols leans on the preachy side of gay rights, which is exactly what fundamentalists do: preach. While I believe strongly in Nichols argument, I felt that he was a bit repetitive at times. I enjoyed this book immensely, and feel that it presents the views of fundamentalists thoroughly. This book is a good tool not only to learn about their major points, but also to learn about how to combat those arguments.

This book illustrates what I already knew from experience in being married to a Promisekeeper. The whole order of their thinking is male dominance, specifically sexual usage of women, so the gay order infuriates them, since it depowers the man. Anyone female who has lived among the relgious right has to give up education, jobs and serve her man with the church. Gays are a threat to that, since it basically means equality for all people regardless of gender. Also, the relgious right has many divorces, unstable homes and has no right to Judge happy gay couples when religious right women live in misery.

The Gay Agenda by Jack Nichols provides an excellent rebuttal to the myriad propaganda tracts published by the religious right. Nichols, a long time activist and advocate for equal rights for gay people, provides as well a unique historical perspective for this subject. The book effectively explodes the myth of a monolithic gay cabal by providing evidence of the great diversity of opinion, lifestyle, philosophy and theology among gay and lesbian people. At the same time the book traces the history of the opportunistic conservative attacks on gay and lesbian people. The book provides overwhelming documentation of the abuse of political power by conservative and right wing religious groups who use gay and lesbian people as scapegoats in order to achieve political power and raise funds for their divisive political agenda. More importantly, the book states and then exposes as deception all of the major propaganda of the right, ranging from same gender marriage to AIDS to employment. Mr. Nichols also analyzes the basic belief system of the right and especially the religious right. He not only points out the contradictions in this belief system, but goes on to show how many of the philosophical and theological tenets of fundamentalism are destructive to social order. For example, Mr. Nichols discusses in detail the fundamentalist notion of atonement, demonstrating how this doctrine discourages self reflection and contemplation. Mr. Nichols points out fundamentalists want believers not thinkers, and goes on to argue effectively that this is largely due to the fundamentalist notion of atonement. Mr. Nichols dissects other fundamentalist doctrines, from Biblical literlaism (which is actually selectively applied, as Mr. Nichols shows by example), to Armageddon, to evangalism. I found my head nodding in agreement at nearly every paragraph through the first two thirds of this book, often stopping to read entire sections out loud to my spouse. After such an auspicious start, I must confess that I was disappointed in the final third of the book. The basis for much of the discussion at the end of the book deals with the author's views on the origins of sexual orientation and his apparent belief that everyone, or at least very large segments of the population, would be gay or lesbian if only society were less repressive and homophobic. This premise is disturbing on two counts. The first reason this premise is disturbing is that it is almost certainly incorrect. The review of the scientific literature in Chandler Burr's recent book "A Separate Creation" clearly shows that the percentage of persons who are gay or lesbian in orientation is fairly constant across cultures (about 6% of the male population and about 3% of the female population). It is certainly true that the percentage of a population exhibiting gay or lesbian behavior - as opposed to orientation -- varies according to cultural tolerance of diversity, with intolerant societies