Should we go back to viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder?

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Should the mental health officials and the general population go back to viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder? Yes or no? Please vote in my poll. 🙂
 
I personally feel that we should go back to viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder. After all, homosexuality is objectively disordered and homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.

Catechism of the Catholic Church said:
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church said:
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
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no it should be viewed for what it is, a personality disorder.
 
I’ll leave that one to the doctors. I’m not trained to answer this question, and it’s really not something that can be resolved by popular vote.

As a side note, I think the term “insanity” is used inconsistently at times. For instance people will go to great lengths to say that a homosexual is insane if it means that a stigma of insanity will attach. However, the same person may argue that a murderer is not insane, if an insanity defense means he will escape the death penalty.
 
There is a body of thought that during pregnancy, if a male child is being formed, testosterone is perceived by the mothers body to be a ‘foreign body’. The woman’s body develops “antibodies” and attacks testerone in a second male child. Some studies show that while the first son heterosexual, increasing numbers of subsequent male children are homosexual.

These studies are at the university level and a sociological, not physiological at this point.

No one is jumpimg to any conclusion that the answer has been found, but it is an interesting “theory”. One that bears further study.

And it doesn’t address female homosexuality.

Homosexuals are maybe the most scorned, mocked, and disrespected of minorities, even in this “enlightened” age in which we live. Too many have said in serious interviews and conversations that why would anyone want to choose to live such a vilified lifestyle. That it is a physical trait inherent in their constitution. Maybe there is something to that. From a ‘straight’ male standpoint, I can’t understand anyone choosing to live such a lifestyle.

From the church’s standpoint, the Truth will always win in the end. I think the question deserves more study.

So I vote no.
 
Homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon, with no clear pathology. There is no reason to abuse the mental health system by shoving homosexuality into its domain. Using the mental health system as punishment/social control was a tactic of the former USSR - not a good role model.
 
johnlal said:
I’ll leave that one to the doctors. I’m not trained to answer this question, and it’s really not something that can be resolved by popular vote.

As a side note, I think the term “insanity” is used inconsistently at times. For instance people will go to great lengths to say that a homosexual is insane if it means that a stigma of insanity will attach. However, the same person may argue that a murderer is not insane, if an insanity defense means he will escape the death penalty.
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I’ve never thought of it that way but it certainly makes sense.

Personally, as I have SSA, I would say it’s akin to OCD if anything.
 
Holly3278 said:
Should the mental health officials and the general population go back to viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder? Yes or no? Please vote in my poll. 🙂
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I think that our society’s concept of a “mental disorder” is problematic and often morally/spiritually irrelevant. I would not want to see homosexuals treated as less than responsible adults created in God’s image and worthy of just as much respect as anyone else. It seems to me that people who are classified as “mentally ill” are deprived of much of their human dignity. I therefore have no great desire to see the medical professionals go back to classifying homosexuality as a mental illness. I’d rather question the whole concept of mental illness (at least insofar as it leads to denying people full human dignity and responsibility).

However, the problem is that because of our society’s therapeutic mentality and our idolatrous regard for health professionals, the fact that homosexuality is not classified as a mental illness is often misunderstood to preclude it being seen theologically as a disordered condition. We have to make the distinction clear.

Edwin
 
Holly3278 said:
Should the mental health officials and the general population go back to viewing homosexuality as a mental disorder? Yes or no? Please vote in my poll. 🙂
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No, it is not a mental disorder. It is just a normal part of some people’s overall being.
 
Wow. You really know how to contribute to the conversation don’t you!
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Oh, I’m sorry… you meant this a legitimate question?! My mistake; I thought you were only trying to bait people.
 
It is not and should not be classified as a mental disorder. Religious doctrine does not and should not influence scientific and psychological issues.

Matt
 
Pong said:
Oh, I’m sorry… you meant this a legitimate question?! My mistake; I thought you were only trying to bait people.
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Yes, it was a legitimate question. Anyway, thanks for recognizing your mistake. 🙂
 
I watched EWTN Live today, the guest was Fr. Tom Euteneuer, HLI, talking about pro-life issues. One interesting thing that he said was that the reason there is more homosexuality lately is pollution from birth control pills getting into the water supply. The hormones are not broken down in a woman’s body, but excreted in the urine, which then goes into the sewer system and eventually makes its way back into the water supply.

Homosexuality can’t be a genetic disorder, since people with the homosexual “gene” would not reproduce themselves, it would quickly die out. It seems like it’s a response to environmental conditions - like social conditioning (“tolerance of the gay lifestyle” - with gays actively pushing their agenda on young people); possibly the pollution of hormones caused by birth control pills mentioned above; media images of brave and courageous homosexuals heroically standing up to narrow-minded oppressors (often portrayed as religious people.)

The way to deal with it is not to put homosexuals in strait jackets, but to deal with these environmental conditions that are causing homosexuality in the first place.
 
Mea_Culpa said:
I watched EWTN Live today, the guest was Fr. Tom Euteneuer, HLI, talking about pro-life issues. One interesting thing that he said was that the reason there is more homosexuality lately is pollution from birth control pills getting into the water supply. The hormones are not broken down in a woman’s body, but excreted in the urine, which then goes into the sewer system and eventually makes its way back into the water supply.

Homosexuality can’t be a genetic disorder, since people with the homosexual “gene” would not reproduce themselves, it would quickly die out. It seems like it’s a response to environmental conditions - like social conditioning (“tolerance of the gay lifestyle” - with gays actively pushing their agenda on young people); possibly the pollution of hormones caused by birth control pills mentioned above; media images of brave and courageous homosexuals heroically standing up to narrow-minded oppressors (often portrayed as religious people.)

The way to deal with it is not to put homosexuals in strait jackets, but to deal with these environmental conditions that are causing homosexuality in the first place.
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Actually, homosexuality might be caused by conditions in the womb. It has something to do with hormones and such from what I read. Of course, I personally believe it is the result of a combination of factors such as environmental conditions and conditions in the womb.

Also, whoever said anything about putting homosexuals in strait jackets? Just because homosexuality might be a mental illness doesn’t mean that homosexuals have to be institutionalized. No, instead it could be treated with medication and therapy like depression or anxiety.
 
Holly3278 said:
Actually, homosexuality might be caused by conditions in the womb. It has something to do with hormones and such from what I read. Of course, I personally believe it is the result of a combination of factors such as environmental conditions and conditions in the womb.

Also, whoever said anything about putting homosexuals in strait jackets? Just because homosexuality might be a mental illness doesn’t mean that homosexuals have to be institutionalized. No, instead it could be treated with medication and therapy like depression or anxiety.
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We’re not disagreeing. The pollution from birth control pills is mainly hormones, which you point to as a possible causative agent. If there are effective medications and/or treatments, I’m all for that.
 
mattyc4 said:
It is not and should not be classified as a mental disorder. Religious doctrine does not and should not influence scientific and psychological issues.

Matt
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That’s nonsense. Religious doctrine influences everything. It can’t help but do so.

Edwin
 
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