(Leftovers from a great and long chat with a good man today.)
Almost 100 years ago, Antonio Gramsci proposed the idea of “cultural hegemony” where a powerful idea or culture carries immense and controlling force. One key indicator that a hegemony is at work is when dissenting voices are kept silent out of fear.
A conservative ethic regarding homosexuality – and the homophobia (any level of social discomfort relating to homosexual people) that too often rides on its coattails – has been and can be often so strong in church (sub)cultures, that gay people feel suppressed and silenced out of fear of judgment. A homophobic hegemony pushing gays into closets.
The irony is this: a liberal/accepting ethic regarding homosexuality – and the angry angst that too often rides on its coattails – has been and can be often so strong in many post-Christian ‘developed’ contexts and culture, that conservatives also feel suppressed and silenced out of fear of judgment. A liberal hegemony pushing conservatives into cloisters.
Or in other words, for every action there is (often?) an equal-opposite reaction.
- Action – some conservative Christians heaped shame on people attracted to the same sex.
- Reaction – some liberal Westerners heaped shame on people who heaped shame on people attracted to the same sex.
As a Christian with a conservative ethic on homosexuality, rather than defensively fight for my ‘right to be conservative’, I’d rather go to the source, and oppose the homophobia which feeds the shaming and intimidation of people attracted to the same sex.