Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

ONE QUESTION ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE I noticed conservative friends posting 40 Questions challenging Christians about their support for same-sex marriage. It did not take long for a counter response. So there are at least 80 questions available for you. It's no surprise that the authors advance a point of view by asking a question, which assumes a premise that has not been established. I come at the questions from the perspective of a psychological scientist and former university professor--so I love to encourage people to think. And if I were teaching a relevant course, I'd probably ask students to think about the 80-questions. I'll include the links so you can see what the two authors are asking. Christians come at the same-sex issue from many perspectives as I wrote about last week . I think for those Christians who have a spiritual struggle, the key question is about sin. There is only one question for fundamentalist Christians to ...

MARRIAGE EQUALITY AT WORK & SCHOOL Policies, Procedures, and Prejudice As a new week begins , workers in the largest economy on earth will have the right to be married to one person regardless of where they live. More than 1,000 benefits are tied to marriage so more people may have the potential to increase their well-being. Problem policies, procedures, and prejudices are likely to persist for many. 1. Changing forms is no big deal when it comes to the basics unless you use software based forms permitting only restrictive entry parameters. Of course, those problems will soon be overcome.  Businesses and schools that operate in multiple states can simplify their employment forms and all the benefits accorded married employees. 2. Policies that protect employment status can take longer to revise. In the U.S. people will be married or single when it comes to many benefits but there are those in transition. Converting from civil unions to marriage may take...

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE  and   CHRISTIAN DIVERSITY U.S. Supreme Court finds same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry Friday 26 June 2015 ( Wall Street Journal ). Most people in the U.S. identify as Christian. Most people in the U.S. support same-sex marriage. Christians have been outspoken about same-sex marriage in recent years. Although most Christian churches officially support only marriages between one man and one woman, some churches have come out in support of same-sex marriage. A few Christian leaders  recently made news when they announced support of same-sex marriage. The arguments provided by Christians include explanations of Bible passages and moral arguments. I take a look at the arguments opposing and supporting same-sex marriage in two posts. If you want details, see the links provided in the posts. Click the links below to see several of the main arguments. Arguments SUPPORTING same sex marriage Argument...

GAY MARRIAGE: 9 REASONS WHY CHRISTIANS VOICE SUPPORT? Why? The why question is problematic because Christians give different answers. I’ll not wax too philosophical here. But I think it important to keep in mind that Christians have different beliefs about a lot of things. Here’s a few common answers to the why question. Bible Answers 1. Godly love supports diverse marriage arrangements . The foundation for Christian morality can be found in Jesus’ summary of the law requiring followers to love God and love one’s neighbor. Since the Bible does not condemn loving relationships between same-sex persons, there is no reason to assume any of the small set of oft quoted Bible verses prohibits same-sex marriage. The Genesis verses describe a God blessed union but do not address marriage. Polygamy has a long and accepted position for the people of God. The Hebrew households included many wives and concubines who bore children for the tribal...

Sexual Orientation Sexual Identity Sexual Attraction Christians in the United States continue to write and speak about sexual orientation and same-sex relationships as if condoning or condemning same-sex relationships were the keys to Christian identity. The terms referring to human sexuality can interfere with communication when people use the terms inconsistently or imprecisely. In addition, new research changes our understanding of human sexuality such that older terms may carry meanings that are no longer substantiated by evidence. I take a look at some terms and cite a study to illustrate the complexity of sexuality. Given the confusion and misinformation, I hope to return to the topic. Sex  In the context of identity, sex refers to a person’s biological status as male, female, or intersex. Intersex is a biological state that includes an infrequent set of features linked to being male or female. The common indicators of biological sex include external gen...

Feeding Children in South Africa WORLD  VISION, MORALITY        & RIGHTEOUS MINDS World Vision made waves earlier in the week when they announced plans to hire same-sex married couples. Multiple news sources carried stories and blog posts were filled with comments from irate donors. To be sure, there were supportive comments as well. After a few days, World Vision announced a change of heart . They issued an apology to their upset supporters. And reversed their policy . The wide variety of remarks offers a trove of data to illustrate how people focus on different aspects of a situation when reaching a moral decision. In this post I will draw on the work of Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues to frame the six dimensions of morality. QUICK THINKING MORALITY First, several researchers have written about how the mind works when thinking about anything—including morality. One of the best summaries of thinking is the book by Daniel ...

Marriage & Relationship Quiz For 2013 See the post from December 27 for a review of marriage and relationship changes in 2013 along with links to news and research sources. QUESTIONS ONLY  (Answers Below) 1. According to the Rand Corporation, about what percentage of white females entered a cohabiting relationship in the U.S. by age 23? 2. On average, what is the age when women first marry in the U.S.? 3. In the U.S., at what young age can people commonly marry with parental approval? 4. In the U.S., divorce rates remained stable at about what percent of marriages? 5. In a split decision, the U. S. Supreme Court found the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional in June. How many judges decided against DOMA? 6. In the U.S., remarriage has declined by what percent in the past 20 years? 7. Same-sex marriage is legal in how many U. S. States? 8. According to the Pew Forum, how many countries permit same-sex marriage? 9. According to the...

MARRIAGE & RELATIONSHIPS: A REVIEW OF 2013 The large world religions offer direction about moral relationships and offer ceremonies to celebrate the beginning of a marriage. Religions generally frown on or prohibit divorce. Adultery is perhaps the most commonly accepted reason for divorce. Monogamy is the norm in most religions but polygamy is widespread in Asia and Africa and Muslims are permitted to have up to four wives (Qur'an 4:2-3). The legal status of relationships changed for many couples in 2013; however, the fact that same sex couples could legally marry in many parts of the world does not indicate whether there were changes in the number of same-sex couples who lived together. Given the moral stance of most religions against same-sex marriage, one would expect same-sex couples will have to wed outside of places of worship. Will they be welcomed into holy places? Time will tell? For example, in the UK, England and Wales allow same-sex marriage but those m...