Sexuality, Gender And Religion In Contemporary Discourses

Book excerpt: One of the most current issues occupying both public and academic discourse is sexuality and the related issues of sexual self-determination, gender order, and homophobia. Religion has a significant role to play in this discourse. This centrality of religion is evident not only in the question of moral concepts, but also in questions of the understanding of the body and gender. In this context, it should be emphasized that religion - or, more precisely, a particular interpretation of the religious - can have both a conflict-promoting and an emancipatory effect. If one wants to conceptualize a contemporary theological understanding, then it is necessary to receive medical, psychological as well as social and cultural science research. The anthology aims to thematize these debates and to broaden the view for the multi-layered processes of change taking place in the discourses.