Stillwater NewsPress

Local News

September 30, 2010

OSU hosts guest lecture on morality of homosexuality

By Silas Allen Stillwater NewsPress

STILLWATER, Okla. — If listeners take one thing away from John Corvino’s lectures, he hopes that they will leave with a willingness to talk about issues.

Corvino, a philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, will deliver a guest lecture, titled “What’s Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?” at 3 p.m. Friday in 10 Willard Hall on the Oklahoma State University campus.

Corvino said his lecture will deal with a number of arguments against homosexual relationships. Those arguments generally claim that homosexuality is unnatural, harmful or in violation of religious principles.

“I want to create a space where people can have a better conversation about these issues, and I want them to leave the talk with a commitment to that kind of conversation,” Corvino said.

During the lecture, Corvino hopes to break down those arguments, showing fallacies in each. In response to claims that homosexuality is unnatural, Corvino said he will explore what the claim means and if it matters. In response to arguments that homosexuality is harmful, Corvino said he will confront certain myths about homosexuality. And in response to claims regarding religion, Corvino said he will point out inconsistencies in the use of religious texts to support the argument.

Corvino, now an atheist, has a strong background in the church, and was once a candidate for the priesthood. He said he hopes to reconcile progressive ideas about sexuality with religion, particularly Christianity.

Corvino said he hopes to show that the biblical teaching on sexuality is more complex than many people realize. The most relevant message in Christian scripture is that love should be a standard for judging relationships.

“That, to me, is far more relevant than the handful of “proof texts” that people pull out of context to justify a blanket condemnation of all same-sex relationships,” Corvino said.

Corvino’s lecture is the first of three events in OSU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month program.

Jen Macken, OSU’s coordinator of women’s and LGBT issues, said Corvino’s lecture is a good fit for Oklahoma in general, and OSU in particular.

“Because Stillwater is located in the Bible Belt, many discussions about sexuality are based in terms of morality or religion,” Macken said. “Dr. Corvino’s academic training in philosophy equips him to frame the discussion in these terms, but to offer an alternative to the perspective that one may normally think of as the moral position on LGBT issues.”

Macken said she expects a strong turnout for the event. She said she hopes the event will give listeners a broader understanding of LGBT issues.

“For some people it may reinforce beliefs that they already hold, and for others, it might challenge their way of thinking about morality and issues of sexuality,” she said.

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