ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Concept

Is Being Gay Biological

is being gay biological, is homosexuality genetic, is there a gay gene, born gay, is being gay a choice, gay gene, is sexual orientation biological, are people born gay

Intro

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The honest answer is: there is real biological influence on sexual orientation, but no evidence that it is biologically determined, and no "gay gene." The largest genetic study to date found only small effects and concluded you cannot predict a person's sexual behavior from their genome. Identical twins, who share nearly all their genes, are far from always both gay. So the accurate picture is a mix of genetic, prenatal, developmental, and personal factors, and orientation is generally not a simple choice.

But the bigger point is this: however the biology turns out, it does not settle the moral question. "Where a desire comes from" and "whether acting on it is right" are two different questions, and no fact about biology answers the second. That is where the real discussion lives, and it is a point that holds no matter what future research finds.

A word on tone: what follows examines claims and arguments, not people. Every person bears the image of God and is loved by him.

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In full

What the science actually shows. The evidence points to biological influence, not determinism:

  • No "gay gene." The largest genome-wide study (Ganna et al., Science 2019, about 477,000 people) found five gene locations weakly associated with same-sex behavior, together explaining only a small share of the variation, and stated it is "impossible to predict an individual's sexual behavior from their genome."
  • Identical twins are not concordant enough for genetic destiny. If orientation were purely genetic, identical twins would nearly always match; population registries instead put heritability around 30 to 40 percent for men and lower for women, with most of the variance non-genetic.
  • It is multifactorial. Genetics, prenatal hormonal environment, early development, and personal history all appear to contribute. That is "influence," not a switch.
  • The epigenetic model is a hypothesis, not a finding. A 2012 proposal (Rice, Friberg, and Gavrilets) that inherited "epi-marks" cause homosexuality is often cited as proof of biological hardwiring, but it identifies no actual mark, gene, or mechanism and its authors concede they cannot supply definitive evidence. It is taken apart in Epigenetic Homosexuality Model Objection Defeater.

The fair summary, affirmed even by the psychological establishment, is that orientation is shaped by biology and development, usually not chosen, but not genetically fixed either.

Why the biology does not settle the ethics. Suppose orientation were entirely inborn. That still would not make acting on it right, because "this desire is inborn" is a fact about origin, and "acting on it is permissible" is a moral claim, and you cannot derive the second from the first. This is the is-ought gap (Is-Ought Fallacy). Many traits are partly heritable (alcoholism is roughly 50 percent heritable) without the behavior being thereby good. In fact the Christian doctrine of original sin expects every person to be born with disordered desires of various kinds (Psalm 51:5), so "I was born wanting it" is, on the Christian view, true of everyone about many desires, and it has never, for any desire, answered whether acting on it is right. The full treatment of the "born this way, so it's fine" argument is in Born This Way Objection Defeater.

How Scripture frames desire. Jesus locates the moral question in the heart and the will, not in the mere presence of a desire. He teaches that "from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts" (Mark 7:21-23), and that discipleship means self-denial ordered toward truth and love (Luke 9:23). The historic Christian ethic is universal: it calls all people, whatever their attractions, to chastity outside the one-flesh union of husband and wife, so it is not a singling-out of one group. Two older observations sharpen the point:

What is natural is not therefore what is good, but what fulfills its proper end.

(Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics)

Disordered love is the root of human misery; rightly ordered love is the beginning of peace.

(Augustine)

Christianity does not single out homosexuality; it places all human desire under the healing authority of Christ.

Common questions this page answers

Q: Are people born gay, and is there a gay gene?

There is no "gay gene" and no evidence of strict genetic determinism. The largest study (Ganna et al., Science 2019, about 477,000 people) found only small genetic effects and concluded a person's sexual behavior cannot be predicted from their genome, and identical twins are far from always both gay. The accurate picture is that orientation is influenced by a mix of genetic, prenatal, and developmental factors, generally not chosen, but not biologically fixed either.

Q: If being gay is biological, does that mean acting on it is okay?

No, and this holds even if orientation were entirely inborn. "This desire is biological" is a claim about where a desire comes from; "acting on it is right" is a separate moral claim, and the second does not follow from the first. This is the is-ought gap. Many traits are partly heritable (alcoholism is about 50 percent heritable) without the behavior being good, and Christianity already teaches that everyone is born with disordered desires of various kinds.

Q: Is being gay a choice?

Most people do not experience their attractions as chosen, and the historic Christian view does not claim they are. It distinguishes the desire, which is often deep and unchosen, from the action, which is where moral responsibility lies. So "it isn't a choice" and "the traditional ethic is coherent" are both true at once, because the ethic was never resting on orientation being chosen.

Q: Doesn't the Bible single out gay people unfairly?

No. The Christian sexual ethic is universal: it holds everyone, whatever their attractions, to faithfulness within male-female marriage and chastity outside it, so it is not aimed at one group. It also grants that desire is often deep and unchosen, and it treats every person as an image-bearer of infinite worth. A universal standard held alongside the full dignity of every person is not bigotry.

See also