Babel and the Fear of Same-Sex Marriage: Mapping Conservative Constellations
This paper looks at recent allusions to the Babel story as they appear in conservative political and religious discourse to refer to same-sex marriage as a problem of sick egalitarianism and democracy. Liberalism, and a certain kind of democracy, is said to create an imposing and tyrannical neutrali...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2014
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| In: |
Journal of the bible and its reception
Year: 2014, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-65 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Genesis 11
/ Homosexuality
/ Josephus, Flavius 37-100, Antiquitates Judaicae
/ Christianity
/ Democracy
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament NCD Political ethics NCF Sexual ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Conservatism
B Josephus B Sexuality B Democracy B Christianity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper looks at recent allusions to the Babel story as they appear in conservative political and religious discourse to refer to same-sex marriage as a problem of sick egalitarianism and democracy. Liberalism, and a certain kind of democracy, is said to create an imposing and tyrannical neutrality, a neutrality that leads to stagnation and self indulgence, including same-sex relations. This constellation of discourse is explored in relation to the most prominent interpretation of Genesis 11, Josephus’ political retelling in Antiquities of the Jews . Josephus’ version voices fears about tyranny, collectivity, and too much pleasure - themes that are clearly echoed in contemporary references to Babel. The paper shows how the Babel story thus becomes a story about sick egalitarianism associated with same-sex relationships. Tracing this genealogy, the essay argues that such citations of Babel indicate that the fear of gay marriage may actually be a fear of too much democracy. |
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| ISSN: | 2329-4434 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of the bible and its reception
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/jbr-2014-0004 |