lead the homosexual to perpetrate on himself insults and degradations far beyond those imposed by the oppressive and hostile society in which he lives.

So the homosexual is forced to perpetrate the last great injustice upon himself, that of failing to realize the best in himself and his part in cultivating the best in his society.

There is an old Chinese proverb which says, "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." This is what we have tried to do. We are convinced that to change these constantly reinforced patterns of injustice, existing barriers to the exchange of knowledge must be destroyed. We of The Council on Religion and the Homosexual must find ways to establish

communication between the homosexual and his society. Our work is not aided by police who harass us, by politicians who are fearful of talking with us, by segments of the press which prefer either sensationalism or silence, by portions of the religious community which prefer to condemn rather than to understand, and by homosexuals who reject any effort to approach them.

Fear will never set man free, and fear itself is perhaps the greatest obstacle which man must overcome. In our efforts to become free men must be guided by the central ethical command of our Judeo-Christian tradition: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION and the HOMOPHILE

Selected from ONE Institute Quarterly

of Homophile Studies and ONE Magazine, 1954 1964

Edited by W. Dorr Legg, Director-

ONE INSTITUTE OF HOMOPHILE STUDIES

2256 Venice Boulevard

Los Angeles, Calif. 90006

PREFACE

The following pages are from issues of ONE Institute Quarterly, and ONE Magazine, published during the decade from 1954 to 1964. Numerous other articles, reviews of books on religious topics and a large number of letters could have been included in this selection as further indication of the high degree of interest evoked by the association of the topics of religion and homosexuality. However, the present selection will serve to raise many of the continuing questions which occur in such a connection, as well as some of the solutions which have been proposed by clergymen and laity.