SP, //when a person of faith uses their religion to deny goods and services to gay people, they are using their faith as an excuse.//
As you are no doubt aware, I have no time for religion, but I am not a blind bigot and I don't criticise it without good reason. I try to understand what causes people to believe as they do and I really don't think that the Christians - or Muslims - who are anti-gay are what can be considered bigots in the usual sense of the word. Their belief systems guide their thoughts, their opinions, and in some instances the whole of their education. In short, they are brainwashed. Therefore in their own minds they have a valid reason for utterly rejecting homosexuality - God utterly rejects it and they must do likewise. Homosexuality is something that they simply do not understand. I have a Christian friend who is convinced that all homosexuals are paedophiles, and another who has been told by her church that her homosexual son is committing a crime worse than paedophilia. Religion breeds ignorance. Menstruating women, according to the bible, are deemed to be unclean - but unlike homosexuality, menstruation isn't considered to be an 'abomination' and the penalty for menstruating isn't death. There really can be no comparison.