Does God condemn gays? Is homosexuality a sin? Is being gay truly "insidious" in the eyes of God? This is how the late Pope John Paul II described homosexuality in his book "Memory and Identity".
The controversy over homosexuality and religion varies greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and sects.
The late John Paul II and therefore the Vatican's stance on gays is clear, homosexuality is a sin. In the book, it is said to be "attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man."
In his philosophical work on the nature of good and evil, gay marriages are considered an integral part of "a new ideology of evil" plaguing our world today.
Present day doctrines of the world's major religions vary vastly generally and by denomination on attitudes toward these sexual orientations.
Some of the sects that are negative towards these orientations have different types of punishments towards these persons.
This can range from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, explicitly forbidding same-sex practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality, banning of homosexuality and execution in extreme cases.
In Kenya, Christianity and Islam have disowned homosexuals and in most cases, gays and lesbians lack spiritual nourishment.
*Shakur, a Muslim gay living in Nairobi says he is religious and routinely goes to the mosque. "Most of us are in the closet and we do not want to be known we are gay but we are hoping that we can start to set into place a revolution that will see gay Muslims more open about their sexuality without fearing," said Shakur.
Shakur, the co-founder of a group consisting of gay Muslims says being gay and religious is not easy. "Islam does not accept homosexuality and for us, being a minority within a minority is just depressing," he said.
The group, consisting of about 15 people who meet and pray together for spiritual nourishment. "We are like a movement where we support each other.
We meet as brothers and sisters at least once in a month and we fast together during Ramadan. We encourage our members to live positively according to the Muslim religion despite who we are,” he said.
*Halima, a 30-year-old Muslim lady who is a lesbian has had to endure difficult moments after her parents married her off. Now a mother of three, Halima has in the past contemplated divorce but her religion does not advocate for it.
"For religion and culture, I have had to live here but I know I will never be happy," she said. She says she has received support from the group and it keeps her moving.
Previously, several Muslim leaders in the country have decried homosexuality and condemned any efforts at reconciling Islam and homosexuality.
Mary Muthui is also a victim of this circumstance. She had been attending a mainstream church in Uthiru and when the pastor learnt of her sexual orientation, she was banned from attending the church.
"I am saved and I feel like I am being denied my right to worship," she says. Mary has since joined another church in the area where nobody knows of her sexuality.
Former Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu has emerged as a leading pro-gay voice both in the church and across Africa.
He has publicly opposed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation terming it a matter of justice. "Sexual orientation, like skin colour, is another feature of our diversity as a human family."
"Every human being is precious. We are all part of God's family. We all must be allowed to love each other with honour. Yet all over the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gender people are persecuted. We treat them as pariahs and push them outside our communities. We make them doubt that they too are children of God. This must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy. We blame them for what they are," Tutu has been quoted saying.
*Ann Njuguna, a lesbian living in Nairobi says she is a Christian and she believes there is a God, she prays and occasionally goes to church.
"Some of us have been forced out of church. We are made to feel like we are an enemy of the church and I think it is time this changed," she said. She urged homosexuals not to shy away from reading the Bible and the Quran.
In a visit to Kenya in December last year, the Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged Uganda to scrap a controversial draft law that would send gays and lesbians to jail.
"The Jesus I worship is not likely to collaborate with those who vilify and persecute an already oppressed minority," he said during a meeting at the All Africa Conference of Churches meeting.
With most African church leaders passionately preaching against homosexuality as ungodly, sinful and against African culture, Tutu said the church must stand with minorities.
"My brothers and sisters, you stood with people who were oppressed because of their skin colour. If you are going to be true to the Lord you worship, you are also going to be there for the people who are being oppressed for something they cannot change, their sexual orientation," he said.
Tutu said one would be crazy to choose homosexuality "when you expose yourself to so much hatred, even to the extent of being killed."
He said gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered people are part of so many families. "They are part of the human family.
They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms."
Gay men rights activist Denis Nzioka says most religions in Kenya especially Pentecostal and Evangelicals term homosexuality as against their principles and the same goes to Islam.
"Christians and Muslims are both anti-gay and have perpetuated violence and issued hate speeches against homosexuals," he said.
He however says he is a Christian and will never look back. "I am a Catholic on account of several reasons. I am baptised Catholic, went to Catholic high school and once hoped to be a priest," he said.
"Most homosexuals like attending and watching these showy showy televangelists. The minority of us love Mass and Rosary. I love Catholicism to death," Denis said.
Denis condemned the Anglican Bishop of Mombasa, Julius Kalu, who he said termed homosexuals as worst than terrorists.
Revered Kathy Kiuna of JCC in a December church service said God will send fire and leprosy to kill gays. Denis said such homophobic utterances are what make many homosexuals not go to Church.
"Most suffer from disillusionment and feeling unwelcome in churches, and most of them claim to be atheists. Instead of the Church/religion being welcoming, it has further shamed and locked us out," he expressed his worries.
For spiritual nourishment, several gay men meet at their friend's house where they sing, read the Bible, have a small service where they share and just speak about God.
"We organise for these meetings severally," said *John who hosts the service. The Catholic Church and members of fundamentalist Christian churches and Jewish traditions have been the most outspoken opponents of gay rights.
It is perhaps not surprising that LGBT people and their families identify religion as a major obstacle in accepting homosexuality and transgender identities, in either themselves or a family member.
They believe that the Bible forbids homosexuality — the myth of “God versus Gay” — is behind some of the most divisive and painful conflicts of our day.
In the end only the Lord can tell us which side the scale should tip. Until then the controversy over gays and religion will continue.