The Reverend Father Sean Major-Campbell has said that Jamaica is destined to become tolerant of homosexuality and that most of the opposition to it is based on hypocrisy.

‘When the subject of homosexuality is addressed in church, it would be more helpful if the approach sought to wrestle honestly with searching questions versus using the Bible to beat people over their heads,’ the Anglican minister told Jamaica’s The Gleaner newspaper.

‘The culture is versed in the various rhymes, songs, and Bible verses which encourage hatred and murder. What is needed is more regard for the human condition, with its many unanswered questions – some of which are not sufficiently addressed by the Bible.’

Major-Campbell pointed out that while some may find that hard to believe – people decades ago could not have predicted today’s fashions.

‘I do not believe there was any Jamaican who would believe 30, or even 20 years ago, that it would become the norm for so many Jamaican men to expose their underwear and posterior,’ Major-Campbell said.

‘However, you are in style and good company if your boxers are fully on show in a conveniently homophobic society.’

Jamaican justice Minister Senator Mark Golding shared Major-Campbell’s views, saying there has been an evolution in Jamaican attitudes towards homosexuality in recent years.

‘Polls show that a fairly substantial portion of the population believes that we should be tolerant towards persons, regardless of sexual orientation,’ Golding told The Gleaner.

‘Certainly, the position taken by me and the Government is one which rejects totally any acts of violence against any of our citizens based on them being a member of some minority group.

‘Some people really feel that homosexuality and a homosexual lifestyle are intrinsically immoral. My own view on the matter is that what people do as adults in the privacy of their home is really a matter for them and shouldn’t really be subject to any kind of state interference.’

Major-Campbell’s comments came just weeks after the Reverend Dr Clinton Chisholm, a prominent Jamaican theologian, called for greater tolerance towards gays and lesbians in Jamaica.

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller promised to legalize homosexuality while campaigning for office in 2011 but has failed to act to do so since wining government and the law is currently the subject of a legal challenge.

On July 22 a cross dressing 17-year-old boy was hacked to death after dancing with another male at a party in St James, Jamaica.