Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation Homosexuality in Zoroastrianism is, as in many other religions, a controversial topic. The most sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism is called the Avesta. The oldest portion of the Avesta are the writings of Zarathustra himself and called the Gathas. Traditionalist Zoroastrians argue that the Vendidad, one of the books of the Avesta, is an inherent part of Zoroastrian oral tradition even if it was compiled far later than other parts of the Avesta. This passage has been interpreted to mean that homosexuality is a form of demon worship, and thus sinful. Ancient commentary on this passage suggests
Religion with solemnity and gravity. The sociologist Émile Durkheim, in his seminal book "The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life", defined religion as a "unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things". By sacred things he meant things "set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them". Sacred things are not, however, limited to gods or spirits. On the contrary, a sacred thing can be "a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred".