Not particularly. Religious people frame things in religious terms. I'm an atheist and a gay man. I think being gay is a good thing in my life. That is to say,

Not particularly. Religious people frame things in religious terms. I'm an atheist and a gay man. I think being gay is a good thing in my life. That is to say, if there were a pill I could take that would turn me straight, I wouldn't take it. Despite harassment and discrimination (which still happens, even in happy tolerant cities like London—most recent incident, 3 weeks ago, someone shouting "queers!" out of the window while I was walking down the street late at night holding hands with a guy), the point is that in spite of huge amounts of cultural and religious programming to the opposite, a lot of gay people have found themselves embracing their sexuality and considering it not just a not-bad thing but an actively good thing in their life. That's what Cook is getting at: that sentiment can be expressed in secular terms (like I just have) or in religious terms.