Gay Marriage: Theologil and Moral Arguments - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS
• WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE
• THE TOP 10 ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE: ALL RECEIVE FAILG GRAS!
• 'MARRIAGE IS SACRED': THE RELIG RIGHT'S ARGUMENTS AGAST 'GAY MARRIAGE' ATRALIA
• ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE: MARRIAGE IS FOR PROCREATN

GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS

Dpe an improvg legal landspe for sexual mori, negative attus toward gay men and lbian women persist North Ameri, and same-sex marriage remas a topic of nsirable bate (Waters, Jdasurat, & Wolfe, 2016). Pope Benedict XVI nsired same-sex marriage to be among “the most sid and dangero threats to the mon good today” (Wfield, 2010) and homosexualy an “herent moral evil” (Popham, 2005).

Although the current Pope, Francis, holds a somewhat more welg attu toward sexual mori, he has done ltle to undo the Catholic Church’s official nmnatn of same-sex marriage (Wofford, 2014) as some relig groups played a key role the civil rights movement, there are nomatns that now support full legal and relig marriage equaly for gay and lbian upl. Furthermore, those who opposed legalizatn of same-sex marriage were pecially likely to jtify their posn on the basis of relig belief or terpretatns of the Bible (Newport, 2012) feral legalizatn of same-sex marriage beme creasgly probable the Uned Stat, the bate on lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) rights shifted om a foc on discrimatn by the ernment to discrimatn by the private sector (Johnson, 2015), wh relig arguments domatg the rhetoric of those opposg same-sex marriage. An ial aim of this rearch program was to vtigate whether a general aversn to gay men and lbian women helps expla the relatnship between religsy and opposn to same-sex marriage.

Blenner (2015) monstrated that experimentally heighteng preferenc to mata the stat quo (through a system jtifitn manipulatn) worsened participants’ views of lbians and gay men.

WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE

Iologil self-placement on a sgle left–right dimensn is rrelated wh prejudice toward nonnormative groups, such as gay men and lbian women (e.

2Materials For more rmatn ncerng the materials and procr for all studi clud this article, nsult our project page on the Open Science Framework: Participants were asked to dite their religsy on a sle rangg om 1 (not at all relig) to 7 (extremely relig) prejudice Participants’ explic attus were measured g ems om the Attus Toward Gay Men subsle (ATGM; Herek, 1994). Sample ems clud “Homosexual behavr between two men is jt pla wrong” and “Jt as other speci, male homosexualy is a natural exprsn of sexualy human men” (reverse d; α=.

Opposn to same-sex marriage Participants’ attus toward same-sex marriage were measured terms of support for the feral policy issue “gay marriage” (1 = very negative, 7 = very posive; reverse sred), which was embedd wh a list of 10 ntroversial polici orr to disguise the tent of the measure. We also admistered a more general measure of sexual prejudice (rather than aversn to gay men particular) and examed self-reported willgns to prott agast same-sex marriage.

THE TOP 10 ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE: ALL RECEIVE FAILG GRAS!

Sample ems, which were word more broadly than the origal sle, clud the followg: “Homosexual behavr between two people is jt pla wrong” and “Jt as other speci, homosexualy is a natural exprsn of sexualy humans” (reverse sred). Three were opposg actns: “Donate to an anizatn that oppos givg homosexuals more rights, ” “Sign a petn agast gay marriage, ” and “Send a letter to the ernment opposg gay marriage.

” Two were supportive actns: “Ask other people to support a petn favor of gay marriage” and “Jo a prott supportg more rights for homosexuals. ” (1 = not at all relig, 7 = extremely relig) prejudice We admistered the Attus Toward Lbians and Gays (ATLG; Herek, 1998) sle, a generalized measure of sexual prejudice that clus 20 ems (1 = strongly disagree, 9 = strongly agree). Sample ems are “Female homosexualy is an ferr form of sexualy, ” “Female homosexualy self is no problem, but what society mak of n be a problem” (reverse d), “Lbians are sick, ” and “Male homosexualy is a perversn” (α=.

General DiscsnIn light of current bat regardg the expansn of gay rights several untri, cludg the Uned Stat, France, Ireland, Rsia, and Atralia, this rearch prents a timely vtigatn to the motivatnal unrpngs of relig opposn to same-sex five studi nducted two untri, we obtaed support for a theoretil mol which relig opposn to same-sex marriage is lked to sexual prejudice and nservative preferenc to mata the stat quo. Attus toward same-sex marriage, and gay rights general, may pose a psychologil nflict for those who are trsilly relig: Should they follow relig teachgs or love and accept all human begs? Given the observed role of ristance to change explag opposn to same-sex marriage, legalizg same-sex marriage may brg about creased public support for gay rights over time.

'MARRIAGE IS SACRED': THE RELIG RIGHT'S ARGUMENTS AGAST 'GAY MARRIAGE' ATRALIA

Our work—and the theoretil amework that spired our rearch—suggts that terventns aimed at rcg antigay prejudice would do well to foc on (a) creasg people’s fort wh viatns om heteronormative romantic arrangements, (b) emphasizg the egalarian aspect of relign, and (c) unrcuttg arguments that morn nceptns of marriage have been variant throughout human this article, we have foced on same-sex marriage, which is but one issue the stggle for sexual equaly.

Excludg people om such benefs based on sexual orientatn has negative nsequenc for the mental and physil health of gay men and lbians (Frost, Lehavot, & Meyer, 2015; Herdt & Kertzer, 2006; Mays & Cochran, 2001; Meyer, 1995; Rorick, McCammon, Long, & Allred, 1998) as well as their terpersonal relatnships (Meyer, 2003). For all of the reasons, elucidatg the social and psychologil procs that shape prejudicial attus and behavrs toward gay men and lbian women is cril for rmg theory and practice aimed at enhancg dividual and llective well-beg as well as the efforts of advocy groups to promote social jtice.

Bee sr on the Attus Toward Lbians (ATL) and Attus Toward Gay Men (ATGM) subsl were highly terrrelated, we ed their average the mol. I do but I n’t: The impact of marriage nial on the mental health and sexual cizenship of lbians and gay men the Uned Stat. Prejudice, social strs, and mental health lbian, gay, and bisexual populatns: Conceptual issu and rearch evince.

ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE: MARRIAGE IS FOR PROCREATN

System jtifitn, right-wg nservatism, and ternalized homophobia: Gay and lbian attus toward same-sex parentg Italy. As Christians, we are lled to love our gay and lbian neighbors (John 14:34), which is why we mt not and nnot support same-sex marriage.

Statistics suggt, however, that gays and lbians are not creasg number, if we accept the bt rearch data of Edward Lmann, who puts the number at about 5% of the populatn1. What has grown is a much greater acceptance of gays and lbians our culture, as well as the social and enomic eedom for gays and lbians to emerge om the closet that has nfed them for so many generatns. The recent addn of same sex mment ceremoni the Sunday New York Tim weddg and engagement announcements and the populary of shows as "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye…" dite a shift our culture's attu toward gays and lbians.

In every class, for the past 20 odd years, I have ved a gay former stunt, Lee FzGerald, to speak on gay relatnships.