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

Contents:

• 3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE
• WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE
• POLICY CHANG ANNOUNCED FOR MEMBERS GAY MARRIAG, CHILDREN OF LGBT PARENTS
• ALL 4 NY EPISPAL BISHOP NDIDAT WILL ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IF ELECTED
• ON GAY MARRIAGE IN CHURCH, STANC VARY AMONG RELIGNS, CLERGY, MEMBERS
• GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS
• WHERE SHOULD WE, AS CHRISTIANS, STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE?
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• EXCLUSIVE: TAYLOR MARSHALL SAYS POPE FRANCIS MAY CHANGE POSN OF CATHOLIC CHURCH ON GAY MARRIAGE

3 OTHER CHRISTIAN DENOMATNS THAT ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE

It has weled gay people sce 1976, when s General Conventn cid that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim wh all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral ncern and re of the Church. The Supreme Court lg earlier this year legalizg same-sex marriage natnwi has ntued to raise qutns about how the cisn will affect relig groups – pecially those that rema opposed to allowg gay and lbian upl to wed.

) (not to be nfed wh the Prbyterian Church Ameri, which oppos same-sex marriage) and the Epispal Church have wrtled wh the issue for years, often as part of a larger bate on the role of gays and lbians the church. Frank Schaefer, a Methodist pastor who had performed a same-sex marriage ceremony for his gay son. Schaefer’s se has spl the church, wh some clergy floutg the l and marryg same-sex upl and other, more nservative members threateng to leave if the church do not hold to s current l prohibg gay marriage.

Overall, a solid majory of whe male Prottants (62%) now favor allowg gays and lbians to wed, wh jt 33% opposed, acrdg to a 2015 Pew Rearch Center survey. A siar share (63%) say there is “no nflict” between their relig beliefs and homosexualy.

WHERE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OTHER RELIGNS STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE

That special missn nclud wh 53 percent of church lears and lay people votg to tighten language on s same-sex marriage ban at a general nference last Febary, a measure sayg “the practice of homosexualy is patible wh Christian teachg. Epispalians followed su 2018, expandg the right of gay ngregants to get married all ngregatns. Pope Francis has drawn acclaim for sayg “Who am I to judge gay people?, ” but the Catholic Church has shown no sign of changg s strict anti-LGBTQ doctre.

POLICY CHANG ANNOUNCED FOR MEMBERS GAY MARRIAG, CHILDREN OF LGBT PARENTS

Siarly, the Southern Baptist Conventn, the largt Prottant nomatn the US, ntu to margalize LGBTQ ngregants, wh msag that have bee culture-war talkg pots agast queer rights — like homosexualy is not a “valid alternative liftyle” and “genr inty is termed by blogil sex and not by one’s self-perceptn. The Church “implor fai and church not to reject or nmn lbian and gay members and iends. Homosexualy was first openly bated at General Conference 1972, four years after the formatn of The Uned Methodist Church, rultg the addn of first statement on homosexualy.

While affirmg belief that persons of homosexual orientatn are persons of sacred worth who need the mistry and guidance of the church, the statement add that the church “do not ndone the practice of homosexualy and nsirs this practice patible wh Christian teachg. Sce that time, the church has mataed the posn that “the practice of homosexualy is patible wh Christian teachg.

ALL 4 NY EPISPAL BISHOP NDIDAT WILL ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE IF ELECTED

Based on the posns about homosexual practice and marriage, the Church has also mataed rtrictns regardg clergy.

Pastors may not be “self-avowed, practicg homosexuals” and may not nduct ceremoni that celebrate same-sex weddgs or unns. Wh a body of over 12 ln members globally, Uned Methodists are not of one md about how to be mistry wh lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people. Some members feel strongly that the church should uphold s current stanc regardg gay clergy and marriage.

While the church has official statements regardg homosexualy, all members n disagree wh the church’s posns and n advote for change policy.

ON GAY MARRIAGE IN CHURCH, STANC VARY AMONG RELIGNS, CLERGY, MEMBERS

In 2019, a special ssn of General Conference met specifilly to addrs ongog, unrolved divisns regardg homosexualy. Its cisns strengthened rtrictns on ordatn (broang the fn of "self-avowed, practicg homosexual" the footnote to ¶304. One was to clare an abeyance (lay) on submtg or procsg plats related to homosexualy until after a procs for separatn had been approved and the nomatns that may rult om uld hold their first post-separatn General Conferenc.

The agreement about abeyance, though, beme effective immediately among s signers, and many other bishops the Uned Stat have likewise agreed to hold homosexualy-related plats agast clergy abeyance until after a post-separatn Uned Methodist General Conference 2028 term what new polici, if any, will be. The impasse over homosexualy has led to uncertaty about the Church’s future. Although Jt Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, recently affirmed the validy of a 1998 claratn that gay sex was a s, there are signs that the C of E may be movg towards allowg clergy to follow their nscience on the issue.

GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS

Anglin church the US, Stland and Canada have already moved to start nductg same-sex weddgs, while the church Wal has started offerg blsgs to married gay upl. “I believe God has lled me to wns to beg a Christian who happens to be gay. But I nnot ntue to endorse stutnal homophobia.

Social media ers ially shared vio of the church engulfed flam wh posts ntag homophobic rhetoric and cricizg the church’s stance on LGBTQ+ issu. “A church Boston where homosexual upl who were nductg a weddg set’s on fire after beg stck by lightng. “Church burnt down by a lighteng, Boston, In the USA, durg a marriage ceremony of homosexual uple.

" It lled on Catholics "to wele wh rpect and sensivy persons wh homosexual clatns. " The Vatin also said that s refal to give relig approval to same-sex marriage do not preclu givg blsgs to homosexual people. The Vatin's msage ced Francis' own words om 2016, when he wrote, "there are absolutely no grounds for nsirg homosexual unns to be any way siar or even remotely analogo to God's plan for marriage and fay.

WHERE SHOULD WE, AS CHRISTIANS, STAND ON GAY MARRIAGE?

Pope Francis has been viewed wh ut optimism by LGBTQ groups bee of remarks like his statement, wily published 2020, that homosexuals are "part of the fay" and that same-sex and other nontradnal upl need a "civil unn law. Children of parents who intify themselv as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr may now be blsed as fants and baptized The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats whout First Princy approval, Print Dall H. Children of parents who intify themselv as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr may be baptized, if the ctodial parents give permissn for the baptism and unrstand both the doctre that a baptized child will be tght and the venants he or she will be expected to make, said Print Oaks.

Instead the “immoral nduct heterosexual and homosexual relatnship will be treated the same way, ” he said.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

“I want anyone who is a member of the Church who is gay or lbian to know I believe you have a place the kgdom and I regnize that sometim may be difficult for you to see where you f the Lord’s Church, but you do.

“There are many polil, legal, and social prsur for chang that would change the fn of marriage or -emphasize s importance, nfe genr, or homogenize the differenc between men and women that are sential to acplish God’s great Plan of Happs. | Getty ImagThe four ndidat for bishop of an Epispal Church dce that recently garnered headl for refg to bls same-sex marriag have dited that they will allow the Epispal Dce of Albany has been whout a bishop sce the rignatn 2021 of William Love, who had issued an open letter 2020 refg to enforce a nomatnal le requirg all dc to allow for the blsg of gay marriag.

”Ward wrote that he believ the issue of gay marriage is “tly plited” and that he rpects all sis on the issue, addg that if elected bishop, “honorg theologil diversy would be a prry.

EXCLUSIVE: TAYLOR MARSHALL SAYS POPE FRANCIS MAY CHANGE POSN OF CATHOLIC CHURCH ON GAY MARRIAGE

”“Seekg rolutn and a mutual path forward would volve a basic mment to rpectg the digny of every person, affordg genero pastoral attentn to every voice, and seekg Holy mon ground on nonilly sound footg, ” Ward July 2018, the Epispal Church General Conventn passed Rolutn B012, which required all dc to bls same-sex unns, removg earlier provisns that allowed several dc to prohib such measur, due to them beg nflict wh the biblil standard of B012 allowed clergy to refe to perform gay weddgs, required bishops who oppose them to let another bishop provi pastoral support for the same-sex uple and to provi a prit to perform the November 2018, Albany Bishop Love released an open letter statg that he refed to enforce the rolutn his dce.

Though the Supreme Court has clared the Defense of Marriage Act unnstutnal and validated California's gay marriage ban, marriage remas a plited and ntted issue among relig nomatns. (The urt lg on California's Proposn 8 effectively will allow gay marriage the state, but do not change same-sex marriage laws or bans other stat). Yet, while surveys have shown that people who are agast gay marriage most equently pot to relig views to expla their objectns, the number of nomatns that perform same-sex marriage and blsg ceremoni is growg.