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

Contents:

• WHAT DO THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE?
• GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY

WHAT DO THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE?

Scholars and the general public beme creasgly terted the issue durg the late 20th century, a perd when attus toward homosexualy and laws regulatg homosexual behavur were liberalized, particularly wtern Europe and the Uned issue of same-sex marriage equently sparked emotnal and polil clash between supporters and opponents. Cultur that openly accepted homosexualy, of which there were many, generally had nonmaral tegori of partnership through which such bonds uld be exprsed and socially regulated.

Relig and secular expectatns of marriage and sexualy Over time the historil and tradnal cultur origally rerd by the lik of Bachofen and Man slowly succumbed to the homogenizatn imposed by lonialism.

GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS

In other s, the cultural homogeney supported by the domant relign did not rult the applitn of doctre to the civic realm but may nohels have fostered a smoother seri of discsns among the cizenry: Belgium and Spa had legalized same-sex marriage, for stance, spe official opposn om their predomant relig stutn, the Roman Catholic Church. Most of the world religns have at some pots their histori opposed same-sex marriage for one or more of the followg stated reasons: homosexual acts vlate natural law or dive tentns and are therefore immoral; passag sacred texts nmn homosexual acts; and relig tradn regniz only the marriage of one man and one woman as valid. The Unarian Universalist church and the gay-oriented Universal Fellowship of Metropolan Communy Church fully accepted same-sex marriage.

G., male-female, man-woman, gay-straight) and to replace the wh tegori or ntua that they believed better reflect the actual practic of humany. Like heterosexuals, many lbian, gay, and bisexual people want to form stable, long-lastg relatnships and many of them do. In fact, rearchers have found that the majory of lbian, and gay, adults are mted relatnships and many upl have been together 10 or more years.

Empiril rearch also shows that lbian and gay upl have levels of relatnship satisfactn siar to or higher than those of heterosexual upl. The fai and iends of lbian and gay upl who are nied marriage rights may also experience negative physil and mental health nsequenc siar to those experienced by their loved on.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

The vast majory of scientific studi that have directly pared lbian and gay parents wh heterosexual parents have nsistently shown that the same-sex upl are as f and pable parents as heterosexual upl, and that their children are jt as psychologilly healthy and well adjted. For stance, 45% of adults the Silent Generatn (those born between 1928 and 1945) favor allowg gays and lbians to wed, pared wh 74% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). 4As wh the general public, Amerins who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (LGBT) are most likely to ce love as a very important reason for gettg married.

Sce then, several other European untri – cludg England and Wal, France, Ireland, all of Sndavia, Spa and, most recently, Atria, Germany and Malta – have legalized gay marriage. Why are those who are opposed to gay marriage/same-sex marriage labeled as hateful people or tolerant bigots, no matter how rpectfully the opposn is prented?

Why is the gay rights movement so aggrsively phg for gay marriage/same-sex marriage when most people, relig and non-relig, are supportive of gay upl havg the same legal rights as married upl through some form of civil unn? And a good way to normalize homosexualy is to place gay marriage/same-sex marriage on an equal plane wh tradnal, oppose-genr marriage.

GAY

To sanctn gay marriage/same-sex marriage is to approve of the homosexual liftyle, which the Bible clearly and nsistently labels as sful. 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. My tent was two-fold: first to ve stunts to dialogue wh people different om themselv; send, to work to elimate, whatever small way I uld, homophobic attus on our mp and our muny. My purpose today is not to support or fend gay and lbian marriag—ed, many gays and lbians do not want to marry—but simply suggt a theologil approach that might open up the possibily for greater Christian acceptance of, and eccliastil approval for, same sex unns.

A person is born gay and lbian and grows up this way; is not a matter of cisn, one possibily among others for the mature dividual. "Consiratns Regardg Proposals to Give Legal Regnn to Unns Between Homosexual Persons" (CDF): nnot promote any form of civil regnn of same-sex unns, formally or materially.