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THE QUESTION
Gay Marriage
The California Supreme Court has overturned that state's ban on gay marriage. Is marriage a legal right or a sacred rite? Should the state be involved in marriage? Should religious institutions?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on May 21, 2008 4:36 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Church Lags Behind, Again
Churches fought the suffrage movement that finally won for women the right to vote in presidential elections. Churches resisted desegregation until their opposition was dismissed for the racism it was. Churches are the last bastion of homophobia.
Posted by John Shelby Spong, on May 27, 2008 4:15 PM
California Ruling Protects Religious Freedom
The California Supreme Court ruling was a victory for religious freedom and the United States Constitution. The Interfaith Alliance, the organization I serve as president of, praised the California ruling because the court recognized – as I do -- that...
Posted by Welton Gaddy, on May 27, 2008 1:43 PM
Tolerance, Not Approval
The chief problem with gay “marriage” is providing state sanction for vice. It is not so much libertarian as libertine. While most Americans see wisdom in allowing some vice to simply be legal, the law need not actively support it.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on May 27, 2008 8:42 AM
Ignoring the Creator's Original Intent
For the vast majority of human history across cultures and geography, and for all the great religious traditions, 'marriage' and its equivalent words in different languages has referred to the union of a man and a woman. To argue against that is to change the meaning of the word marriage.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on May 27, 2008 6:38 AM
Right or Rite, Civil Discussion in Order
I think it is foolish for churches to expend their political capital opposing the legalization of gay marriage. There are many other issues of greater importance: abortion, hunger, global warming, peace, health care, etc.
Posted by Thomas J. Reese, S.J., on May 27, 2008 6:32 AM
Serving God and the State
What the decision of the Supreme Court of California raises for me is that clergy should remove themselves as licensed agents of the state who perform marriages and who should act only as religious who witness and bless the civil contract of marriage if they choose to do so.
Posted by John Bryson Chane, on May 27, 2008 12:43 AM
Try UK's Civil Partnerships
In the UK, we have civil partnerships, which give gay couples the same rights as married couples -- inheritance, insurance, as well as acting as next of kin -- but they have no implications for what many in many religious organizations see as the 'sacred' state of marriage.
Posted by Julia Neuberger, on May 26, 2008 4:14 PM
A Sacred Choice and a Civil Right
Given the amount of time, energy, and agony we spend on love, shouldn’t it be an occasion of public amazement and celebration when two people find each other? If that commitment confers with it certain civil rights, then those rights should be equally available to all.
Posted by Starhawk, on May 23, 2008 2:02 PM
The Preservation of Marriage and Society
There are evidences in several European countries that have normalized gay marriage that, when that happens, heterosexual marriage declines precipitously. I believe it is not only biblical duty but common sense to recognize the natural law and the natural moral order in an effort to protect marriage.
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on May 23, 2008 1:54 PM
The Surprising Lessons of the Past
We can’t approach the question of marriage law today with the assumption that marriage is now what it has always been in either its religious context or its secular context.
Posted by M. Cathleen Kaveny, on May 23, 2008 1:40 PM
Wrong about Rites and Rights
Gay marriage is not about 'rites' or 'rights.' People on both sides are more interesting in imposing their beliefs than in doing what's best for all.
Posted by Irwin Kula, on May 23, 2008 12:55 PM
"Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds..."
Does the state have a right to regulate marriage? It does. Does the state have a right to regulate a sacrament? No. Because modern America puts marriage in a shadow zone somewhere between a civil rite and a sacrament, values keep shifting.
Posted by Deepak Chopra, on May 22, 2008 1:42 PM
Equal Rights for All Includes Marital Rights
Given the context of Islam's insistence on sex taking place only within a solemnized relationship, the need for marriage to be inclusive becomes clear. Otherwise the Qur'an would be condemning a significant portion of the world's populace to celibacy or sin.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on May 22, 2008 11:46 AM
Rites and Wrongs
The way we currently handle marriage is a remnant of our centuries long, partly unsuccessful, effort to disentangle church and state, to disentangle morality and legality.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on May 22, 2008 10:41 AM
Marriage Is More Sacred Than Equality
Church cannot nullify “rights” defined by state, and state cannot deny church the right to define its “rites.”
Posted by Willis E. Elliott, on May 22, 2008 9:28 AM
What's Wrong with Gay Marriage?
Homosexual couples are simply two people who love each other. Please explain to me how that can be wrong in the eyes of God. Didn’t God make us all in his image? Please tell me how it could possibly be harmful to society to have two loving people form a union.
Posted by Sally Quinn, on May 21, 2008 8:44 AM
Gay Marriage: Some Day (But Not Now) We'll Say, "Oh, Never Mind"
I don't have the slightest idea why happily or unhappily married heterosexuals feel so threatened by the very existence of same-sex marriages, but I can only hope that this controversy will not expand and overwhelm the more fundamental issues at stake in the 2008 election.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on May 21, 2008 7:48 AM
Sinners Will be Sinners
In a sinful and wicked world, sinners and wicked people behave as, well, sinful and wicked people.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on May 21, 2008 6:35 AM
Court Stumbles Badly … Into Good Social Policy
The court could have done much to shore up the rights of gay couples’ access to all those rights (and obligations) which come with married status in California, without taking this legally unjustified step.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on May 21, 2008 5:30 AM
We’ve Been Here Before
We’re in for the long debate. Even if laws change soon—as I hope they will—the meaning of marriage should be plumbed at deep levels in both sacred and secular spheres.
Posted by William Tully, on May 20, 2008 3:23 PM
Marriage is the Most Important Samskar (Sacrament)
The married couple is looked at as a complete module for worship and participation in cultural/social acts.
Posted by Rajan Zed, on May 19, 2008 6:11 PM
FEATURED COMMENTS
Kate Kenney-Newhard: The simple answer is yes - marriage is a legal right and a sacred rite.
The state should not restrict the civil marriage rights of those ...
Pottery: As a Christian, the Bible defines marriage. It centers around procreation, and is the basic building block of societies for as long as I kno...
