The Question: Jeremiah Wright's sermons continue to be an issue in the presidential campaign. Why? What do you think of his preaching style? What do you wish you understood better about it?

If Jeremiah Wright were like most pastors in America’s 300,000 or so congregations—baptizing, marrying, visiting the sick and burying—his sermons wouldn’t be an issue. But like the name he bears. he speaks often in the thundering tones of the prophet.

Any pastor’s sermons can be an issue for the folks in the pews. But these sermons are now in the relentless news cycle. And there, blinded by the bright lights and passions of a presidential campaign, most observers will miss the real dynamics of the pastor-parishioner relationship.

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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. The penchant for some religionists to assume their superiority, and to require their insights be imposed, will foster reactivity, not moral structure or understanding. Separation of discourse might be a preferable road to social consensus.

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