Gay Marriage and the Religion Issue

							Gay Marriage and the Religion
           Issue
         Dr. Alan Haffa
            Aspects of Marriage
•   Religious: Sacred
•   Civil: Legal
•   Familial and Social
•   Personal: Love
  What does Sacred Union Mean?
• God blesses the union
• The union of Husband and Wife reflects the
  union of Individual and God
• God’s blessing means that the two are bound
  together forever, even in afterlife
• Adam and Eve as first Couple serve as Model
  But are Adam and Eve good models of human
    behavior?
         How About Divorce?
• The Bible
• Luke 16: 18 Jesus speaking says “Anyone who
  divorces his wife and marries another
  commits adultery, and whoever marries a
  woman divorced from her husband commits
  adultery.”
• The Catholic Church still does not recognize
  divorce; Annulment is possible only if the
  marriage was not consummated
   What are the Religious Concerns? (see
               PEW report)
• Will churches be forced to conduct same sex
  marriage?
• Can pastor’s who preach against homosexuality be
  charged with Hate crimes?
• Will churches that provide services to married
  couples be required to provide such counseling to gay
  couples? (adoption e.g.)
• Will religiously affiliated universities be required to
  provide couple housing to gay couples?
• Insurance benefits to spouses of gay employees?
• Private businesses that want to discriminate based on
  personal belief (wedding photographer e.g.)
     Response of Gay Advocates
• First Amendment protects religious groups
  regarding sermon content and marriage
  ceremonies
• They claim that if same sex couples are
  recognized then they should have same
  protection as straight couples in adoption,
  housing, and employment
• Private businesses are restricted in their ability
  to discriminate now
            Vermont Example
• Clergy have the right not to preside over same-
  sex marriages
• Religious organizations have the right to refuse
  the use of their facilities to celebrate same-sex
  marriages
• Religious societies (Knights of Columbus) have
  the right to refuse to provide insurance benefits
  to the same-sex partners
                Connecticut
• Has the same provisions as Vermont
• Additionally, religious adoption services may
  deny service to gay couples so long as they
  receive no state or federal funds
Why do some religions get so upset by
         Homosexuality?
• Interview of Jerry Falwell on PBS Link
• They view it as a Choice
• This choice they consider sinful
• They believe that God wants men and women
  to be heterosexual and that homosexuality is
  immoral
• They interpret various passages in the Bible as
  saying this
    A counter view by Father Daniel
           Helminiak (PBS)
• Catholic views of sexual morality rest on the
  idea of marriage as being about procreation
• Every sexual act should be open to the
  possibility of conception (vs. contraception)
• Natural Law
• Read in the context of the times, the
  homosexuality objected to in the Bible is
  different from loving, committed homosexuality
  of today
    Story of Sodom in Genesis 19
• Is about offense against the sacred duty of
  hospitality.
• Ezekiel 16:48-49 and Wisdom 9:13-14
• “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she
  and her daughters had pride, excess of food,
  and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor
  and needy. They were haughty, and did
  abominable things before me; therefore I
  removed them when I saw them.”
           Interpretation Issues
• I Corinthians 6:9 “fornicators, adulterers, malakoi,
  arsenokoitoi, …” will not inherit the kingdom of
  God
• Malakos means soft; referred to masturbation
  according to John Boswell; boy prostitutes,
  Fogarty
• Arsenokoitoi referred to sodomy in general or
  child molester?
• Is homosexuality as we know it being
  condemned? Or prostitution? Or Older men and
  young boys?
               I Romans 18-32
• “For this reason God gave them up to degrading
  passions. Their women exchanged natural
  intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way
  also the men, giving up natural intercourse with
  women, were consumed with passion for one
  another. Men committed shameless acts with
  men and received in their own persons the due
  penalty for their error…They know God’s
  decree, that those who practice such things
  deserve to die…”
                Questions
• Do we interpret Bible literally?
• Do we believe that the Bible should be
  interpreted in its time?
• Do we believe that Love is the overarching
  value of Christianity (Sermon on the Mount)
  or do we believe that immoral behavior must
  be judged and condemned?