Many views are held or have been expressed by religious organizations in relation to same-sex marriage. Arguments both in favor of and in opposition to
same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine. Although many of the world's religions are opposed to same-sex marriage, the number of religious denominations that are conducting same-sex marriages have been increasing since 2010. Religious views on same-sex marriage are closely related to
religious views on homosexuality.
Religious support
Buddhism
Due to the ambivalent language about homosexuality in
Buddhist teachings, there has been no official stance put forth regarding the issue of marriage between members of the same gender. There is no official Buddhist position on the issue of same-sex marriage.
In 1997, the
Dalai Lama said, "We have to make a distinction between believers and unbelievers,
..From a Buddhist point of view, men-to-men and women-to-women is generally considered sexual misconduct.
..From society's viewpoint, mutually agreeable homosexual relations can be of mutual benefit, enjoyable and harmless."
On October 11, 1995, some religious leaders gave testimony to the Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law in support of same-gender marriages.
Robert Aitken, co-founder and teacher of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist society established in 1959, with centers in Manoa and Palolo, gave written testimony on the subject of same-sex marriage. Aitken explains that by applying the Four Noble Abodes (loving kindness, compassion, joy in the attainment of others, and equanimity) to the issue of same-sex marriage, he finds compassion for and with the gay or lesbian couple who wish to confirm their love in a legal marriage. Aitken cites a precept about sex which Zen Buddhists inherit from earlier classical Buddhists teachings.
It is one of the sixteen precepts accepted by all Zen Buddhist monks, nuns and seriously committed lay people. He understands this to mean that self-centred sexual conduct is inappropriate, and he vows to avoid it. He believes that self-centred sex is exploitive sex, non-consensual sex, sex that harms others. It is unwholesome and destructive in a heterosexual as well as in a homosexual context. He goes on to explain that The Legislative Reference Bureau compiled a formidable list of rights that are extended to married couples in Hawai'i, but which are denied to couples who are gay and lesbian.
He argued in 2021 that gay and lesbian unions would be "settled even more" if they were acknowledged with basic married rights. Aitken says, "A long-standing injustice would be corrected, and the entire gay and lesbian community would feel more accepted. This would stabilize a significant segment of our society, and we would all of us be better able to acknowledge our diversity. I urge you to advise the Legislature and the people of Hawai'i that legalizing gay and lesbian marriages will
be humane and in keeping with perennial principles of decency and mutual encouragement."
Christianity
Support and affirmation of marriage rights for same-sex couples generally comes from certain Christian denominations that are considered theologically liberal. Some examples of religious organizations voicing their support for same-sex marriage include
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
, the
United Church of Christ, the
United Church of Canada, the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the
Episcopal Church of the United States, the
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church In America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...
, the
Church of Denmark (including the
Church of Greenland
The Church of Greenland ( kl, Ilagiit, literally: "The Congregation"), consisting of the Diocese of Greenland is the official Lutheran church in Greenland under the leadership of the Bishop of Greenland. Paneeraq Siegstad Munk became Bishop in 2020 ...
), the
Church of Sweden, the
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
, the
Protestant Church in the Netherlands
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands ( nl, de Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran.
It was founded on 1 May 2004 as the merger of the ...
, the
United Protestant Church of France, the
United Protestant Church in Belgium
The United Protestant Church in Belgium (VPKB/EPUB) is a minority Christian church in Belgium, where the majority of the population is Catholic. It is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The name of the church in Dutch is ''Verenig ...
, the
Icelandic Church, the
Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
, the
Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau
The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of it ...
, the
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck, the
, the
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland
Protestant Church in the Rhineland (german: Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually th ...
, the
Protestant Church in Baden
The Protestant Church in Baden (german: link=no, Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden; i.e. Evangelical Regional Church in Baden) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and member of the Conference of Church ...
, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). It was established on 27 May 2012 ...
, the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers) is a Lutheran church body ''(Landeskirche)'' in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of th ...
, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg) is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony.
The seat of the church leaders is in Oldenburg, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at St L ...
, the
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, the
Church of Lippe
The Church of Lippe (german: link=no, Lippische Landeskirche) is a Reformed (Calvinist) member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe.
Seat of the church administration is Detmold. The pr ...
, the
Evangelical Church of Westphalia
The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged ...
, the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the
Methodist Church of Great Britain, the
Scottish Episcopal Church, the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
s, the liberal
Old Catholic Church and the
Unitarian Universalists
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...
church which supports the rights of gays and lesbians to marry both in the church and through the state. There are also progressive congregations and organizations within mainline Christian denominations, that have not yet officially voiced official support for same-sex marriage, but have spoken out themselves in support of same-sex marriage rights in the church and through the state.
Some biblical scholars who hold to a more theologically liberal Christian view of same-sex marriage, such as representatives of the Metropolitan Community Church, make the claim that the word "homosexual" as found in many modern versions of the Bible is an interpolation and is not found in the original biblical texts. This argument from scripture holds that since the original authors of the Bible never mention 'homosexuals' or committed Christian homosexual couples, there cannot exist a biblical prohibition of marriage rights for them. According to the MCC, biblical texts interpreted by some as references to homosexuality refer only to specific sex acts and idolatrous worship which lack relevance to contemporary same-sex relationships.
Christians who support religious and legal recognition of same-sex marriage may base their belief in same-sex marriage on the view that marriage, as an institution, and the structure of the family is a biblical moral imperative that should be honored by all couples, heterosexual and homosexual alike. Supporting same-sex marriage reflects their Christ-like commitment to the equality and dignity of all people.
According to a theologian from the United Church of Canada, "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual, are a gift from God."
![Sergebac7thcentury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Sergebac7thcentury.jpg)
Some same-sex married couples have challenged religious organizations that exclude them from access to public facilities maintained by those organizations, such as schools, health care centers, social service agencies, summer camps, homeless shelters, nursing homes, orphanages, retreat houses, community centers, and athletic programs.
Opponents of same-sex marriages have expressed concerns that this limits their religious freedoms.
For example, conservatives worry that a Christian college would risk its tax-exempt status by refusing to admit a legally married gay couple to married-student housing.
Some legal analysts suggest that failure to reflect gay rights within their organizations may cost some religious groups their tax-exempt status.
Religious arguments for and against marriage rights for same-sex couples are not always evenly divided among theologically conservative religious groups and liberal groups. While self-identified theological liberal organizations such as the
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), support same-sex marriage, other more conservative and or orthodox organizations including some
Mennonite churches, the
Church of the Brethren, the
Old Catholic Church, and the
Church of Sweden also support marriage rights for gay and lesbian persons.
Episcopal Church of the United States
The
Episcopal Church (as of 2015: 7,115 open parishes and missions; 2,009,084 active baptized members) at their 2009
General Convention declared that: "bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church." On July 9, 2012, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution that was to be voted on later to approve an official
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
for blessing same-sex unions. This liturgy, called "''The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant,''" would enable priests to bestow the church's blessing on same-sex couples; priests could refuse to perform marriages, and bishops could prohibit same-sex marriage in their diocese. Denial would come without penalty, but the priest or diocese would have to direct same-sex couples they decline to another church or priest willing to perform the ceremony. The resolution was confirmed on July 9, 2015 (three years later) on a 129 for and 26 against (with 5 abstaining) vote.
Metropolitan Community Church
The
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
(43,000 members) sees its mission being social as well as spiritual by standing up for the rights of minorities, particularly those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. MCC has been a leading force in the development of
Queer theology
Queer theology is a theological method that has developed out of the philosophical approach of queer theory, built upon scholars such as Marcella Althaus-Reid, Michel Foucault, Gayle Rubin, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Judith Butler. Queer theology ...
. As such, the MCC is notable for publicly supporting same-sex marriage as early as the 1960s. Notably in 1970
Troy Perry
Troy Deroy Perry Jr (born July 27, 1940) is the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, with a ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968.
Early life
Troy Perry is the eldest o ...
, the church's founder, filed the first lawsuit in the U.S. seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages. Perry lost that lawsuit but launched the debate over same-sex marriage in the U.S. Today, MCC congregations around the world perform more than 6000 same-sex marriage ceremonies annually.
Presbyterian Church USA
The
Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission ruled in 2006 that same-sex ceremonies are not forbidden, as long as they are not considered to be the same as marriage services. Debate on the issue within the church evolved over the years. In 2000, the General Assembly had approved language for the church constitution that stated church teachings were that people were "to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or in chastity in singleness.," and barred church officers and property from being used for blessing or approval upon any other form of fidelity relationship, but ratification for this language was never obtained by the presbyteries. By 2014, the General Assembly passed an Authoritative Interpretation permitting pastors to sign marriage licences for same-gender couples where permitted by civil law in the states where their church was found, which took immediate effect.
On March 17, 2015, ratification by a majority of presbyteries was reached on a constitutional amendment passed by that same 2014 General Assembly, which broadened the definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship from only being between "a man and a woman," to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman," thus giving official sanction to, while not making it mandatory for, any congregation's pastor to preside over and bless marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples.
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ's General Synod (998,906 members) passed a resolution affirming "equal marriage rights for all people regardless of gender" in 2005. The church allows but does not require pastors to perform same-sex weddings.
United Church of Canada
The
United Church of Canada (600,000 members) was active in the campaign that led to legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Canada. The United Church now allows individual congregations to decide whether or not to perform these marriages.
Likewise, in the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, where same-sex marriages have been legal since 2001, individual congregations decide if they will perform them.
Some Christians support religious and legal recognition of same-sex marriages based on a moral commitment to equality, or a belief that "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual, are a gift from God", as affirmed by the United Church of Canada's 37th General Council.
Liberal Catholic theologians
Even within the Roman Catholic Church, there can be found a few a groups who support for same-sex marriage. For example, while the Vatican and most of the Roman Catholic hierarchy oppose same sex marriages, there are a few Catholic theologians who support gay marriages.
Critical biblical scholarship
According to
Daniel A. Helminiak Daniel A. Helminiak (born November 20, 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Catholic priest, theology, theologian and author in the United States. He is most widely known for his international best-seller ''What the Bible Really Says about Homos ...
, the
Bible may be interpreted literally or within historical-cultural context. Under a literalist reading, the Bible can be read as condemning
homosexuality (and, by extension, gay marriage).
[Helminiak, Daniel A. (2000). ''What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality: Millennium Edition.'' New Mexico: Alamo Square Press, chapter nine: Summary and conclusion, page 131] Read in cultural context, the Bible "was not addressing our current questions about sexual ethics and does not condemn gay sex
r gay marriage as we understand it today."
Helminiak argues that Biblical passages said to be against homosexuality (and same-sex marriages) do not actually say anything against gay and lesbian sexual relationships or identity. "The sin of
Sodom
Sodom may refer to:
Places Historic
* Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis
United States
* Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town
* Sodom, New York, a hamlet
* Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Sodom, West Virginia, an ...
was inhospitality, not homosexuality.
Jude condemns sex with
angels, not sex between two men. Not a single Bible text indisputably refers to lesbian sex.
..there follows no valid conclusion whatsoever about homosexuality. Biblical figures
..may well have been involved in homogenital relationships, seen as part of God's plan. And Jesus himself said nothing at all about homosexuality, not even when face to face with a man in a gay relationship."
It has been argued that the Bible was written for a world unlike our own, and that
Monogamy, for example, only became the norm in the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
world in the last 150 years or so.
Lisa Miller also argues for a move beyond
literalism
Literalism may refer to:
*Biblical literalism, a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation
*Qur'anic literalism, see Bi-la kaifa
*The principle of aiming at a literal translation
Literal translation, direct ...
. However, Miller argues that the Bible supports the idea of monogamous relationships, including gay marriage. Robin Kar argues that same-sex marriage is partly the result of certain religious and spiritual developments within Judeo-Christian society, which led to love-based marriages in the West.
Hence, there are now religious reasons for Christians to support "transformative" marriage for all people and to dispense with the assumption that same-sex marriage reflects encroaching secularism.
Unitarian Universalists and Unitarians
![Marriage equality rally and banner at Unitarian church in Summit NJ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Marriage_equality_rally_and_banner_at_Unitarian_church_in_Summit_NJ.jpg)
At the 1996 United States
Unitarian Universalist General Assembly, delegates voted overwhelmingly that they would perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, and the church has been performing weddings with and without state sanction ever since.
Likewise Canadian Unitarian Universalist congregations perform same-sex marriages and the
Canadian Unitarian Council their national organization supports this work through its Lay Chaplaincy program. Also the
British Unitarian church is at the forefront of the campaign for same-sex marriage.
Hindus
There are both conservative and liberal views about homosexuality and same-sex marriages in
Hinduism, similar to many other religions. A liberal view is presented by Mathematician Shakuntala Devi, in her 1977 book, ''The World of Homosexuals'', in which she interviewed Srinivasa Raghavachariar, head priest of the Srirangam temple. He said that same-sex lovers must have been cross-sex lovers in a former life. The sex may change but the soul retains its attachments, hence the love impels these souls towards one another.
In 2002, the academic
Ruth Vanita
Ruth Vanita is an Indian academic, activist and author who specialises in British and Indian literary history with a focus on gender and sexuality studies. She also teaches and writes on Hindu philosophy.
Early life and education
Vanita earne ...
interviewed a Shaiva priest who performed the marriage of two women; having studied Hindu scriptures, he had concluded, "Marriage is a union of spirits, and the spirit is not male or female" (p. 147).
As Amara Das Wilhelm, a Krishna devotee and founder of GALVA, notes in his book, ''Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex'', "several Gaudiya Vaishnava authorities emphasize that since everyone passes through various forms, genders and species in a series of lives, we should not judge each other by the material body but view everyone equally on a spiritual plane, and be compassionate as God is."
According to Ruth Vanita, "Indian newspapers, over the last 25 years, have reported several same-sex weddings and same-sex joint suicides, mostly by Hindu female couples in small towns, unconnected to any gay movement. Several weddings took place by Hindu rites, with some family support, while the suicides resulted from families forcibly separating lovers." According to Vanita, the phenomena of increased visibility of same-sex weddings "...suggest the wide range of Hindu attitudes to homosexuality today. The millennia-long debate in Hindu society, somewhat suppressed in the colonial period, has revived. In 2004, Hinduism Today reporter Rajiv Malik asked several Hindu swamis (teachers) their opinion of same-sex marriage. The swamis expressed a range of opinions, positive and negative. They felt free to differ with each other; this is evidence of the liveliness of the debate, made possible by the fact that Hinduism has no one hierarchy or leader. As Mahant Ram Puri remarked, "We do not have a rule book in Hinduism. We have a hundred million authorities."
Islam
Same sex marriage is not permissible in Islamic teachings.
In
Albania,
Tunisia, and
Turkey, there have been discussions about legalizing same-sex marriage. but without success (one reason was that the huge majority of the people in those countries and also almost all political parties are against same sex marriage).
In
France there was an Islamic same-sex marriage on February 18, 2012. In Paris in November 2012 a room in a Buddhist prayer hall was used by gay Muslims and called a "gay-friendly mosque", and a French Islamic website is supporting religious same-sex marriage.
A majority of American Muslims (51 percent) support same-sex marriage as of 2017, according to a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute in their "2017 American Values Atlas."
The first American Muslim in the United States Congress,
Keith Ellison
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...
(D-MN) said in 2010 that all discrimination against
LGBT people is wrong. He further expressed support for gay marriage stating:
"I believe that the right to marry someone who you please is so fundamental it should not be subject to popular approval any more than we should vote on whether blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus."
Judaism
Members of
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...
and
Reform Judaism support marriages for same-sex couples. The
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation leaves the choice to individual rabbis.
Native American religion
Native American religion
Native American religions are the spiritual practices of the Native Americans in the United States. Ceremonial ways can vary widely and are based on the differing histories and beliefs of individual nations, tribes and bands. Early European ...
s traditionally accepted same-sex marriage. This often came in the form of a
Two-Spirit identity in which the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas would fulfill one of many mixed
gender roles.
Neopaganism
Neopagans
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
are generally welcoming of
LGBT people, and some strands celebrate gay relationships. Support is highest in
Neo-Druidism,
Wicca and
Asatru
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th centu ...
. Some Wiccan groups perform handfastings and betrothals.
Views regarding Church-State separation
Many supporters of same sex marriages argue
[ in ''Southside Pride: Phillips/Powderhorn/Nokomis/Riverside.''] that, by defining the institution of marriage as between one man and one woman, the state automatically tramples upon the constitutional rights to freedom of religion. They argue that just because a majority of religious organizations may believe that gay marriages should not be granted by the state does not make it the state's obligation to observe their opinions on this matter.
The First Amendment to the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, which is part of the
United States Bill of Rights, expressly forbids laws being made "respecting an establishment of religion" and that prohibit the free exercise of religion. Thus, according to this argument, the state has no authority to define marriage as between one man and woman because there are various religions which hold that gay marriage is morally equivalent to heterosexual marriage.
[
]Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church ...
prominently expresses concern that heterosexual-only marriage laws impose a specific religious doctrine as state policy. According to them, "a marriage amendment in the Constitution aises
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association with the goal of substantially increasing American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, First Nation and other ...
important church-state and religious liberty concerns."
Religious opposition
The vast majority of Christian groups have been vocal and politically active in opposing same-sex marriage laws in the United States. Same-sex marriage opponents sometimes claim that extending marriage rights to same-sex couples could undercut the conventional purpose of marriage. Roman Catholic advocates of monogamous heterosexual marriages contend that same-sex relationships cannot be considered marriages because marriage, by definition, necessarily involves the uniting of two members of the opposite sex. Other religious arguments for an opposite-sex definition of marriage hold that same-sex relationships should not be recognized as marriages because same-gender sexual activity is contrary to God's will, is immoral, and subverts God's creative intent for human sexuality. Christian opposition to same-sex marriage also comes from the belief that same-sex marriage normalizes homosexual behavior and would encourage it, instead of encouraging resistance to same-sex attraction
Same sex may refer to:
* A phrase used in the discussion of sex or gender
* Gonochorism, the state of having just one of at least two distinct sexes in any one individual organism
* Homosexuality, the romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexu ...
.
Christianity
Christian denominations and groups that have been vocal and or active in their opposition to same-sex marriages include the:
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
(66.4 million members),
Church of God in Christ
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly Bl ...
(over 8 million members),
the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC or 4Cs) is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in the United States.
The denomination maintains headquarters in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul. It is a member of t ...
,
the Conservative Mennonite Conference
The Conservative Mennonite Conference (CMC) is a Christian body of Mennonite churches in the Anabaptist tradition. Its members are mostly of Amish descent.
Despite its name, the Conservative Mennonite Conference is not generally considered to ali ...
,
the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, the Hutterite Brethren, the Brethren in Christ,
the Mennonite Church USA,
the Catholic Church (1.2 billion members), the Russian Orthodox Church (150 million members), the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
(17 million members), the Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
(15.7 million members), and the United Pentecostal Church International
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal C ...
(2 million members). In 2009, a group of Christian leaders from various denominations issued the Manhattan Declaration Manhattan Declaration can refer to:
* Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, an American Christian cross-denominational declaration addressing a number of political issues in 2009
* Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change, a d ...
, an "influential statement that united evangelicals and Catholic leaders in fighting abortion and gay marriage"; as of November 2010, the Declaration had been signed by over 475,000 individuals. On August 29, 2017, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian view of gender issues. According to its website, the "mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set fort ...
released a manifesto on human sexuality known as the "Nashville Statement". The statement was signed by 150 evangelical leaders, and includes 14 points of belief. Among other things, it states, "We deny that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship."
Catholic Church opposition
The Catholic Church argues from a theological perspective against recognizing same-sex unions. According to Catholic moral doctrine, acts of sexual intimacy are only proper between a man and a woman within wedlock. Secular government recognition of any other union within the definition of "marriage" would therefore reflect a belief in the moral equivalence of acts between a husband and wife and acts between two men or two women; this belief is contrary to Catholic doctrinal teaching.
Catholic opponents also argue that inclusion of same-sex unions within the definition of marriage would also evidence rejection of the idea that, in general, it is best that children be raised by their biological mother and father, and that it is the community's interest in ensuring the well-being of children is the sole basis for the government's licensee and involvement in marriage.
Pope John Paul II, then head of the Roman Catholic church, criticized same-sex marriage when it was introduced in the Netherlands in 2001. His successor Pope Benedict XVI maintained opposition to the institution, considering it amongst "the most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good today".
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
The Greek Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox and Russian Orthodox Churches, and the rest of the Orthodox Churches all share the same view. They all view same-sex marriage as a sin. They do not accept/support homosexual relationships or marriages, and believe it is immoral and inappropriate.
This statement from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America further explains:
"The position of the Orthodox Church toward homosexual acts has been expressed by synodicals, canons and patristic pronouncements from the very first centuries of Orthodox ecclesiastical life. In them, the Orthodox Church condemns unreservedly all expressions of personal sexual experience which prove contrary to the definite and unalterable function ascribed to sex by God's ordinance and expressed in man's experience as a law of nature. The Orthodox Church believes that homosexual behavior is a sin."
=Views in Scripture
=
Within the Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
tradition, religious objections to same-sex marriages are often based upon the Bible.
Some religious arguments against same-sex marriage are based upon Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
passages such as Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
19:4-11, Leviticus 18:22, and Leviticus 20:13, while others are based upon New Testament biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
passages such as Romans 1, I Corinthians 6:8-10, and Jude 1:7. Conservative Christians note that the book of Leviticus contains a prohibition against male-male sexuality. While the Biblical passages mentioned above do not define the institution of marriage, Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
2:22-24 reads as follows: "Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." This passage is quoted by Jesus in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
.
Evangelical opposition
According to Reverend Rick Warren, a pastor of the conservative Evangelical Christian Saddleback megachurch, homosexuals are people who "think they are smarter than God" and who choose "to disobey God's sexual instructions." From Warren's point of view, marriage is an ordinance from God that unites a man and a woman. James Dobson, in '' Marriage Under Fire'' and elsewhere, argues that legalization for or passive tolerance of same-sex marriages would widen the definition of families.
The ex-gay movement
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires and to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relat ...
takes the view that I Corinthians 6:9-11 offers Christian believers freedom from the sin of homosexual behavior. Evangelical author and counselor Joe Dallas Joe Dallas (born 1954) is a prominent figure in the ex-gay movement and an advocate of conversion therapy.
Career
Dallas is founder of Genesis Counseling in Tustin, California, which specializes in conversion therapy. Dallas is the keynote speaker ...
notes that the Biblical passages relating to homosexual behavior uniformly prohibit that behavior.
Other Churches
The Orthodox Church in America is also opposed to same-sex marriage, as is the Unification Church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (15 million members) believes that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that children are entitled to be raised by a mother and a father who honor their marital vows with complete fidelity. They believe marriage is not primarily a contract between individuals to ratify their affections and provide for mutual obligations, but is an important part of rearing children. They teach that same-sex marriage undermines the purpose of marriage.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
(8.2 million members) believes God condemns sexual activity that is not between a husband and his wife. They teach that while the Bible condemns homosexual acts, it does not condone hatred of homosexuals or homophobia.
The United Methodist Church does not permit same-sex marriage or the ordination of LGBT people. On February 26, 2019, conference delegates voted against a proposal (449-374) that would have begun allowing churches to set their own LGBT policies at a local level. Instead, the previous day, a majority of delegates indicated that they would support a stricter approach to the existing policies, including encouraging dissenters to leave the church.
Orthodox Judaism
Judaism, like Christianity, reflects differing views between conservative and liberal adherents. Orthodox Judaism maintains the traditional Jewish bans on both sexual acts and marriage amongst members of the same sex. The Orthodox Union in the United States supported a federal Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. However, it is important to note that recent research by Chana Etengoff & Colette Daiute suggest that positive reconciliations between sexual minority individuals and Orthodox Jewish family members is possible (a process referred to as theistic mediation), both with and without clinical support.
Theravada Buddhists
Thai Theravada Buddhists
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
(over 150 million members), being the more conservative wing of Buddhism are less supportive of gay rights and marriages. Human rights issues have received poor attention in Theravada countries, as the culture is rooted in the belief in the Law of Karma, which is more popular among Thai Buddhists than philosophical and advanced scriptural studies in Buddhism. Many monasteries and monks advocate their lay followers to see the world through the lens of karma, i.e., every person is born to pay back their sins. According to their explanations, all homosexuals and sexual deviants were once offenders of the Third Precept (prohibiting sexual misconduct) - at least in their past lives, and they must pay off their past sins in their present life. Therefore, they deserve all that society gives to them. This belief system creates strong conservative values in Theravada Buddhist culture. For these reasons, it is unlikely that Buddhists will easily approve a law to allow gay marriage. Gay and lesbian activists in Thailand will probably not be as successful as their fellows in European countries or Canada. It is important to note, however, that Theravada Buddhists outside of the South-East Asian Area, are generally more supportive, or neutral, to same-sex marriage, and LGBT rights as a whole.
Freedom of religion
One source of controversy is how same-sex marriage affects freedom of religion. There is concern that religious communities might not be legally able to decide what type of marriages to solemnize. Some same-sex married couples have challenged religious organizations that exclude them from access to public facilities maintained by those organizations, such as schools, health care centers, social service agencies, summer camps, homeless shelters, nursing homes, orphanages, retreat houses, community centers, and athletic programs. Opponents of same-sex marriage have expressed concerns that this limits their religious freedoms. For example, conservatives worry that a Christian college would risk its tax-exempt status by refusing to admit a legally married gay couple to married-student housing. Some legal analysts suggest that failure to reflect gay rights within their organizations may cost some religious groups their tax-exempt status. In addition, religious opponents of same-sex marriage express concern about several specific instances in which they contend that religious freedoms have been abridged due to legal recognition of same-sex unions, including (a) an incident in Canada (which is subject to a different set of laws concerning same-sex marriage than the United States), in which the Knights of Columbus were sued for declining to allow a same-sex wedding reception on their property; (b) removal of real property tax exemption from a New Jersey Christian organization that did not allow a civil union ceremony to be performed on their property; (c) requirements that judges and justices of the peace perform same-sex wedding ceremonies; and (d) the forced closing of Catholic adoption agencies which refused to place children in the homes of married same-sex partners.
There is also a concern that religious people might be marginalized for their beliefs about marriage. Opponents point to the way Carrie Prejean
Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller (; born 1987) is an American model, former Miss California USA 2009, and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean was stripped of her Miss California USA crown for alleged breaches of contract. Litigation ...
was treated during the Miss USA 2009 controversy The Miss USA 2009 controversy centered on Miss California USA 2009 Carrie Prejean's answer to a question regarding same-sex marriage. On April 19, 2009, during the ceremony of Miss USA 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the five finalists were all asked abo ...
. There are also concerns about violence and intimidation against religious people. After a vote to make same-sex marriage illegal in California, same-sex marriage supporters published names of donors to the bill and classified them based on religion and many religious symbols were targeted. Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Dallin Harris Oaks (born August 12, 1932) is an American religious leader and former jurist and academic who since 2018 has been the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was ...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, likened the attacks against religious people to voter intimidation against black people during the American civil rights movement. Some governments have made special provisions for religious protections within the texts of same-sex marriage laws.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church ...
argue that by defining marriage as an opposite-sex institution, the state infringes upon the constitutional right to freedom of religion. In this view, religious groups that do wish to celebrate same-sex marriages are discriminated against when government policies do not permit their religious groups to celebrate marriages as they see fit.
References
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Point of view