Gay Marriage: Opposed by Religion, Not Conservatism

Sometimes the debate over gay marriage is portrayed as one between liberals and conservatives - and while there is some truth in that, it leaves out a lot of important facts. Conservatives may be understandably hesitant about gay marriage, but there is nothing about conservatism which requires opposition. No, the real opposition to gay marriage comes primarily from religion, religious leaders, and religious belief - and it is the religious opponents of gay marriage who acknowledge this.

A good example of such an acknowledgement comes from Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He writes at Crosswalk about who being "conservative" just isn't enough in the fight against gay marriage:

The exchange between Sullivan and Frum demonstrates the limits of an essentially secular argument, even among those who consider themselves conservatives. Secular conservatives place the greatest premium upon the continuity of forms, institutions, and moral principles in the society. During a time of social change, secular conservatives tend to fight over the institutions rather than the principles or morality at stake.

Like the secular conservatives, Christians are very concerned about the continuity of human institutions, especially the institution of marriage. But the Christian commitment to marriage goes far beyond common ground shared with secular conservatives. We do not see the most important function of marriage as limited to human happiness and social stability.

To the contrary, the Christian commitment to marriage is based on the Holy Scripture, which points us to marriage as a unique arena of God's glory on earth, where His good pleasure is demonstrated in the right ordering of creation. In other words, marriage, as established by the Creator, becomes the culminating picture of creation's goodness, with a man and a woman entering into the holy covenant of marriage and enjoying all the joys of marital life, even as they assume together all of the rights and responsibilities the Creator invested in this most important of earthly institutions.

I think that Mohler is quite correct. Basically secular arguments against gay marriage only go so far - and, as far as I can tell, don't go far enough to provide a convincing case that gay marriage must remain illegal. They may provide a sound basis for approaching the issue with caution and perhaps not making any quick changes, but that's about it.

No, the real case against gay marriage is religious - in particular, a religious/Christian definition of marriage. Under particular Christian understandings of what the nature of marriage is, gay marriage is obviously impossible. I understand and agree with that. Where Mohler and I part company, however, is that I don't actually think that a particular Christian definition of marriage (a definition not even shared by all Christians) should become enshrined in law and imposed upon everyone in society.

You see, Mohler is apparently a theocrat. We can tell because he evidently believes in imposing religious doctrines, religious definitions, and religious definitions upon the entire population of the United States through the force of law. He doesn't seem to think that churches and religions should be free to define religion in their own definitions for themselves. He doesn't seem to think that secular authorities should be independent of such debates and refuse to "pick" one religion's or one church's or one sect's definition of religion.

Mohler's position presumes that elected government officials somehow acquire the authority to define for everyone what is and is not sacred, what is and is not the "right" Holy Scripture to employ, what is and is not the "right ordering of creation" by God, and so on. Where he got such a notion I really don't know - but the idea that a man of such dangerous ignorance is actually in charge of an institution supposedly dedicated to learning and education is truly frightening.

Read More:

• Fundamentalism
• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Christian Nationalism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry