The Gospel On Gay Marriage

In his book, "God's Politics," Jim Wallis wrote about how the religious right has narrowed faith-based values to a few "hot-button" issues, while ignoring the biblical vision of social justice in areas such as poverty, the environment, and questions of war and peace.

But hot-button issues like same-sex marriage can't be cast aside at a time when influential religious leaders are rallying the troops for a war against a minority group already suffering the pain of discrimination. Chuck Colson has trumpeted the battle cry by saying that the "number one cultural priority of Christians" should be "stopping the spread of same-sex marriage" and that "pastors, priests, and clergy of all denominations should be leading the charge."

Before dismissing the religious right, progressives may find it helpful to learn more about them -- particularly that group the media lump together as "the evangelicals," a term that has been hijacked from its original meaning of "good news." Because of this, many people now associate the term with wealth, political power, militarism, judgmentalism, intolerance, and an arrogance that is totally contrary to the spirit of the gospel (and contrary to those who retain the original meaning of "evangelical").

The hope of finding open-mindedness within the religious right may seem futile, especially since its prominent spokespersons claim they are being persecuted for their faith whenever their particular constellation of values is questioned. Back in 1985, when the religious right first began increasing its cultural and political influence, I wrote an article suggesting that instead of viewing the conservative Christian movement as a monolithic entity, we need to recognize at least four major categories within the movement:

• Aggressive Combatants, who mobilize their followers to go to battle against whatever they consider to be the current threat (most recently, same-sex marriage);
• Loyal Followers, who consider the Combatants to be their religious authorities, buying their books, tuning in to their broadcasts, accepting their interpretations of the Bible, and responding to their fundraising pleas;
• Thoughtful Questioners, who were drawn to the movement by its emphasis on a personal relationship with God and the importance of the Bible in their lives but are not convinced that all issues are settled or that all the answers are already in;
• Hurting Strugglers, sincere believers who earnestly practiced their faith and followed the rules they had been taught, yet were faced with some circumstance that turned their well-ordered world upside down -- a divorce, a gay child, a pregnant teenager, domestic violence, mental illness, job loss, bankruptcy, a suicide in the family.

What progressives need to recognize is that Thoughtful Questioners and Hurting Strugglers may be more receptive to new ideas than is often realized. Even some Loyal Followers may move over into one of these categories at some point. But to communicate with them, it's important to first acknowledge how much their religion matters to them and then seek out areas of common concern and mutually held values.

Second, an awareness of alternative approaches to biblical interpretation can help progressives resist the temptation to ridicule sincere people of faith as unenlightened "Bible thumpers."

In applying these principles to the same-sex marriage question, the right and left can find common ground in recognizing the human need to belong and the desire for legally conferred kinship status on chosen, committed life partners. We can affirm the message of marriage supporters in their valuing and promotion of marriage, while at the same time challenging the notion that including gays and lesbians in marriage would make heterosexual marriages weaker.