Top Southern Baptist Official Admits Churches Won't Be Forced To Marry Same-Sex Couples
Rob Boston printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Mon Jun 22, 2015 at 11:47:42 AM EST

For years now, Religious Right leaders have been whipping up hysteria by claiming that, should marriage equality become the law of the land, conservative churches will be forced to host same-sex marriages.

As arguments go, this one is just not very good. Several states have had marriage equality for years, yet no member of the clergy has been compelled to officiate at a same-sex marriage. As far as I know, no lawsuits like this have even been filed.

If one were filed, it would quickly die in court. The First Amendment guarantees to houses of worship an absolute right to decide for themselves who can attend their services and who qualifies for their sacraments.

Nevertheless, this scare-tactic argument keeps popping up. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia cited it during oral arguments in the marriage equality case April 28. Justice Elena Kagan quickly shut Scalia down by pointing out that some Orthodox rabbis will not marry a couple unless both parties are Jewish - and they've never been jailed or fined for that.

Thankfully, some conservative leaders are honest enough to concede that this just isn't a realistic threat. Last week, Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, admitted as much.

Mohler was asked about the matter during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Columbus. Here is what he said:

"Look, I really don't fear - it's really important that you and the other presidents and every Southern Baptist pastor, every Gospel pastor, preacher needs to say `I'm not going to perform a same-sex wedding.' But let's be honest: There's not really a danger that the sheriff's gonna show up and say, `You have to do this.' So far as I know, no pastor has been sued successfully for refusing to marry someone on other grounds; that's not the real danger."

Mohler went on to say that there will probably be a social price to pay. He told the crowd, "The real danger is we're going to pay an enormous social, cultural price for not doing a same-sex ceremony....We're going to be considered to be morally deficient. Let's admit it: We're much more accustomed to being accused of being morally superior. They've said we've been `stand-offish,' meaning better than them. Now a large part of this culture thinks we are morally deficient. And we're going to find that's a very different way to do ministry."

Bingo. The culture is shifting on this issue. In the years to come, churches that hold views that are considered backward and bigoted may find that fewer and fewer people are interested in attending their services. But that won't come about because of a government fiat; it will occur due to a natural cultural evolution.

At the end of the day, I think that's what's really bothering some of the folks on the Religious Right: They are reluctant to admit it publicly, but deep down they know they are on the losing side of this issue. They know they're going to be the odd ones out. They know the culture is turning against them.

I'm sure that's a bitter pill. Of course, they don't have to swallow it; they could change their views and stop spreading anti-LGBT messages. They could become welcoming and inclusive.

Instead, some on the Religious Right have decided to spread wild tales of persecution and imprisonment that will never come to pass. It's good to know that at least one top official of a conservative denomination understands why all of that is just so much scare talk.




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According to the story, churches have the right to decide who can and cannot attend their services.  I can understand that to a degree.

However, my wife and I were thrown out of an Episcopal church because the rector learned we were both Native American by birth.  It was made clear to us that we would not be welcome for that reason, and he nearly refused us the elements (held them back so long that people started murmuring).  Indeed, he deliberately turned his back on my wife after the service.

The rector had acted on his (unknown to us at the time) bigotry - it became obvious as it happened what was going on.  

I wonder if that sort of "deciding" would be legal or not, especially since a lot of the "shakers and movers" in the town attended that church and often talked business afterwards.

Being thrown out of a church is and was offensive in the extreme... and combined with other issues led to us leaving Christianity altogether.  

Although I would disagree that their (the fundamentalist/dominionist/"Religious Right" churches) "numbers" are dwindling or that their power was fading (something I'm tired of hearing), maybe the Southern Baptist leadership is starting to realize that they've been wrong all along?  That maybe excluding people isn't the way to go?  That like us, the act could lead to people leaving Christianity altogether?  

That would be a HUGE change for that denomination, and would move them closer to what the Rabbi Yeshua taught.

(According to what tribal elders said a few years ago, the Southern Baptists have a reputation for bigotry and throwing minority members out that is about as bad as the Assemblies of God.)

by ArchaeoBob on Wed Jun 24, 2015 at 03:12:28 PM EST

My understanding of the First Amendment is that it gives absolute protection to organized religious institutions if they want to exclude people from their religious rites and rituals. Where it gets tricky is if the institution is providing a public service rather than simply a worship opportunity.

Some years ago a friend of mine died, and the service was held in the extremely conservative Anglo-Catholic church where he had last served as organist. (Church musicians don't necessarily end up in a position that reflects their own beliefs, and I'm quite sure that was the case here. As R. became weaker through his long illness, he was unable to maintain the energy demanded in his previous position, but he wanted to keep playing as long as possible. A small congregation that just needed service music on Sunday mornings was what he could manage.)

Anyway, right on the cover of the service bulletin was a pointed statement saying that they welcomed anyone who believed exactly the way they did. That pretty much excluded a good two-thirds of the attendees. R. was a well-known musician in the area with friends from many different denominations and none. I thought it was really arrogant on their part to be that offensive at a public funeral, but it was their service, so I believe they had the legal right to do it. I stayed anyway, and just skipped the parts that I couldn't recite in good conscience.

by MLouise on Wed Jun 24, 2015 at 11:32:16 PM EST
Parent

I think that sort of situation is far more common than most people think.  We have a liberal musician friend who worked in a different (very conservative) church for years.  He's now working with his own denomination.  Honestly, I don't know how he did it.

We also know a gay person whose grandfather died - and the church his grandfather was a member of was very militantly anti-gay.  Our friend attended the funeral and part of the sermon was a diatribe pointed directly at him (I'm surprised they didn't run him off, knowing how hateful they can be).

Of course, the rant only drove him further away from their religion and he left as soon as was decent.

People have the right to be stupid... and others the right to walk away from the stupidity.

by ArchaeoBob on Fri Jun 26, 2015 at 04:53:16 PM EST
Parent




Thank you for sharing the post. No lawsuits like this should be filed.
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