Apr 03, 2009
Religious voices reaction: Outrage or joy on Iowa gay marriage ruling - Faith & Reason
05:44 PM

The Iowa Supreme Court decision today that legalized same-sex marriage prompted swift reaction -- outrage and joy with no stops in between -- from voices of faith.

Iowa's four Roman Catholic bishops released a joint statement of strong disagreement, saying the ruling

... rejects the wisdom of thousands of years of human history. It implements a novel understanding of marriage, which will grievously harm families and children.



The bishops call the decision an "unwarranted social engineering" and an attack on "the good that marriage offers to society." And they call for everyone in Iowa to push for a constitutional amendment on marriage.

Baptist Press, published by the Southern Baptist Convention, reports conservative evangelicals deplore the ruling.

Jimmy Barrentine, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist Convention of Iowa, says:

As a Christian, it is our joyful duty to love all people and to mistreat not, but we are not guided by personal opinion in matters such as this. I am opposed to this decision. We are instructed by Scripture, which forthrightly condemns homosexual behavior.

Conservative evangelicals see the advancement of same sex marriage in the courts and state houses as a religious liberty issue which will oppress those who base their belief in marriage on traditional Biblical teachings. Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, tells BP:

This means, by force of law, every schoolchild in Iowa will be taught that homosexuality is equal to heterosexual behavior.

But there were just as many joyful voices pumping out press releases today.

Th United Church of Christ general minister and president, the Rev. John H. Thomas, praised the ruling, which he saw as an outgrowth of the socially liberal denomination's historic roots in Iowa.

Rev. Rich Pleva, UCC Iowa Conference Minister, spoke of happiness for those "for whom the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling is a gift. But he added,

I'm also aware that the people and churches of the Iowa Conference are not of one mind on this issue. This is a time to underscore and affirm our covenant to being of one heart and one body, even at times when we may not agree.

Unitarian Universalist Association President Rev. William Sinkford (noting that one of the couples that brought the successful suit had been married in a UU congregation in Des Moines) said:

I take heart in these signs of the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, the Episcopal group that supports marriage equality, called on the denomination to approve same-sex marriage at the upcoming General Convention in July.

The convention, where the Episcopal Church, sets policy, only meets every three years. Since the last meeting, hundreds of parishes and a handful of dioceses that objected to the denomination's acceptance of a gay bishop in New Hampshire, have pulled out to align with more traditional leadership from the Anglican Communion.