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Loading ...Neff: Religion and Prop 8
Rise up.
Fight the power.
But where?
The GLBT community lost big on election day in California, Arkansas, Florida and Arizona.
We respond with lawsuits, with protests, with direct non-violent action in the streets, with denunciations.We have clout now in high places, the highest, in fact, in the United States.
We have many state legislators and governors, both houses of Congress and the president elect of the United States.
We have bi-partisan support.
We have star-power and corporate influence.
We have wealthy — or moderately wealthy — organizations.
We have sympathetic friends and neighbors and relatives.
We have editorial boards and yes, I’ll admit it, we have liberal-leaning reporters.
We have out and proud people to demand equality.
What do we not have?
We do not have the religious institutions, their leaders and their worshippers.
Groups within the religious community and organizations such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force/ National Religious Leadership Roundtable have worked long and hard to effect change, with some success. But still, again and again and again we lose because questionable people of faith perpetuate lies and myths, finance bigoted campaigns and block reform within their institutions and by our governments.
And too many in the pews believe that faith means accepting, without question, what is said from the altar or written in the church bulletin or decreed from Salt Lake City or Rome.
I’m reminded of a passage in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Jesus was in a temple when he turned to his disciples and said, “Beware of these teachers of religious law for they love to parade in flowing robes and to have everyone bow to them as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”
I’m reminded too of an old nursery rhyme that goes, “Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people.” In too many houses of worship across the country, when we open the doors, we see the people getting indoctrinated against justice and personal liberty. Give me that old-time religion, for GLBTs, can mean long-held prejudice and all the riches to keep discrimination on the law books.
And that old-time promise of separation of church and state has not diminished the influence of churches that bankroll campaigns to thwart equality and turn back our advances.
Institutions that claim to seek to protect traditional families seem committed to undermining families, demeaning love and devaluing relationships.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for one, invested heavily in the fight years ago in Hawaii to defeat marriage equality and, it should come as no surprise, the LDS church invested heavily in the push to eliminate marriage equality in California this year.
A lot of people, myself included, have quit houses of worship because of such actions. But the take it or leave it approach has left the most powerful religious institutions to the rigid, the conservative, the selfish, the hypocritical.
So how do we rise up, fight the power?
For some years now I’ve admired Soulforce for its commitment to direct action to effect direct change. Following Soulforce, we go to the church, open the door, and convince all the people.
We go to the faith-based groups and convince all the people.
We go to the faith-based schools and convince all the people.
This we do within the institutions, as worshippers, as parents and as donors. Step out from the choir and sing a battle hymn, a protest song.
This we do from outside the institutions, as demonstrators, protesters, reformers — whatever word you like for those who agitate for change.
This we do.
Rise up.
Fight the power.
Chad: You are damn right I am bitter. Should we all not be bitter?? It annoys me how my heterosexual friends continue to marry without a second thought to us and our relationships. My partner and I have never once received an anniversary card or anything like it. Yet, we continue to attend those weddings, send those cards, and adopt their babies.
So, I guess I am bitter. I am bitter because I know (I am 57) that I will never see our equality in my lifetime. That is sad for me and does make me bitter.
Scott: I like your point. Have you seen “Religulous”? I think you would enjoy it.
As science progresses, religious people are beginning to look more and more foolish, so the are fighting back and/or burying themselves more in their stupidity. Seriously, what makes more sense: a) things change slowly over time b) a virgin gave birth to someone who came back from the dead then they both flew off into the sky together. Sadly, more Americans believe it’s B than A.
Just read a disturbing story about Sharia law in Somalia. The law dragged a screaming 13 year old girl into a soccer stadium and in front of 1000 people they buried her in sand up to her neck and stoned her head until she died. Why did they do this?
Because she had been raped by 3 men and was therefore FOUND GUILTY of adultery and sentenced according to a barbarous, religious judicial code. (The men were not prosecuted.)
So what’s this have to do with Prop 8?
Let’s not wait to figure that out until the sand reaches our chins! The difference between this and how some US churches treat gays is one of degree, not of intent.
This time things are different. I have never seen such a great number of protestors and many coming out of the closet for the first time in their lives to pick up and sign and ask for any kind of right for being gay. It is amazing. Also, it changes the political landscape in regards to calculations made by officials when determining whether or not to lend their support. Today, is a new day!
Two points.
(1) We have the nonbelievers (generally) and that is a growing group of citizens. They are at times in worse trouble than we are, because their belief that there isn’t a supernatural power to believe in isn’t protected the same as religious belief, and that is inherently unfair. We ought to be supporting them so their ideas can compete on a level playing field with believers, because that will ultimately benefit us.
(2) We do have the religions, just not the biggest ones. Gay marriage and gay rights has become an issue of encoding the religious views of certain majority religions into law, at the expense of others. Many gays and lesbians are believers, and the point should be made that their religious viewpoints on gay issues are as valid and protected as any others. While gay rights are relatively new, religious rights are not, and this argument will win.
@James
I don’t know how you live, but I for one DO support heterosexual couples. My parents, siblings, and friends are all people in great relationships, and I see no reason why I should not support them simply because I’m a homosexual. You seem awfully bitter for some reason, which is a shame, because we DO need to fight for our rights, just as so many others have (with success) in the past.
And civil marriage is more than just about legal benefits; although, there are some rights you are NOT entitled to despite your claims at not missing anything. Regardless, with marriage comes added civil tolerance and a society where homosexuals don’t have to fear losing their jobs based on their sexuality. With our rights to marriage acknowledged, our protection under the law expands because we will finally be that much closer to being regarded as equals.
Where to begin …..
Gays have been “agitating for change” within the “church” for 2,000 years and look what it got us …. more condemnation and “no 72 virgins and rivers of wine for YOU!”
It is time we got off the self loathing urge to beg for approval from people who hate us … grow a pair, and go for the financial jugular … hit ‘em where it hurts, the wallet, ( or purse if you prefer ).
Hold churches accountable for the hate they spew, and their meddling in politics … boycott everything they own, and agitate tirelessly to have their tax exempt status yanked.
They don’t have to like us to respect our ability to not be whining doormats … we’ve tried that, it doesn’t work.
Regarding the need for “marriage” … my partner and I are married, ( Massachusetts ).
We own a home, pay lots of taxes, had all the legal documents, but got married for the extra legal protection if affords. Wills can be contested, and it can cost a fortune to battle over the estate with greedy relatives and lawyers. There is automatic inheritance for married spouses, in Massachusetts and Connecticut anyway.
A last word regarding religions role in our oppression …. how does one ‘reason’ with people who believe in talking snakes, virgin births, original ’sin’, Noah’s Ark, fishes to loaves, native Americans being a lost tribe of Jerusalem, Jesus running around in up-state NY burying ‘golden tablets’, magic undies, etcetera …. not to mention their mass murdering psychopathic invisible pretend friend in the clouds …. these people are dangerously NUTS, one does not reason with them.
Lets not forget that the same churches that we are battling now are the ones that fought against the 18th Amendment giving woman the right to vote. They fought against equal rights for woman, ie. giving woman the rights to sign contracts, not being the property of a husbands or legal male guardian, being able to own property, etc. They fought against interracial marriages, against segregation and integration, they gave us prohibition and the list could go on. I find it amazing that they have never been right. Just because you can justify whatever you want in the bible they have not learned it doesn’t make it right. In the end they will loose this one as well. But for now our work is cut out for us to once again combat bible justified bigotry.
It is the weakness, ironically, of the fundamentalist position that they neither know nor understand scripture
Forget trying to get the “anti-gay and greatly bigoted churches” on our side. It will never happen in the lifetime of ayone who is now living on this planet. Their “burden” is just too great for them to lay down and allow others to liveas they see fit. Their main purpose is to indoctrinate their own, alienate their opponents and then kill those who will not convert if necessary.
Our only hope are sane, even-minded, logical and legally-wise judges in the court system, and particularly, the SCOTUS.
The choice of one’s erligion cannot ever overrule or diminish in any way another’s way of life.
Their crazed desire for a particular after-life DOES NOT TRUMP my desire for a decent, kind, loving and meaningful before-death. I wish to keep my live, affirm my liberty, and pursue my happiness as I see fit. If they can have their’s, then I MUST have mine, OR ELSE WE ALL WILL LOSE THESE TREASURED VALUES.
Having religious organizations on our side is an important goal. However, we must also take the perspective of churches themselves and see their motivation beyond scripture for voting against us. One issue that keeps coming up is that of taking away tax exempt status from churches refusing to honor gay marriages in ceremony as well as the misinformation that pastors voicing negative opinions about gays and lesbians will be arrested for hate speech. We must work with all churches, including ones that oppose our cause to assure them that their right to free speech and thought as long as non-violent and non-partisan is protected as well. Now many will come on and post after me that we should not give our opponents respect because it is not returned. It is hard to turn the other cheek after you get punched in the face, but we must shake off the punch and keep moving forward. We must tactically ensure that church’s first amendment rights are protected in civil marriages. Remember, even today many churches ask parishoners not to have mixed religious marriages within their churches (Catholic marrying a Jew for instance) out of respect for their congregation. Although diappointing it is their right to make such a request. The same privalege should be allotted for gays and lesbians. We get our right to marry and they retain their right to say “not in this church” instead of “not in America.” Like it or not this is about coexistence with dissent and not compromise. But we must do this with real examples of gays and lesbians in front and not straight surrogates. We must take the time and say thanks to the national organizations for starting something but demand stronger action, louder voices, and unflinching advocacy in return as well for they have not served us well in totality.
When I was in kindergarten, I learned that when another child had a toy that I wanted, the best way to get the toy was to not be interested in it. If I fought, yelled and tried to grab the toy, the more likely it was that I wasn’t going to get the toy. When I walked away in disinterest, the other child would drop the toy to be picked up by me later.
I see gay marriage as the exactly the same thing. I have been with my partner for 15 years. We have shared a house, a family, a bank account, wills and official documents attending to health care, etc. I cannot, for the life of me, see what advantage marriage would have had in our relationship.
What I would like to see is for gays to ignore this institution. I mean we do not attend weddings, we do not send anniversary cards, and do not support heterosexual couples in this institution in any way. Let’s admit it…it is silly anyway. With over 60% ending in divorce, what is the point? I predict that, in the end, if we still really do want this heterosexual toy, they wouldn’t even notice…like back on the playground.
Most gays are deeply alienated from religion, especially Christianity, with good reason. For 2000 years, Christianity has intentionally and culpably made itself an enemy of gays.
But this situation creates an unusual problem for the gay rights movement. While other civil rights movements have been able to count on the backing of important religious forces, the gay rights movement has been opposed by all but a small number of progressive churches. In America, which is saturated with religion, and where religion is held in the highest regard, and where sexual behavior outside of the “norm” is the focus of moral issues, that’s a serious liability. It explains to a large degree why our struggle has been such a difficult uphill battle.
I’m not suggesting that more gays should become religious. I’m only suggesting that progressive religious organizations can be very effective allies in countering the attacks from right-wing churches and in moving public opinion to our side. Their religious authority is the proper antidote for the venom of the religious right. We should welcome their help and work closely with them on our issues.
Thanks from newer Ally in California, had been looking for just such a group to support.