Minnesota Episcopals vote to oppose amendment to ban same-sex marriage
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 at 2:31 pm
- 12 Comments
Minnesota’s Episcopalians voted this weekend to oppose a ballot question that would change the Minnesota Constitution to ban marriage rights for same-sex couples. The denomination joins a small but growing list of faith organizations who are urging members to vote “no” next November.
The Star Tribune reports that the Episcopalians voted in favor of a “Resolution against the Constitutional Amendment to Ban Marriage for Same-Sex Couples.”
“The Episcopal Church in Minnesota has always stood with the marginalized,” Brian N. Prior, IX Bishop of Minnesota, said in a statement following the vote. “Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender orientation or immigrant status, Episcopalians in Minnesota have always embraced both the Gospel mandate of love of neighbor and the Baptismal Covenant imperative to respect the dignity of every human being.”
OutFront Minnesota, a member of the Minnesotans United for All Families coalition which is working to defeat the amendment said in a Facebook message, “We can all be proud of the many communities of faith that have taken a stand with LGBT Minnesotans to make our state a place that values and welcomes all people and families.”
The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations is the only other denomination to formally come out against the amendment. Mayflower United Church in Christ, Open Circle Church, Shir Tikvah Synagogue, Mt. Zion Temple and Jewish Community Action have also come out against the amendment, as have the non-religious communities that make up the Minnesota Atheists.
Some denominations that haven’t yet taken a stand on the issue are facing pressure.
The Minnesota members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is having an annual week-long meeting with Minnesota’s Roman Catholic Bishops as part of a 35-year dialogue on issues of mutual interest, but one group is calling on the ELCA to speak out against the Catholic church’s involvement in opposing LGBT rights.
The Rainbow Sash Movement, a group of Catholic working to change the church’s attitude toward LGBT people, released a statement today calling on the ELCA to distance itself from the Catholic church on the same-sex marriage issue.
“We are calling on the Evangelical Bishops to condemn the public aspirations of the Catholic Bishops to promote homophobia as an acceptable behavior when it comes to the legitimate aspirations of GLBT people seeking equality in the state of Minnesota,” the group said. “Not to do so might be seen as a sign of subliminal agreement and support for the Catholic Bishops opposition to Gay Marriage.”
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Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 4:00 pm
And that, friends, is why I’m proud to be an Episcopalian.
Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 4:24 pm
And yet so many gay people prefer the simplicity of declaring Christianity in general, or even religion in general, to be The Enemy rather than acknowledging the reality that, though percentages vary, there are allies in every group, and sometimes even enough to make that the official position.
Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 5:07 pm
Perhaps Hyhybt should acknowledge the reality that the many gay people who consider Christianity in general, or even religion in general, to be The Enemy are probably correct given their life experiences.
Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 6:06 pm
Hyhybt, it’s because not enough Christians actively counter the evangelical demonizing for gay people. Good on the Episcopalians for sure.
Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 8:17 pm
“Perhaps Hyhybt should acknowledge the reality that the many gay people who consider Christianity in general, or even religion in general, to be The Enemy are probably correct given their life experiences.”
— Not so. “Given their life experiences” their position is certainly understandable, but it’s still not true.
Comment posted November 2, 2011 @ 8:52 pm
Really? It is not for you, Hyhybt, to decide how others should feel based on their life experiences. You would be well-advised to acknowledge their feelings on their own terms, and re-direct your busyness towards actively countering that evangelical demonizing of gay people, and by doing so, help earn that forgiveness, if at all, from those that religion has deeply wounded. Chances are that many would not go back to religion, having seen that they do just as fine or even better without religion. Meh.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 11:24 am
Let’s not forget that all the major Christian denominations have remained silent for the past several decades despite all the violence, discrimination and dehumanization of GLBT individuals. What does this say about the moral voice of much of Christianity? How can the faith possibly claim any unique witness to moral truth?
Also, how is it that much of Christianity still cannot refrain from hateful and slanderous language with regard to GLBT people? How is it that lies can still be told by many of these churches regarding homosexuality and the lives of those with same sex orientation?
Many young people see this towering hypocrisy quite clearly and are leaving the faith in numbers (no doubt for various other reasons as well). Around 20% of college students now claim to be atheist or agnostic, a huge increase in religious skepticism from older generations. And herewith we have the next scapegoat of the religious conservatives…
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 1:12 pm
I am a lifelong Episcopalian, and never more proud of it than in the last few years.
MN State Constitution:
“Sec. 16. Freedom of conscience; no preference to be given to any religious establishment or mode of worship. The enumeration of rights in this constitution shall not deny or impair others retained by and inherent in the people. The right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be infringed; nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any religious or ecclesiastical ministry, against his consent; nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state, nor shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious societies or religious or theological seminaries.”
The same part of the state constitution that protects faith-based gay-bashing also protects faith-based gay marriage. If the ban passes, it would set up a direct conflict in the constitution that would have interesting consequences. Either gay marriage cannot be banned, or gay-bashing cannot be protected.
By banning SSM, the state would endorse that “preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship”.
This is why I say that social conservatives are anti-religious freedom.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 3:34 pm
Lane: nowhere in this thread have I told anyone how they should FEEL. I said that the conclusion that all Christianity or all religion is the enemy is *factually* incorrect. That you pretend those are the same speaks volumes.
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
If you lie by saying something I never did, that’s your problem and not mine.
If you then choose to drag out a childish and outdated phrase for no good reason whatsoever, same thing.
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