The Roundup: Religious Leaders Speak Out For Marriage Equality

Religious leaders have made bold pronouncements this Election year on LGBT rights, particularly when it comes to Proposition 8, the statewide ballot measure in California that would eliminate marriage rights for same-sex couples.

While eliminating rights from a Constitution is so 1929, it’s still proven risky for some religious leaders to speak out against Proposition 8, and for marriage equality. Below are several snippets from religious leaders across the spectrum who’ve lent their voices (some with severe consequences) to defeat Prop 8. For more information on religious leaders speaking out for marriage equality, visit California for Faith Equality. As these bold folks point out, religion and equal rights do not have to be mutually exclusive things.

Fr. Geoff Farrow (Roman Catholic): “In directing the faithful to vote 'yes' on Proposition 8 the California bishops are not merely entering the political arena, they are ignoring the advances and insights of neurology, psychology, and the very statements made by the church itself that homosexuality is innate...I know that these words of truth will cost me dearly. But to withhold them would be far more costly and I would become accomplice to a moral evil that strips gay and lesbian people of their civil rights but of their human dignity as well.”

Rev. Peter Laarman (Episcopalian): “Everybody understands that Jesus, in his own culture, was notorious and persecuted for consorting with outcasts. When Jesus said all are welcome at the table, I think he really meant all.”

Rev. Tiffany Steinwert (Methodist): “I support the freedom to marry because of a basic understanding of love. As a person of faith, love and family is extremely important. God doesn’t ask us to choose a particular person. God just asks us to love.”

Signing For Something (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints): “We affirm the LDS Church’s right to define doctrine and policy for its own members. However, we ask that the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cease their political organizing efforts and financial support of attempts to use the government to restrict the secular and religious rights of gay and lesbian individuals and publicly retract their request that members of the LDS Church support such measures.”

Rev. Shirley Van Damme (Metropolitan Community Church – Christian): “The essence of what is holy and divine is love. When two people, no matter what their gender, love each other, that is an expression of what is holy.”

Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis (Jewish - Conservative Movement): “When two people love each other, it is in the interest of the community, in the interest of godliness, that they find each other, that the union is sanctified, that the community embrace them, and that they embrace the community.”

Muslims for Progressive Values (Islam): "Sexuality is a core component of human nature, and sexual activity is an essential aspect of human lives. In the Qur’an, God sanctions sexual activity only in the context of publicly acknowledged, committed relationships. Denying that to the queer community is tantamount to demanding they commit a major sin, or remain celibate their entire lives, neither of which is acceptable."

Rev. Jay Johnson (Episcopalian): “Every movement for liberation and progressive social change has been fueled by people of faith and religious communities, from the abolition of slavery to women’s suffrage to the civil rights movement. People of faith and religious communities have every reason to support the freedom of all people to marry whom they choose.”

Minister Jay Atkinson (Unitarian): “Jesus did not give us a list of who was left out when we were asked to love our neighbors. He simply said, “Love one another, as I have loved you.”

Rabbi Denise Egger (Jewish - Reform Movement): “I support the freedom to marry as a Rabbi because I believe in love and commitment and fidelity, and I believe that all couples should have the same protections as every other couple in society. We believe in the sanctity and holiness of a relationship between two men or two women, as well as a man and a woman, and they ought to be able to affirm that relationship under the wedding canopy.”

Rev. Neil Thomas (Metropolitan Community Church – Christian): "I absolutely believe that Jesus would support the freedom to marry. Because of that, as a follower of Jesus, it is absolutely incumbent upon me to support the freedom to marry.”