Why Should People of Faith Care about Marriage Equality
All across Iowa, in many families and faith communities, Iowans are thoughtfully talking about whether and how to recognize a life commitment made by two men or two women in love. People of faith and goodwill who support marriage equality come to this place from a few different directions.
FAITH
"My faith belief supports the equality of all persons. Marriage equality is a basic social justice issue and my faith calls me to stand up for and beside the marginalized."
"Using a few disputed passages from sacred texts to condemn an entire group of people denies the greater universal principles of equality and justice in those sacred texts."
CIVIC
"Whatever my or my church's beliefs are about marriage equality, I don't think that, in a democracy, any one specific religious viewpoint, even my own, should dictate public policy. Given the main resistance to same-sex marriage seems to be a religious argument, this seems to clearly erase the boundaries of separation of church and state."
"Our state's constitution guarantees the equality of all people. By allowing gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, we affirm our constitution's equal protection guarantees."
PERSONAL
"My sister/friend/co-worker is a lesbian and I can't imagine why anyone would deny her and her partner the basic protections offered by marriage, that I and my spouse already enjoy. They aren't any different than us."
Wherever you come from in your support of marriage equality, we invite you to join with others of faith and goodwill working to make marriage equality a reality in Iowa.
HERE. NOW. YOU.
"Perhaps you have come to the place where you are for just such a time as this." This paraphrase from the Esther story out of the Judeo-Christian traditions, asks of Esther's willingness to use her position in support of justice. It compels us to think about the unique place Iowans of faith have in the conversation about marriage equality and why it is important we are working NOW to educate those around us.
IDEAL PLACE With its long visionary civil rights history, fair-minded ideals, and deep sense of family and community, Iowa is the ideal place to be talking about marriage equality.
IDEAL TIME With marriages occuring in communities, both large and small, across Iowa, this is the ideal time to host discussions on marriage equality and fairness under the law. Seeing neighbors and friends get married, many of whom have been together for 10, 15, even 30 years makes marriage equality real and not simply some abstract construct. These are real lives. We must effectively take advantage of this time to continue our public and private conversations about marriage and the need for all people to have access to the rights and responsibilities that marriage provides.
IDEAL MESSENGER Further, people of faith are in an ideal position to educate others about civil equality, the importance of separation of church and state, challenges faced by families headed by gay and lesbian couples, and how religious tenets of compassion command the faithful to stand for the marginalized. Given it is often the anti-marriage religious voice that is heard the loudest, it is imperative that the pro-marriage religious voice be united and vocal too. The public often does not expect marriage equality proponents to be people of faith, which creates wonderful opportunities for you as an 'unexpected messenger' to spread the good news of equality and fairness.
