Visit MyDaytonDailyNews.com to watch videos of the Rev. Sherry Gale, senior paster of Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, and the Rev. Mark Martin, senior pastor of Maiden Lane Church in Springfield, discuss religious freedom laws.
The explosive laws in Indiana and Arkansas that brought fierce national condemnation and promises of boycotts is the latest battleground illustrating the tectonic shift on marriage equality in America.
Interviews with church leaders on each side of the issue shows a convergence of opinions on the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, and all said they oppose discrimination. Even those who favor laws aimed at protecting religious freedom say such laws should not be used to deny someone’s civil rights.
But some see a dangerous undercurrent to the current debate and believe it is another example of individuals being persecuted in the name of religion.
“Religion has been used multiple times throughout our history to discriminate against people. We can look at segregation laws in our not-too-recent history where people claim that the Bible said ‘my Christian faith supported segregation and therefore we should be allowed to discriminate,’” said the Rev. Michael Castle, the openly gay pastor of Harmony Creek Church in Washington Twp. “This is nothing new. And the same kind of thing is being used now.”
Castle’s views are contrasted by the Rev. Mark A. Martin, senior pastor at Maiden Lane Church in Springfield, who favors a law for Ohio similar to the amended version passed in Indiana.
“One of the big concerns is does this all end up in a place that people of faith and churches like ourselves – if we state what our belief is – is that going to be viewed as hate speech?” Martin said. “Are we going to be forced to do things that go against our conscience and go against our clear teachings and doctrine? That’s one of the big fears a lot of people have.”
The debate over religious expression and freedom — coming as the world’s Christians today celebrate their holiest holiday — may be a prelude to a United States Supreme Court decision that is bound to please some, upset others and perhaps clarify the legal definition of marriage in America.
Four area faith leaders offer perspectives that may diverge dramatically in their acceptance of same-sex marriage and religious freedom laws, but coalesce around the idea that the civil rights of every American deserves protection.
Rev. Sherry Gale
So-called religious freedom laws are neither necessary nor helpful — and worse yet, discriminate, Gale said.
“Most distressing in this, when the words ‘religious freedom’ and ‘discrimination’ are so closely associated and held up almost as if they’re together, something is really, really wrong,” she said. “Religious freedom should have nothing to do with any kind of discrimination.”
Laws like those introduced in Indiana and Arkansas were thrown up as a line of defense as the number of states where it is now legal for same-gender couples to wed grows, Gale said.
“It’s because of the equality of marriage acts that are being put forth in many states and this is a response to that and a concern about that among people who don’t agree,” she said. “(Marriage equality) is a way of giving everybody the same freedoms and rights as anyone else. I don’t see that impinging on any faith organization or anyone’s faith.”
The country’s legislative bodies should pay more attention to issues that cause actual harm to society, Gale said.
“There’s all kinds of things that people do that are way more harmful than what this is aimed at — guns and violence and other things — but there doesn’t seem to be any notion that we ought to do anything about that,” she said. “I don’t see how this could be used in a positive way to lift people up, to build community, and I believe that’s what our faith is supposed to be about.”
Rev. Archie Johnson
From his biblical perspective, the Rev. Archie Johnson believes homosexuality is a sin.
But he also believes individuals who engage in adultery or premarital sex are also sinning, yet they are not subject to discrimination the same way gays are, he said.
Like many Americans, Johnson’s views are not easy to pigeonhole. He is not sure how his church would handle a gay wedding should same-sex marriage become law in Ohio, but he opposes a strict religious freedom law because it could signal a return to an ugly chapter in the nation’s history.
“It mirrors some of the Jim Crow laws that used to exist, said Johnson, pastor of the St. Phillip’s Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Hamilton. “So we have to be real careful how that comes back and haunts America. Do we want to give people the right to discriminate against somebody because they don’t look like them, or don’t act like them, or have different purposes?”
Like Gale, Johnson says religious freedom is not something that needs protection from the legislature.
“It would not be a good law for the state of Ohio,” Johnson said. “People have blown it up to just be about gays or lesbian relationships and sexual orientation, but at the end of the day it’s discrimination and discrimination anywhere is discrimination everywhere.”
Rev. Mark A. Martin
Society’s acceptance of gays and lesbians is changing rapidly and everyone deserves equal rights, acknowledges the Rev. Mark A. Martin.
But walking into a restaurant and ordering dinner is different than walking into any church and asking to be married, he said. He believes special protections are needed to preserve an individual’s faith choices.
“If you grant marriage to same-sex couples, can you do that and at the same time preserve the freedom of religious groups who, as a matter of conscience, cannot support that?” Martin said. “We as a church hold to a view that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. It’s driven by our faith, by our engagement with faith.”
Martin said he may never be able to accept gay or lesbian marriages in his church, but it’s not out of hate or malice.
“That’s always been one of the strengths of America. You have people with some very different core beliefs and values but who are able to live alongside each other in a common society even though they have real disagreements with each other.”
Martin maintains an Ohio law may become more necessary if the Supreme Court opens the door this summer to national same-gender marriage in a case which includes Ohio and three other states. A 150-minute oral argument session is scheduled April 28. A decision is expected toward the end of June.
“As a pastor, for our congregation and for other pastors I know, one of the concerns we have is does this shake out in a way that it’s going to be stated that you don’t agree to perform weddings that are against your core beliefs and values, that that would be somehow considered a breach of the law?” he said.
“That’s got to be worked out.”
Rev. Michael Castle
The whole notion of “religious liberty” came from Baptists forcing the Continental Congress to get it into the Bill of Rights, said the Rev. Michael Castle, whose church is a United Church of Christ congregation but is also part of the Alliance of Baptists, a progressive movement.
“They used to be persecuted, they used to be a minority and they really lobbied that in the creation of this country we value religious liberty for all people no matter what your religious faith is, even if you have no faith at all,” said Castle. “Unfortunately for most Baptists, that history has been lost and awareness has been forgotten. Now Baptists are a very large denomination and they seem to want to try to shape America to be their values and legislate governmental action to their values and beliefs.”
The laws in Indiana and Arkansas were meant to appease a conservative religious base and retaliate against those pushing for marriage equality, Castle said.
“This is a way to kind of punish … and they’re getting called out on it,” he said. “And I’m glad they’re getting called out on it.”
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