A Common Missed Conception

Is the institution of marriage really at stake?

It's hard to overstate just how upset religious conservatives are about gay marriage. Gary Bauer's e-mail newsletter about the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling declared, "Culture Wars Go Nuclear." Brian Fahling of the American Family Association said it was "on an order of magnitude that is beyond the capacity of words. The Court has tampered with society's DNA, and the consequent mutation will reap unimaginable consequences for Massachusetts and our nation."

A new poll from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found, not surprisingly, that opposition to gay marriage and homosexuality is highest among the most religious. our nation."

Poignantly, homosexuality would seem to be the one topic that unites the leaders of the world's faiths-an issue over which Franklin Graham and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamed could break bread. Even the Dalai Lama views it as "sexual misconduct." (But don't mention this to the liberal Hollywood Buddhist set.) our nation."

Why exactly are religious folks opposed to gay marriage? The most fashionable argument against it is that it undermines the institution of marriage (and therefore family and therefore society), but I can't help but think this is a poll-tested idea that doesn't really get at the true feelings of the advocates; in the Pew poll, few people opposing the notion of gay marriage offered that up as the main reason. Most said, instead, that gay marriage and homosexuality were inherently "wrong" or violated their religious beliefs.

The world's sacred texts are silent on the question of gay marriage, as it was not really an issue when they were written. However, those same texts do have strong opinions on homosexuality itself. Though there are differences in the views of different faiths, conservative Protestants, the Catholic Church, Mormons, traditional Jews, and Muslims share two fundamental antigay arguments.

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