I know that it seems like this is turning into a blog entirely dedicated to the issue of gay rights; but with the passage of Prop Hate and my upcoming nuptials to the greatest woman on earth, I cannot help but have marriage on the brain.
Personally I am going to try and stop using the term “gay marriage”. I believe that referring to it as “gay marriage” continues to perpetuate the idea that it is something “other”. It makes a distinction between “marriage” and “gay marriage”. It’s just a watered down version of the segregation we currently have in place with “marriage” and “civil unions”.
OK. That was all just prologue to what I really want to write about which is the separation of Church and State. Let me also make a disclaimer that the following is just an idea, just food for thought. I myself am not entirely behind it either but it is a very interesting idea and something that I would like to get some response to.
What if Government just got out of the marriage game entirely?
Now I know some of you are probably thinking that this sounds insane but bear with me. It seems to me that the big roadblock for homosexuals being allowed to marry is religion. This is best exemplified by the amount of money the Church of Latter Day Saints and other religious organizations pumped into the various gay marriage amendments across the country.
In their arguments and literature they make all sorts of claims about how allowing homosexual couples to marry would somehow hurt or devalue their marriages. I personally feel this is bullshit.
What it really breaks down to is that they see homosexuality as a sin and feel that were we to allow homosexuals to marry, we as a Nation would be condoning a sinful lifestyle and we all would be headed for hell. This idea of collective damnation is the same mentality that lead to the Salem Witch Trials. But I digress. Back to the key point…
If marriage is such an important and sacred word, let's get it out of all these legal documents floating around our Nation. Religion has no place in politics and vice versa. Here's an idea: If you want to get married you can go to a church (mosque, temple, etc), if you want a civil union (and to be recognized by the Government) you go to a courthouse.
This way religion is not allowing 'Godless sodomites' to 'besmirch' a 'sacred institution', and government can be free to grant all of our citizenry the equal protection they are entitled to under the law.
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” - Matthew 22:21
Once again this is just a theory. But I’d like to get your thoughts on it.
Personally I am going to try and stop using the term “gay marriage”. I believe that referring to it as “gay marriage” continues to perpetuate the idea that it is something “other”. It makes a distinction between “marriage” and “gay marriage”. It’s just a watered down version of the segregation we currently have in place with “marriage” and “civil unions”.
OK. That was all just prologue to what I really want to write about which is the separation of Church and State. Let me also make a disclaimer that the following is just an idea, just food for thought. I myself am not entirely behind it either but it is a very interesting idea and something that I would like to get some response to.
What if Government just got out of the marriage game entirely?
Now I know some of you are probably thinking that this sounds insane but bear with me. It seems to me that the big roadblock for homosexuals being allowed to marry is religion. This is best exemplified by the amount of money the Church of Latter Day Saints and other religious organizations pumped into the various gay marriage amendments across the country.
In their arguments and literature they make all sorts of claims about how allowing homosexual couples to marry would somehow hurt or devalue their marriages. I personally feel this is bullshit.
What it really breaks down to is that they see homosexuality as a sin and feel that were we to allow homosexuals to marry, we as a Nation would be condoning a sinful lifestyle and we all would be headed for hell. This idea of collective damnation is the same mentality that lead to the Salem Witch Trials. But I digress. Back to the key point…
If marriage is such an important and sacred word, let's get it out of all these legal documents floating around our Nation. Religion has no place in politics and vice versa. Here's an idea: If you want to get married you can go to a church (mosque, temple, etc), if you want a civil union (and to be recognized by the Government) you go to a courthouse.
This way religion is not allowing 'Godless sodomites' to 'besmirch' a 'sacred institution', and government can be free to grant all of our citizenry the equal protection they are entitled to under the law.
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” - Matthew 22:21
Once again this is just a theory. But I’d like to get your thoughts on it.
Posts
3 comments:
Marriage should be universal and not necessarily be a "religious" thing. True, its roots are religious but some nonreligious people celebrate Christmas and nobody cares. I don't know what point I'm trying to make. That's it, I guess, haha.
--The Greatest Woman on Earth
That idea just might work.
Two Things.
First I agree with you absolutely. The government and courts need to get out of a lot of things. You are one step closer to becoming a true conservative, freedom from governmental oppression. I just think its funny that liberals start squawking when the courts go against them. The courts have been going against Conservative and Religious people for years and the liberals just tell us to shut up. Now when they think that they are on the short end of the stick they scream “unfair”. It is just amusing.
Second, an upcoming blog on The Republic’er will lay aside all religion and present a “non-religious” argument against homosexual marriage. Stay tuned.
Just remember that separation of church and state has nothing to do with the constitution and it’s not in that wonderful document. It was penned in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Danbury Baptists about how the state should not affect the Church. He said, “...I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” The topic of separation of Church & State has developed a very biased, un-historical point of view in today’s world. It has been corrupted by people that desire that Religion be muffled and the Freedom of Religion be turned into the Freedom FROM Religion.
Keep up the fight… because we sure will.
~ The Republic’er
Post a Comment