If you read this blobber very often, you probably know that I don't hold churches or organized religions in very high regard (to mildly understate the obvious). In fact, I've made a point to contend that our world would be a much more peaceful and cooperative place if not for the religious strife our various faiths have wrought upon the planet for the past couple thousand years.
But I just saw an article on Huffington Post that might make me reconsider a blanket condemnation of religion.
The Green Street United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has announced that its ministers will refrain from performing marriages at the church until same-sex marriage is allowed by the state and by their denomination. Here's a portion of the transcript from the church website:
On the matter of same-sex marriage, Green Street UMC sees injustice in the legal position of state government and the theological position of our denomination. North Carolina prohibits same-sex marriage and all the rights and privileges marriage brings. The Leadership Council has asked that their ministers join others who refuse to sign any State marriage licenses until this right is granted to same-sex couples.
Another article on the church's decision included this:
Currently, the United Methodist Church prohibits its pastors from conducting same sex weddings. The church also bans gay and lesbian people from serving as clergy. Kelly Carpenter, pastor at the church says his congregation continues to diversify, and now has more than 15 gay and lesbian couples.
“The United Methodist Church like many other churches is struggling with language within the denomination. In 2012, there were many attempts to change all the language within the discipline around the issues around gay and lesbian people and all of those attempts seemed to fail. But the percentage of the way in which those votes are taken is narrowing, and I think eventually it will tip over and be more inclusive of the gay and lesbian folks in our denomination,” says Carpenter.
Good to know there are still people more concerned about social justice than with keeping their church out of the headlines.
6 comments:
but but but...where will the little Methodists come from then?
Smells like who's putting money in the collection plate to me more than the word of God. But then I'm a cynical old son-of-a-bitch who thinks money is behind everything.
I am only slightly less cynical than Mr. C, but I think the change in attitudes is driven more by changes in the general culture rather than money.
Segregation was legal until 1964; “miscegenation” was illegal in many states until 1967; and laws banning discrimination against homosexuals only started appearing in the 2000's.
There is still a lot of racism in the country, but even in the South, people are so accustomed to staying in the same hotel as the ni-clangs, and eating in the same diners that no one even thinks about it.
When I was in rural Louisiana (a very conservative area) where I grew up about a year ago, I overhead one woman tell another that one of their mutual friends had a black daughter-in-law, whereupon the other responded that another friend had a black son-in-law. They were not angry or upset, but rather resigned. By now, there are thousands of parents and grandparents in the same situation all over the country.
And now, people are discovering that there are homosexuals everywhere, including in their own families, who are not disgustingly abnormal, but rather ordinary human beings (except for those who are fabulous, of course).
People, even the rabidly religious or conservative, gradually adapt to the “new normal.” It might look to you and me like fairly minor changes, but it makes secular and religious leaders frantic because they use the fears and prejudices of their “flock” to manipulate and control them. Every time a prejudice or fear starts to diminish, they lose another lever to maintain their power and wealth.
Cynthianne, cultural changes only come about when people are open with their lives, and in every case you mentioned there were laws on the books to prevent that open-ness from happening. As long as state laws mimic certain faiths' Biblical interpretations, people can point to the courthouse and the church to defend their bigotry.
It's basic human rights, basic civil rights, common decency and fairness that are being withheld under the guise of "values", and the sooner that bullshit is exposed for what it really is- hypocrisy and intolerance- we're no better off than we were a hundred years ago.
Pisses me off BIG TIME when unconstitutional bigotry is written off as "the word of God".
BIG TIME.
Squatlo,
Sorry I wasn't clear in my comment.
The point I was trying to make was that people did not even start to become open with their lives until laws banning various types of discrimination were passed and enforced, and even then it took about 20-50 years for grudging acceptance to permeate the general culture.
The diehard regressives are using their main weapon, religious bullshit, to try to put the genie back in the bottle, and they are having some success at the state level (like TN), but in the long run they will fail.
I know, in the long run we will all be dead, and I doubt I will live long enough to, for example, see atheists recognized as normal humans (and you won't either), but maybe our many-great grandkids will a couple of hundred years from now.
(Assuming the human race hasn't exterminated itself before then.)
cynthianne, you were clear with your comment... operator error on my part might have given you the impression that you weren't.
Athiests as real people?
C'mon now! That's just crazy talk!
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