Same-sex relationships, religious traditions, marriage and the law

Abstract

This article reviews the historical relationship of religious institutions to the performance of marriage ceremonies. It looks at what various religious traditions say officially about homosexuality and about same-sex relationships. It also considers how gay and lesbian couples have negotiated their places, especially in terms of same-sex ceremonies of commitment, within religious traditions which have offered varying degrees and kinds of affirmation. The author goes on to argue that there will be a variety of religious views concerning the legalization of same-sex relationships as marriages or marriage-like relationships. Religious institutions are not now obliged to marry all those who can be legally married, so the objections that arise within religious institutions should be handled as matters of policy within those religious institutions rather than as grounds for denying the legal right to marriage to gay and lesbian couples. The author further argues that all marriage as a legal entity should rest in the hands of the state, and that churches should bless relationships rather continue to be involved in legalizing marriages.