LGBTQ+ Marriage Equality: Is It a Civil or Religious Matter?
- Elaine R Kelly
- Nov 14
- 4 min read
This week, the Supreme Court of the US upheld its 2015 law legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Marriage partners may opt to seek the blessing of a church, and churches may opt to deny it, but marriage is a legal status in all states for all citizens of all faiths.
Is marriage equality a civil or religious matter? What does it mean that the US Supreme Court upheld the law permitting same-sex marriage?
The Supreme Court makes decisions for the whole society, but some Christians wanted the law of the land to fall in line with their fundamentalist values. One of the dissenting Supreme Court justices said that the same-sex marriage ruling had "ruinous consequences" for religious liberty.
History of Marriages
A wedding was a civil institution and a legal matter, with no church involvement. A civil marriage was a way for a husband to bind a woman to him exclusively, to guarantee that her children were his biological, legal heirs. Men were free to take several wives for legitimate offspring, and free to satisfy primal urges with concubines, prostitutes, or young male lovers. If a wife failed to produce male offspring, a husband could set her aside or abandon her.
Slowly, men began to seek the blessing of a priest in addition to the civil ceremony. After a legal civil wedding, the couple would stand before a priest at the church steps. It was not until the 8th century that weddings were performed inside a church. It was 1184 when the church recognized marriage as a sacrament and marriage became a religious institution.
Eventually, civil authority was added to religious authority so that a local priest or pastor could declare a legal marriage and a holy matrimony. Today, in many countries, civil marriages are required, while it is also optional to have a religious ceremony, prayer, or dedication.
Great Britain introduced non-religious civil marriages in 1836. By 1929, all US states had civil laws governing marriage licenses. In 1913, when married-couple income tax filing was introduced, marriage moved from a state to a federal issue.
In 1920, women became full citizens with the right to vote. Instead of a father transferring property to a husband, the marriage became the union of two full citizens. Once women were citizens, it meant the right to say no, to recognize domestic abuse and marital rape. Some Americans are openly lobbying to end a woman's right to vote, lobbying for what they call a "household vote" where a husband or father speaks for a woman. In both Canada and a majority of US states, a man is permitted to marry a girl as young as 16.
In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex weddings. In 2005, it became legal nationwide in Canada.
The 2015, the US ruled for marriage equality for same-sex couples. It declared that the Constitution guaranteed due process and equal protection under the law, and that states could not ban same-sex marriages. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that gay people should not be "excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
What happened?
Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk elected to her post, refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple, stating that she could not act against her religious beliefs, which oppose same-sex marriage. After violating a judicial order to issue the marriage license, Davis served six days in jail for contempt of court. She argued that she was jailed for following her religious convictions regarding the definition of marriage. She appealed to the lower courts that the US Constitution's First Amendment that her right to free exercise of religion protected her from liability in the case.
The US District Judge David Bunning rejected her assertion, writing, "Davis cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official." A jury awarded the plaintiffs $100,000 in damages in 2023, and Bunning later ordered Davis to pay more than $260,000 in attorneys' fees and expenses.
The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Davis, concluding that under Supreme Court precedent, the First Amendment protects only private conduct, not the actions of government officials carrying out their duties.
What does it mean?
The Supreme Court decision this week is based on public officials not using their personal faith to deny others their civil rights.
The 2022 Respect for Marriage Act recognizes the legitimacy of same-sex and interracial marriages federally. However, powerful Christian lobby groups continue to challenge this act and lobby to end protections for both same-sex and interracial marriage. Strategies to watch:
Christian nationalism: changing federal laws to be in line with fundamentalist Christians, enshrining their personal faith above the rights of others to their faith or civil rights, and replacing secular laws with laws based on an extreme form of Christianity.
Confederalism: granting each state more authority, decentralizing or dismantling federal functions and granting more autonomy to states to set policies on abortion and marriage.
Seven Mountains Mandate (7MM): advocating for evangelical Christians to align policies with their theology and rule over seven areas: government, education, family, entertainment, media, business, and religion.
That is why it is so important that I show LGBTQ+ characters in my fiction. Unfortunately, I've found that those who believe in equality and those who believe in Christianity are often at odds. I don't write about queer romance - I write about how God creates all people, and God's family needs to welcome and affirm all people as equals.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A NovelÂ
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