Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberties: Essay

The controversy between marriage equality and the exercise of religious freedom is a confliction between nondiscrimination laws and religious freedom laws. Religious freedom seemed to be an important aspect of an American citizen, after all it is the very first amendment to the constitution. With each American citizen being granted equality by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination made against an individual based on his/her sexual preference may seem to violate this act. In history, religious organizations typically been immune from state and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, with the cases of Obergefell v. Hodges and Kim Davis this stance is challenged.

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Many conservative groups do NOT agree with this decision. The gay marriage debate has been simmering for as long as I can remember. The four articles I have selected give information from four different perspectives including that of liberals, conservatives, homosexuals, and orthodox Jews. With so many differing opinions, one can understand why it's been so hard for the nation to come to agree on this issue.

For the past 3 decades the views surrounding marriage has undergone a great deal of change (Lennox, 2015, p. 1101). This shift is due to the continual discussion of gay marriage. The interplay of religion and politics has led for much controversy. In the United States, the use of Christian and Jewish biblical texts are the main sources drawn upon for opposition, but have also been used as a supportive means of equality. Beyond the religious there are also psychological and physical health arguments, as well as civil rights arguments. Same sex marriage is examined through different paradigms, thus giving rise to religious, political/legal, and religious arguments surrounding the legalization of this institution for gay and lesbian couples.

Elizabeth Schroeder’s book, Taking Sides, looks at opposing views on controversial issues, one of which is legalizing same-sex marriage. In their article, “Talking About the Freedom to Marry: Why Same-Sex Couples Should Have Equality in Marriage,” the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund supports same-sex marriage. An opposing view, is given by Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor. In his article, “The 28th Amendment: It Is Time to Protect Marriage, and Democracy, in America,” he explains why he is against same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage has been a recent controversy for many reasons. Many people (religious conservatives) believe that same-sex marriage is immoral, sinful, and threatens the traditional structure of a family. But gay and lesbian supporters feel marriage is a right that everyone should have, backed by the Due Process and Equal Protection of the Fourteenth Amendment. It has been proven that the outlook on gay marriage has changed drastically based simply on the fact that younger people had supported it and it just took time to gain enough approval from enough of the country to legalize it. Since most of 18-29 year-olds of 2006 supported same-sex marriage, “two-thirds of Americans think that same-sex marriage will eventually be legal in the United

Look back twenty-five years ago, on same sex marriage was a ?thought experiment? in our culture. The idea promoted primarily by those on the left and other cultures who?noticed?? amount of?boundaries to personal freedom and behavior. (April 6th, 2013 Dr.Jim Eckman).Just Seventeen years ago Congress pass a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which define a marriage, as a union between a man and women. In recent years, the debate has moved beyond questions of individual rights and proper family formation to include questions that pit religious liberty against non-discrimination policies. While all laws legalizing same-sex marriage contain some conscience protections allowing churches and other religious groups to refuse to marry gay and lesbian couples,

Same-sex marriage should be protected as First Amendment. Same-sex marriage is a just right, proven by Bill of Rights and Supreme Court. Attacking same-sex marriage law against Americans’ Bill of Rights.

Same-sex marriage at this time one of the most debated political issues in our nation. The controversy over same-sex marriage is a very touchy subject. It involves many legislative, religious and family matters. Advocates claim that same-sex couples should have the same marriage rights and that same-sex marriages should be acknowledged the same way as heterosexual couples. Advocated state that eliminating gay marriage is a form of discrimination. The varying definitions of marriage comes with a large amount of dispute. Those who support same-sex marriage often debate that love should be the main reason for marriage, regardless of your sexual orientation. Those who are opposed often quote religious viewpoints and concerns about the nurturing

There are many controversies surrounding today's world, such as abortion, animal testing, and social reform issues. It seems that no one can come to a common agreement on the legitimacy of these topics. Personal characteristics, such as upbringing, culture, religion and ethnicity, all play a role in determining one's feelings on a given controversial issue. However, one of the most protested and discussed issues in current political debate is same-sex marriage. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, only hard pressed arguments expressing speculation regarding supposed outcomes, benefits and possible tribulations that would come along with the endorsement of gay marriage. Such ideas are shown

The institutional barriers to legally recognizing same-sex marriage engender a sense of injustice and an unethical violation of a Universal Human Right. While author Card does identify these fallacies and states that the law should not determine which adult unions are legitimate, she posits an unsettling alternative. Suggesting that same-sex marriage should not have been a political issue and proposing the abolition of marriage denies the LGBT community social recognition and an equal opportunity to choose.

For years there has been a debate on gay marriage and gay rights in America. Often government keeps pushing the issue back, or refuses to partake in the debates and discussions on whether or not this type of union is “legal” in the United States. My hope with this paper is to prove that gay marriage is not in fact unconstitutional, but that there is a right to freedom for everyone, no exclusions. When it comes to gay marriage, there seem to be a number of contributing factors that weigh in on the decisions made on the acceptance of gay marriage, most of which seem to be religious, but can also be very heavily weighed on political views. Though religion and politics should not intermingle and be the determining factor on whether or not people should have the right lo to love and marry whomever they see fit, they do play a major role on the gay community, and their own life decisions. Of course there all sorts of different theories on what could happen if the United States government allows for the gay community to marry people of the same sex, including accusations of beastiality and incest, there is no actual connection to these theories, only causing a panic in our society, and allowing fear of what may be make the decision for these people’s lives. My goal today is to touch on some of these political issues with the gay marriage issue, and the onset of an epidemic that may occur if they do allow

The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the most significant issues in contemporary American family law. As a heavily campaigned development currently discussed in law assessment; these extremely confrontational and debatable political questions are facing present day American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, its affect on the parents, children, same sex couples, families, and the social and political world will be astronomical. The arguments surrounding the issue though confrontational nonetheless are easily seen from a wide array of perspectives. One of the perspectives states that marriage is a promise to a spouse to stay loyal and faithful in all

Same sex marriage is a topic today that brings strong moral objections from both sides. Should same sex marriage be allowed? I intend to analyze three different aspects relevant to this very controversial subject matter: Marriage as it exists as a religious institution, marriage as a contractual agreement, and finally, why I believe “marriage” should be allowed for everyone, straight, gay or otherwise. I strongly believe that to disallow same sex marriage simply as a registered, contractual partnership denies citizens American civil liberties, and should not be allowed.

As we know, same-sex marriage has been discussed and argued for a long time. Within the controversial topic of gay rights, there’s no area more controversial than same-sex marriage. And all of us ask ourselves if same-sex marriage should be legal or not. But the fact is that we have to start thinking about it as a moral and religious topic. The government shouldn’t legalize the same-sex marriage because the

According to a Pew Poll, most religious communities believe same-sex marriage and even homosexuality in general are morally wrong and do not follow their religious beliefs (Waldman, 2003). There is no major religion in the world that has ever altered the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples (Barlow, 2003). In general, it can be said that many religious people have strong views on same-sex marriage, declaring it wrong because of their religious beliefs.