Gay Marriage in American Christianity and Judaism

1971 Words8 Pages
Every day Americans are affected by religion without knowing the extent of it. Homosexuals, or gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are significantly impacted in how they view themselves based upon how society perceives them. Religion tells individuals how to think about love, sex, and intimate relationships. In turn, this shapes America as a whole. In any religion, more often than not, followers or members are conveyed messages that certain actions and thoughts are sinful while others are not. Within these religions there may be denominations, those that support homosexuality, some with exceptions, and some who strictly oppose homosexuality all together. In the United States, both Christianity and Judaism have a continuum of denominations that accept, deny, or make deviations for homosexuals, and they have reacted or dealt with the issue of gay marriage in a number of ways. Gay marriage is a very controversial topic in America for many reasons. Liberals tend to be overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing the institution while conservatives usually oppose it. Those in support argue on the grounds that it is unequal that heterosexuals are allowed to marry and homosexuals are not; therefore, making it unconstitutional that gays and lesbians are denied the right to marry their partners as their minority is discriminated against. The benefits associated with marriage are not equivalent to those granted to couples in domestic partnerships or civil unions. Those in favor of legalizing it say that it would make no negative impact on society at large and that the most important issue surrounding marriage ought to be love (Tien-Tsung 1392). Opponents to gay marriage argue that the very definition of marriage is that it is between a man and a woman. To allow same sex couples to marry would be in violation of this and would ultimately threaten to destroy the traditional institution of
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