CNN) -- It was inevitable that the debate over
same-sex marriage would have a strong religious component. This is
partly because it involves such questions as the interpretation of
biblical passages that, on their face, condemn homosexuality as a sin.
But it also involves squaring the authority of ancient texts with modern
theological understanding and developments in biology. And of course,
the importance of love and human autonomy as religious values should be
considered.
Those issues surfaced in
the various briefs filed in the Supreme Court, some of which are written
as if the court must inevitably choose one religious point of view as
the winner and the other as the loser. This is a false choice. The Court
can make all winners, or at least avoid allowing one side to suppress
the other's deepest beliefs.
The U.S. Supreme Court
has not been asked -- nor could it possibly answer -- the question of
what God or the Bible thinks about same-sex marriage. Religious groups
are divided on that question, some supporting and others opposing
same-sex marriage. And even if the religious viewpoint were clear, it
should play no direct role in deciding whether the Constitution requires
the states or the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage.
Our government should not act to further one or another religious view
of contested moral issues. Continue at Marc D. Stern
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