Civil Unions for All
A Proposal for a Christian Public Policy
Introduction
The following resources engage the question of how civil unions for all is the best practical, and most thoroughly Christian, way to express public policy.
Conversation Stations
These are the images used in artistic physical displays. They are survey questions and conversation starters that are topically and thematically organized. They demonstrate how Jesus is relevant to each topic or theme. You can also just view the images on your device. If you would like, see all our Conversation Stations; below are the ones that relate to the topic of Sex.
Is a Good Friend Hard to Find? (instructions and conversation tree)
Find Your Heart's Desire? (and instructions and theology of desire)
Messages and Resources on Civil Unions for All
Should I Support or Oppose Gay Marriage?
An essay analyzing a biblical and theological position: Why the First Amendment (from Roger Williams' accurate interpretation of religious liberty of conscience) requires that we acknowledge different religious definitions of the word “marriage,” and therefore remove the word from public policy. Otherwise “marriage” becomes a formal legal term with a particular content, that is used to discriminate against others who define it differently. We need a neutral term for public policy.
Other Resources on Civil Unions for All
Stephen L. Carter, "Defending" Marriage: A Modest Proposal . Yale Law School, Jan 1, 1998.
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., Another Peaceful Solution: Proposition 8 and How Liberals Always Go Too Far. The American Spectator, Jun 17, 2010. Argues for the state to do civil unions only
Mark Joseph Stern, Religious Liberty Hypocrisy: North Carolina Forbids Churches from Performing Gay Weddings. Slate, Apr 28, 2014.
Stephen L. Carter, Smeared by Gay Rights Activists. Bloomberg View, Jun 5, 2014.
Noah Millman, An Anthropological Approach to Gay Marriage. The American Conservative, Apr 30, 2015.
T.J. Martinelli, Alabama Senate Passes Bill to Nullify All Sides on Marriage. Tenth Amendment Center blog, May 23, 2015.
Rand Paul, Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business Altogether. Time, Jun 28, 2015.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Legalizing Gay Marriage in the Supreme Court. Rabbi Shmuley Youtube channel, Jul 2, 2015. Argues for civil unions for all, marriage for none.
Keith Strahan, Marriage and the State: The Case for Privatization. The Liberty Conservative, Oct 6, 2016.
Sheldon Richman, Love, Marriage, and the State. The American Conservative, Nov 25, 2016. A review of Gary Chartier, Public Practice, Private Law: An Essay on Love, Marriage, and the State. Cambridge University Press | Amazon page, Apr 2016.
Mike Maharry, Indiana Bill Would Eliminate State Marriage Licenses, Nullify Federal Control in Practice. Tenth Amendment Center, Jan 11, 2017.
German Lopez, Slowly But Surely, Republicans Are Coming Around on Marriage Equality. Vox, Jun 26, 2017.
Michael Koziol, Catholics Defy Church Leadership to Become Biggest Backers of Same-Sex Marriage: Poll. The Sydney Morning Herald, Aug 26, 2017. 2/3 of Catholics in favor
Alex Vandermaas-Peeler, Daniel Cox, Molly Fisch-Friedman, Rob Griffin, Robert P. Jones, Emerging Consensus on LGBT Issues: Findings From the 2017 American Values Atlas. PRRI, May 1, 2018.
Jason LeMiere, Emerging Majority of U.S. Muslims Now Support Gay Marriage, While White Evangelical Christians Remain Opposed. Newsweek, May 1, 2018.
Jonathan Rausch and Peter Wehner, We Can Find Common Ground on Gay Rights and Religious Liberty. New York Times, Jun 22, 2020. Related, but about employment.
Sylvia Poggoli, Tom Gjelten, and Alex Leff, Pope Francis Calls For Same-Sex Civil Union Law In New Documentary. NPR, Oct 21, 2020.
David French, Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again. The French Press | The Dispatch, Nov 20, 2022.
“In the years since Obergefell, three things have become quite clear. First, it’s plain that there are progressive Americans who most assuredly do not believe there are good faith objections to same-sex marriage, even on religious grounds. They view any objection to same-sex marriage as inherently and purely bigoted, and want the law and culture to punish orthodox Christians for upholding the teachings of their churches…
“But this brings us to a second reality that’s emerged since Obergefell. Even as attacks on religious liberty escalated, the legal response was stronger still. Constitutional protections for religious freedom are more robust than they were in 2015. Masterpiece Cakeshop won its case 7-2. Catholic Social Services won its case against Philadelphia 9-0. The current version of the Equality Act can’t make it past a Senate filibuster. And while we can’t yet know the outcome of 303 Creative, most court observers would be surprised (perhaps even shocked) if the Christian web designer lost…
“Then there’s the third key factor. Millions of Americans have formed families and live their lives in deep reliance on Obergefell being good law. It would be profoundly disruptive and unjust to rip out the legal superstructure around which they’ve ordered their lives. One senses the Supreme Court feels the same way. In fact, in his majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Whole Women’s Health, Justice Alito went out of his way to state that the court’s decision reversing Roe did not undermine Obergefell (and a number of similar 14th Amendment precedents) “in any way.”
David French, An Open Letter to Those Who Think I’ve Lost My Faith. French Press | The Dispatch, Nov 23, 2022.
Molly Olmstead, Pope Francis Just Called for the Decriminalization of Homosexuality Worldwide. Slate, Jan 26, 2023.
Sex: Topics:
This page is part of our section on Sex, which explores the role sex plays in human relationship. We examine Jesus’ definition of humanity, his referring to the larger biblical story, and God’s vision for relationships. Christian Reflections on Marriage focuses on the Christian definitions, and experiences, of marriage and sex. Same-Sex Attraction spotlights pastoral care for people who experience it and the debates about same-sex unions. Civil Unions for All is a biblical, constitutional, and practical defense of this policy proposal compared with a heteronormative policy. Character and Marriage highlights various perspectives on the relationship between personal character and the institution of marriage. Marriage Trends highlights varying approaches to, and experiences of, marriage, broadly. Sex Trends focuses on varying approaches to, and experiences of, sex, broadly. Sex Industry examines the moral problems with, and personal and social effects of, the commodification of sex. Desires: Jesus Leads Us to True Beauty explores human desires more broadly and deeply.
Christian Restorative Justice Critique of the Right: Domestic Policy Topics:
This page is part of our section Critique of the Right, which engages the following topics: Banking and Finance examines the economic and political power of financial institutions; Bioethics discusses abortion policy; Business and Economics examines economic theories, taxes, housing, environment, corporate law, labor law, automation, and inequalities of wealth and power; Civil Unions makes the Christian case for civil unions for all and removing marriage from the culture wars; Criminal Justice examines crime statistics and definition, policing, prosecution, sentencing, prisons, and reintegration; Education examines public education and conservative resistance to it; Environment and Health highlights the many challenges we face related to animals, climate change, food, and health systems; Government Corruption spotlights political compromises and dealings contrary to the public good; Gun Rights examines gun policies and rhetoric; Media spotlights failures of, and possible fixes to, left-wing or left-leaning media; Power and Politics highlights the impact of racial considerations and racism on political campaigns, voting rights, public investments, and other political procedures; Race examines the impact of white supremacy on virtually every aspect of American life.
