Why religious freedom argument is dangerous for Marriage Equality

Following the historic vote in Ireland on marriage equality, cultural conservatives in the US are licking their wounds and they should because the referendum in Ireland mirrors attitudes shared here in the America.  According to polling from Pew Research Center, nearly 60% of American Catholics support marriage equality (up from 34% when same sex marriage was legalized in MA in 2004).

Pew Research Center also recently reported that Millennials overwhelmingly support marriage equality (nearly 70%) and that is significant because this year Millennials will surpass the Baby Boomer generation as the nation’s largest living generation with approximately 81 million born after 1981.  These trends make even religious zealots realize that prayer alone is not going to turn back time (to borrow a line from a Cher song) so they are adopting new language (that can be more palatable to the public) to stem this tide of the pro equality movement.

This is why the bogus “religious freedom” argument is now talked about nonstop by conservatives (and why you’ll hear about “religious freedom” and persecution from Republican Presidential primary candidates ad nauseam). Social conservatives want to position themselves as the victim; this is a tried and true tactic from Conservatives when they lose in the court of public opinion.

Same sex marriage isn’t the first civil liberty that was opposed based on “religious beliefs” and teachings in the Bible.

The next time you hear someone claiming their ‘religious liberties’ are being trampled upon by “legalizing” gay marriage be sure you address that line of thought immediately – ignoring this gives that line of thought credibility and emboldens those who make this claim. Let’s not forget that gay marriage isn’t the first civil liberty that was opposed based on “religious beliefs” and teachings in the Bible it just happens to be the latest.  Claims that everything from ending segregation to legalizing interracial marriages was against teachings in the Bible and people’s religious convictions.