Where Is That "Traditional Marriage" They Keep Talking About?
Filed by: Patricia Nell Warren
November 13, 2008 10:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/11/where_is_that_traditional_marriage_that.phpIn 2005 I published a long article in Gay & Lesbian Review, about the history of marriage in the West. Researching it was an illuminating experience. It got me clearer about what the real issues are, and how they're being smoke-screened by the religious right. Today, as the Proposition 8 protests reverberate around the country, the highly emotional comments by our enemies are telling me something. A lot of these people who are so adamant about "protecting marriage" are very confused about what they think they're protecting.
Their confusion is compounded by the fact that conservative Christian leaders have lied to them about how "marriage" got to be what it is today.
Many Americans talk about "civil marriage" and "traditional marriage" as if they were two kinds of marriage. And yes, from the social standpoint, a couple does have two options. (1) They can do the government thing at city hall...or in front of a magistrate...or a justice of the peace. The government representative will witness the couple's spoken agreement in which they freely consent to be married. The spoken formula usually has no religious wording in it. Or (2) the couple can do the religious thing at home or in a religious venue with all the bells and whistles of their chosen faith -- Christian, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, etc. etc.
