“One (Homophobic) Nation Under God”

The struggle for civil rights has been way too long and way too heartbreaking.  The ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker on August 4th overturning the California Prop 8 ban on same sex marriage is uplifting, if for no other reason, because a little hope leaks back into the lives of people who have too long been denied equal protection under the law. Few issues are more inflammatory than same sex marriage. Homophobia, like bigotry, seems to be taking way too many generations to leach out of our society.

I suggest this is because the people who run city hall still all go to the same church on Sunday. They can’t separate- no, they don’t want to separate their religious convictions from their human rights moral compass. Politicians point with pride at being guided by religious doctrine. “God Bless America” ends every speech with an “Amend” reverence.

Our deep-rooted bond of civil law and religious doctrine continues to dominate our lives despite our kindergarten image of church and state being separate. Yes, we have managed to take nativity displays out of some public parks, and public schools can’t start the day with prayer, but we remain “one nation, under God”, where Moses and the  Ten Commandments are chiseled into the United States Supreme Court Building, and Congress starts every day with a prayer, thank you.

Until we actually separate church and state, and follow the wisdom of giving unto Caesar what is Caesars, our lives will be dominated by the fire and brimstone of the religious zealots.  What we really need is an amendment to our Constitution that explicitly forbids religious doctrine from denying civil rights. Marriage should be a civil contract first, and a religious contract if they choose. Abortion too, is a personal decision, not a religious decision. Religious zealots point to our heritage of Euro-Christian domination with pride, while ignoring the millions of people who are affronted daily because another person’s religious doctrine is imposed on their lives by law.

But for now we have another small step forward. Enjoy it while it lasts.