News from the Religious Institute

It's not often that we get to be part of history. I had the great fortune to be at the rally at the Supreme Court the day that the Justices were hearing the first arguments in the cases on marriage equality. (Photo below right is with Sharon Groves of Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith program.) The Religious Institute was participating as an "amici"—a friend of the case. The Court, as you no doubt know, heard cases on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the California law that bans same sex marriage, and the constitutionality of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, the bill that Bill Clinton now wishes he had never signed.

Debra Haffner and Sharon Groves

I've been working on marriage equality for more than a decade, although I remember distinctly that after the attempt to legalize marriage in Hawaii was turned down, it seemed more realistic to work for civil unions than marriage. The first version of the Religious Declaration on Sexuality Morality, Justice, and Healing called for clergy to support "the blessings of same sex unions" because civil marriage seemed like too remote a possibility. That was only 13 years ago.

My commitment to marriage equality grew when I went to New Paltz, New York in 2004, under threat of arrest, to perform marriage ceremonies for same sex couples. Two of my Unitarian Universalist colleagues had been arrested the week before, standing outside of Mayor Jason West's office in the tiny upstate New York town. The next week, six of us went, fully garbed in clerical robes and stoles, prepared to be arrested to marry 25 more couples.

The first couple we married was two men in their late sixties in matching ties and blazers. They had been together for 35 years. One of their 93-year-old mothers had flown up from Florida. Clutching her purse in a borrowed winter coat, she cried as my colleague pronounced them married. She said to me, "I've waited all my life to see my son married."

I knew at that moment that civil unions would never be enough.

That same year, the Religious Institute, with support from Freedom to Marry, convened a meeting of theologians to develop the Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Marriage Equality. It declared that, "where there is love, the sacred is always in our midst." The Open Letter has now been endorsed by more than 2800 clergy from more than fifty faith traditions. It's been used in historic battles in California and Maine, and quoted by religious leaders in states across the country. The Religious Institute has played an active role in educating faith leaders about marriage equality and providing them with the theological framework to use in their pulpits and in the public square.

I cheered when Massachusetts became the first state to have marriage equality in 2004. I was thrilled when I finally got to say the words, "by the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut" when I married two women shortly after Connecticut made marriage legal. I had the honor of marrying two 87-year-old men who had been together for 57 years when marriage became legal for them in New York.

And one day, I hope to officiate at the legal marriage of my son and his to-be-chosen future partner, knowing that he will have the same rights as my daughter and her soon-to-be husband, as I have had with my partner of now 31 years. And I hope that those rights won't only be in Connecticut and New York and 7 other states (plus the District of Columbia), but will be recognized everywhere.

My prayers over the next few months will be with the Justices as they decide these cases, and with all who have worked so hard to get us to this time. Where there is love, the sacred is in our midst.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and there are many educational resources available for parents and educators via the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Read more here.

Make Sex Normal
Make Sex Normal is a new Tumblr blog dedicated to showcasing activities people do that “make sex, gender, and bodies the normal, diverse everyday parts of life that they are.”
It featured a recent appearance by Religious Institute president Debra Haffner here.
Read more here.

LGBT Worker Discrimination Addressed in The Need for an Executive Order
The new Issue Brief: The Need for an Executive Order—co-authored by MAP, the Center for American Progress, Freedom to Work, the Human Rights Campaign, and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates—calls for an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers and detailing how this action would protect 16 million workers, or more than 20% of the U.S. civilian workforce.
Download the PDF here.

Future Choices II: An Update on the Legal, Statutory, and Policy Landscape of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
This updated report by the Center for American Progress examines a variety of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), their legal background, and implications on reproductive rights.

Read more here.
Those interested in ARTs may also want to read the Religious Institute’s A Time To Be Born: A Faith-Based Guide to Assisted Reproductive Technologies, the first multifaith resource to address the scientific and ethical complexities of reproductive technologies from a religious perspective.

Read more here.

Faithful Voices Network

By Marie Alford-Harkey

Acting Deputy Director

My first public protest was ten years ago last month, when the United States began its campaign of “shock and awe” against Iraq. I joined with a crowd of about 100 people in Toledo, Ohio to participate in a candlelight vigil to pray and witness for peace. My uncertainty about the value of the march quickly turned to pride in the witness we were making, and a feeling of solidarity with my fellow protesters. Over the years, I have come to understand the importance of public witness, and to see it as part of my duty as a person of faith.

In the last month, public witness has played a prominent role in causes I care about. On the Monday before Easter, nearly 400 Episcopal bishops, priests, and lay people enacted a modern-day stations of the cross throughout Washington, DC as a public witness against gun violence. (Photo by Kevin Eckstrom via Religion News Service). Thanks to media coverage, and social media in particular, the witness of that pilgrimage reached far beyond the city and those who saw them on the streets. I was so proud of my church and the many friends I had among the crowd. I longed to be with them.

During last month’s marriage equality hearings at the U.S. Supreme Court, my Facebook feed was filled with red. Hundreds of my friends (and I) offered a public witness via social media by changing our profile pictures to red in support of marriage equality. Many of my friends and colleagues from across the spectrum of faith traditions (including the Religious Institute’s president) were present outside the Supreme Court in Washington to show their support for marriage equality as the justices heard arguments.

We people of faith can get discouraged and cynical. (There were more than a few snarky comments on Facebook about how the justices were counting up the number of red profile pictures before they make their decision.) We may wonder, “Why bother? What good are peace marches and protests?” And yet, public witness showcases the best of what religion has to offer to the common good. When groups of people get together and take a stand on an issue because of their faith, it can change the conversation.

This has proven true in the case of marriage equality. More people are now in favor of same-sex marriage than oppose it—the Pew Research Center documents a 27-point change in public opinion in barely more than a decade. More and more policymakers are making their support public. We know that for some of them, including the President, their faith has inspired their commitment to justice. Entire denominations, as well as congregations and individual people of faith who are advocating for marriage equality have helped to change public opinion, proving that our faithful voices do make a difference.

Religious Institute News

Twenty-Five Seminaries are Sexually Healthy and Responsible
The Religious Institute is delighted to announce that twenty-five seminaries in the United States have now met the criteria of a sexually healthy and responsible seminary as designated by the Religious Institute, up from just ten in 2009.
Congratulations to Howard University School of Divinity and Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies as the newest seminaries to achieve this designation.
The updated list of Sexually Healthy and Responsible Seminaries is here.

Religious Institute 2012: A New Beginning
The Religious Institute’s 2012 Annual Report is now available, featuring highlights from the Religious Institute’s publications, media appearances, collaborations and notable accomplishments in 2012, and lists of the supporters and donors who made it all possible.
Download it here.

Observe Mother’s Day with a Rachel Sabbath
Consider using your congregational gatherings or events near Mother’s Day (May 12) to make a powerful statement on behalf of women and girls everywhere with the Rachel Sabbath Initiative. Access a wealth of prayers, responsive readings, hymn and scripture suggestions, and more here.

Religious Institute Research Cited in Vatican Article
The Huffington Post cited Religious Institute research on clergy use of sexually explicit web sites, in an article noting that the download history from an IP address in the Vatican includes pornographic downloads.
Read more here.
Read more about the survey and results here.

Meditations on the Good News: Reading the Bible for Today
For those of you who have read and enjoyed Rev. Haffner’s new book Meditations on the Good News: Reading the Bible for Today, please consider leaving a review on its Amazon page.
Several excerpts from the book are available here.
You can purchase the book here.

Thank You For Your Support!
The Religious Institute would like to thank the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation for their recent grant award. We are grateful for their contributions to our shared work.

Religious Institute on the Road