Poll finds broad support for separating religious and civil marriage ceremonies
December 03, 2014
Nearly half of all Americans believe that church weddings “should not be connected to the state’s definition and recognition of marriage,” according to a new poll by LifeWay Research.
The Nashville-based polling firm found that more than one-third of the 2,000 people questioned believed that clerics should not sign marriage licenses as representatives of the state. However the majority of respondents (53%) said that ministers should continue to fulfill that role.
In a separate survey of Protestant pastors, LifeWay Research found that one-fourth favored separating religious weddings from civil ceremonies.
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Posted by: bernie4871 -
Dec. 04, 2014 11:20 AM ET USA
"Brenda" draws a solid conclusion. The longer we go without a proactive ecclesiastic leadership that only reacts tepidly and ambiguously to National challenges to our rights of conscience and religion, both internally and externally for the Church, the less likely will there be a happy outcome. Why can't the Leadership stand up and confront these challenges - in court?
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Posted by: brenda22890 -
Dec. 04, 2014 9:47 AM ET USA
Ultimately, I think this is the only way the Church will avoid legal mandates to perform same-sex "marriages". Likewise, (We're already being challenged) we will ultimately face legal mandates to stop teaching Catholic values in Catholic schools. We would be wise to decide our response to these threats before they happen.
