OUR VIEW: An academic discussion of delicate issues
Regardless of where we all stand on the issue of homosexual marriage and religion – and God (or is that gods?) knows we’ve heard a range of opinions on the subject – we can’t help but applaud the frank discussion on the topic during Tuesday afternoon’s panel discussion.
The panel, which included members from seven major religions, not only spoke of their respective faiths’ stance on gay marriage, but also explained why it is that their faiths have adopted each stance. Not only that, but the panel members fielded questions from the audience, including students from the GLBTA community.
And, we are told, no protests took place and no violence occurred. But what else would you expect? This is America after all, and last we checked, free speech, even in this era of politically charged feelings, is still observed. It’s a far cry from other nations, where extremes prevent the debate over whether to grant homosexuals couples the same rights as heterosexual couples from even taking place. And we’re not just talking about nations claiming to abide by Islamic Sharia law, for which, in some cases, the punishment for proclaiming oneself to be a homosexual is death. In fact, we’re just as perplexed by countries that impose hostile measures on faith groups which argue take a stand against granting homosexual marriage. People ought to be able to take a stand on something, and regardless of how you feel on the issue, it’s nice to know we can come down one way or another on the issue without risking financial repercussions or worse.
Most of all, we’re happy to know that this timely discussion is taking place in Utah, and taking place here at Utah State. Regardless of what the rest of the country may think of us, we’re not all close-minded or all members of the LDS faith. In fact, some us are very open members of the LDS faith who’ve struggled with the subject, and some of us are Catholics and Protestants and Buddhists who are still working on rectifying our own personal emotions with our desire to honor the tenets of our faiths.
As America goes to the polls and the heat of the political arena turns up, just remember that we have a unique privilege in this country. It’s the privilege to not only engage in the decision-making process, but to give open and honest thought to the decisions we make with both God and country in mind.