Marriage Equality: What Is Marriage?

As the Supreme Court ponders the question of the constitutionality of excluding gay and lesbian couples from the rights afforded heterosexual couples in marriage, I am thinking more comprehensively about this subject as well.  As a Neo-Pentecostal preacher, I am on the side of inclusion of same-sex couples in the institution of marriage.  But what is more important than my position on this issue is the "why".  Too often this debate is polarized and relationships are dismantled upon the declaration of a side.  Whether you are for or against marriage equality really tells me very little.  In the "why" is the meat of the argument (rhetorically speaking).  As you are having this debate with your friends, family, co-workers, etc., care enough to hear their "why" and care enough to articulate your own "why".


That being said, I am using this space to share my "why".  Unfortunately, I think that meaning is best sought in complexity rather than simplicity, so I will not be able to do give justice to my "why" in one post.  So, this post will focus on the question: What is marriage?

Marriage is a single word that's definition depends on whether we are describing a social institution or a religious covenant agreement.  From the perspective of a social institution, marriage is a contract between two people (currently a man and a woman) that is sanctioned by the society through the government establishing a quid pro quo relationship.  The government affords the couple certain benefits and privileges in return for establishing family units which are the foundational building blocks of the society.  Included in the societal benefits are the protection and development of children.  From the perspective of a religious covenant agreement, marriage is a covenantal relationship between two people that is sanctioned by God.  There are a lot of connections to other religious (especially Christian and Jewish) aspects of the faith.  For instance, marriage for Christians is a symbol of the relationship the Church (as the Bride of Christ) will have with Christ upon His return.

Here, I must make it clear.  The Supreme Court is not deciding upon marriage as it relates to the religious perspective.  They are not the regulators of religious matters.  What they are concerned with is the social institution.  The United States is not a theocracy, as some would say.  In order to ensure religious freedoms, the U.S. has focused its attention on the larger question: How do we come together as people of many religions and live in harmony as a society.

Although I am for both marriage equality (social) and the sanctity and sacredness of a marriage relationship (religious) even between two people of the same sex, at this time I am more interested in shadowing the arguments for marriage equality.