It seems to me, the entire debate about marriage equality can only stand on a foundation of lies: The lie that marriage means the same thing to all people; the lie that religion can tell a secular state what to do; the lie that a secular state can dictate what a religion will believe and the real biggie; the lie that Australia isn’t a predominantly secular society.
I don’t see how anyone can deny gay people the same secular marriage rights as any non-gay people. Surely that is discrimination based on sexuality … and that’s illegal in our secular society.
I don’t see how anyone can deny a religion, its right to adhere to its own beliefs, even if they are at odds with secular society; as long as its members respect the laws of the secular society in which they exist.
It’s high time that we recognised and insisted upon a proper separation of religion and state.
Maybe its time that religion formulates its own form of marriage, separate from secular marriage, subject to its own rules and qualifications, embodying its own (religious) rights and responsibilities and available only to participating members of that religion.
Marriage doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. It hasn’t for a long time. If we stop pretending that it does, we can look towards ensuring that the secular and the religious needs of all citizens can be met, with no need for conflict between them.
Regardless, I think our politicians need to settle the issue of marriage equality, based upon what they believe are the views of their electors … and not simply use their elected position to inflict their personal beliefs on the rest of society.
Andrew Caddle 2015-06-28
www.andrewcaddle.com
*************************************************************************************************
A LITTLE HELP PLEASE
If you find anything on my website that you feel is interesting, amusing or thought-provoking, please consider sharing it on your social media site or emailing it to a friend. Links are provided at the bottom of each post to facilitate this. Your help in getting my work out into the world will be very much appreciated.
Thank you, Andrew.
*************************************************************************************************