FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) – Energized and angered by comparisons between the fight for homosexual unions and the civil-rights movement, many African-American churches are turning out to stand for traditional marriages.
African-American churches across the nation have come together to form the Fort Worth-based “Not On My Watch” coalition supporting a federal amendment outlawing homosexual marriages.
About 1,000 people attended a summer rally promoted by the coalition in nearby Arlington, Texas. The group now is looking at the possibility of an event that brings together churches across the nation. Several other groups have discussed rallies, including one that would bring together 2 million people in Washington, D.C., this fall.
The topic was brought forward several times during the African American Fellowship of Texas Baptists meeting in July, where several prominent leaders implored participants to fight homosexual marriages.
Much of the response has been fueled by homosexual marriage supporters frequently comparing their fight to the civil-rights movement, which many African-American pastors see as inaccurate, according to Howard Caver, pastor of World Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth.
While African Americans were struggling for inalienable rights, homosexuals are moving to protect their choice of a sinful lifestyle, Caver said.
“We were fighting for the rights God gave us,” he said. “They are fighting for rights they want to give themselves.”
African-American church leaders have been given a unique position in the battle over homosexual unions, Caver noted. Because African Americans have been more willing to support civil rights efforts, they can stand against this movement without being labeled homophobic.
African-American churches also have the historic role of being the prophetic voice in their communities, Caver continued. Though the prestige of African-American pastors is not what it once was, African Americans continue expecting church leaders to speak out on issues.
One of the roles of African-American churches is to speak “biblical truth” to their communities, according to Tom Fortson, president and chief executive officer of the Christian men's organization Promise Keepers.
In this case, Fortson said church leaders must stick to Genesis 2:24, which states: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” Marriage is meant for a man and a woman, he said.
“You can't change that verse,” Fortson said. “I don't care how you
look at it.”
But clearly not all the African-American community — or even the African-American church community — share Caver and Fortson's opinion on the issue. A minority of church leaders have been outspoken leaders in favor of homosexual marriage.
In June, a group of African-American church leaders partnered with the Human Rights Campaign — the nation's largest gay-rights group — to oppose an amendment to the federal Constitution that would bar same-sex marriages.
This split of opinion in the African-American community places in question the effect the gay marriage issue will have in upcoming elections. In the last several presidential elections, more than 90 percent of African Americans voted Democratic.
This election season, some Democrats have come out in favor of homosexual marriage — a direct challenge to the teachings of the majority of African-American churches, according to Caver. That may be enough of a push to encourage African-American Christians to rethink their votes, he said.
But this one question is not enough to turn the African-American vote completely, Caver added. “There is no issue that has a potential to do everything.”
Fortson said voters must weigh candidates' stances with their own beliefs. People will decide which issues are important to them, and which they can let slide. Voters have to balance “righteous issues” — abortion, gay marriage and homosexuality — with “justice issues” — unemployment and economics — when making their choices, he argued.
“One has to come to the table and measure the issues,” Fortson said.
The impact on the election is important, but Fortson said the true fight is in people's hearts.
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