By Bob Allen
An American Baptist leader in Illinois says clergy opponents of same-sex marriage violate Baptist principles by asking the government to impose their religious beliefs on everyone else.
Larry Greenfield, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago, said in a recent Chicago Sun-Times commentary that Baptist clergy mobilizing against a bill to allow same-sex couples to wed pending in the Illinois House overlook one important fact – different faith communities interpret biblical teachings on marriage in different ways.
“This is a time for Baptists, clergy and lay people alike, to stand up for Baptist principles, even if that means that the government allows gay and lesbian people the constitutional freedom to do something (in this case, marry) that some among us believe is unbiblical,” Greenfield wrote. “It also means, as a matter of Baptist principles, that we allow others among us (Baptists and non-Baptists) to interpret biblical teachings on marriage in a different way.”
Greenfield wrote to address media reports that some Baptist clergy are teaming up with secular opponents of marriage equality to pressure members of the Illinois House to reject a bill approved by the state senate in February
Recent weeks have featured robo-calls by the African-American Clergy Coalition with former state Sen. James Meeks, senior pastor of Chicago’s Salem Baptist Church, telling voters that in his view “same-sex marriage should not be the law of the state of Illinois.”
The Illinois Baptist, news journal of the Southern Baptist Convention-related Illinois Baptist State Association, has carried several articles monitoring the issue.
Danny Holliday, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Alton, Ill., convened a prayer rally April 28 for Illinois representatives who could face a vote on same-sex marriage this month.
“We prayed for the individual representatives, that they would want to know the truth and find out the truth, and vote accordingly,” Holliday told the Illinois Baptist. “We believe marriage has to do with God, and we prayed that the people would realize this is a religious issue. It’s a biblical issue, and it’s not an issue just based on people’s feelings.”
Greenfield was one of more than 200 pastors and rabbis in the state who in December signed an open letter saying marriage rights for all people is a matter of justice and equality.
“There can be no justification for the law treating people differently on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity,” the clergy wrote.
“We accept our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and recognize that their families need equal recognition and protections,” they said. “We believe all Illinois couples should have the same civil protections and urge our public officials to support measures to achieve equality.”
The clergy said they are not of one mind on the issue of gay marriage. Some of their religious traditions recognize and bless same-sex unions, while others do not.
In his April 30 newspaper commentary, Greenfield said that is the way it should be.
“Churches and other religious organizations must be free to instruct and even demand that their members abide by their own religious teachings on a whole range of beliefs and practices, including those that have to do with marriage — such as who can and can’t be married within their tradition,” he said.
As Baptists, Greenfield said: “We insist that we have the divine and constitutional right to provide moral instruction to our own members on issues such as marriage. The counterpart is that we insist that other religious communities have that same divine and constitutional right.”