Do Ralph and I agree!?
Maybe. We’ll see.
Ralph Klein says that the government may get out of the marriage business altogether - because of the passage of Bill C-38 allowing same gendered folks to get married - leaving marriage to the churches.
I couldn’t agree more.
I like the European model where the happy couple goes to city hall and gets a civil servant to perform a civil union ceremony. Then the couple heads to the church, if they desire, to have their union blessed. Church and state remain at a comfortable distance.
If Ralph is saying that he’d leave marriage up to the churches, meaning that he’d leave civil unions in the government domain, and the blessing of civil unions to the faith communities, I vote a hearty “yeah!”
But, if he’s saying that he’d like to see Alberta get out of the civil union/marriage business altogether, leaving marriage to the churches, I vote a horrified “yikes!”
But, I really doubt that’s what he’s saying.
I think leaving civil unions to the government and the blessing those civil unions, if such a blessing is desired, to the religious communities help churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, etc, retain their religious freedom. Some faith groups will choose to bless same-sex unions. Others will not. That’s okay.
It’s called free exercise of religion.
2 comments:
That's a great point Kevin.
A Montreal priest whose blog I read has a four-point argument against same-sex marriage you might find interesting: http://fatherdowd.blogspot.com/
I'm not sure where I stand on it all. Is ambivalence a stance? That's probably where I am right now.
Steve,
Sure, ambivalence is a great stance. It shows you're thinking. That your mind isn't already made up. That you want to look at the issue from all angles before deciding where you stand. It's healthy and it's honest.
Thanks for the article. Much food for thought there.
kgp
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