Issues
Today, different religious faiths across the country have acted and outwardly afforded equal rights to their gay and lesbian followers; for example, many sectors within Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association support same-sex marriages, along with the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Ecumenical Catholic Church, and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In addition, in 2005 the United Church of Christ also officially endorsed same-sex marriages, becoming the first mainline Christian denomination to do so.
Furthermore, denominations such as the American Baptist Churches, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, have ceded the decision regarding marriages to its individual churches or sects; at present, one of the three largest Quaker organizations, the Friends General Conference, has accredited same-sex marriages, while, a recent Public Religion Research poll shows that 42% of the Christian Church clergy fully support marriage equality. Among the larger religious denominations, the Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Episcopal Church, although they do not endorse same-sex marriage, they do permit their clergy to bless same sex unions. However, as more and more religious leaders wish to address the needs of their gay and lesbian followers, there have been many divisions within denominations on addressing the issue of marriage equality.
Religious leaders are speaking out in defense of faith and fairness. They make a compelling case for inclusion and equality using spiritual and theological arguments.