What does justice ask of us? What does God?

Note: Doug Bennett used to be a member of Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends, which recently split over views of same-sex marriage.  He is now a member of the New Association of Friends, a yearly meeting that is comprised of welcoming congregations (those that welcome all people and affirm LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage). I asked him for his thoughts on the new "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" (RFRA) that was recently passed in Indiana and the response. Here are his thoughts. - Lucy

“Always do the right thing as you know it.” I wrote that on an index card for my young son a few years ago. It is one of three. The other two, still on his mirror, read “Always tell the truth” and “Always be kind.” These are simple urgings for me, as well; I believe they are part of what God asks of me. 

But what happens when what I think is right conflicts with what someone else thinks is right? The eruption of controversy over religious liberty in Indiana and Arkansas puts that question on my mind. 

No hate in our state by Jeff Kisling 

There are no kinder, more generous, more welcoming, more hospitable people in America than in the 92 counties of Indiana” said Governor Mike Pence in his recent interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos about Indiana’s recent legislation. Stephanopoulos was asking him whether the new law didn’t open the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians, and Pence was doing his very best to sidestep that question.  Having lived in Indiana for fourteen years, I can easily agree with Pence’s affirmation of Hoosier warmth.  But this religious liberty issue isn’t about kindness; it’s about justice and equally about what God asks of us in faithfulness.

Indiana is a state where roughly equal numbers of persons believe that homosexuality is and is not a sin. The division runs straight through Quakers, too: both Indiana and Western Yearly Meeting affirm that homosexuality is a sin; Lake Erie Yearly Meeting and the New Association of Friends believe no such thing.  When religious beliefs clash so starkly, what are we to do?

 No one “shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion.” Those words are from Thomas Jefferson; they are inscribed in marble inside the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.  This principle of religious liberty is inscribed, too, in the Constitution’s First Amendment, which “prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion [or] impeding the free exercise of religion.”

Because they were cruelly persecuted in their early years, Quakers should have a particular concern for religious liberty. Friends were jailed for refusing to show hat honor, for public preaching (blasphemy), for holding secret meetings, for refusing to swear oaths and much more. Their religious beliefs compelled them to act so in public, whatever the consequences. William Penn deserves most to be remembered for his tireless advocacy for religious liberty—for everyone, not just for Friends.

It is foolish to say ‘we should not discriminate.’ We all discriminate, every day. We shop in some stores and not others, we admit some applicants to colleges and not others, we root for some teams and not others, we befriend some and not others. 

RFRA Protest by Justin Day

So why not allow those who believe that homosexuality is a sin to snub gays and lesbians by refusing to sell them goods or services? Why not allow them the exercise of religious liberty they claim? 

In the United States, we answered that question a half-century ago when we declared that one could not legally refuse to serve African Americans in restaurants claiming a religious conviction as the justification.  We said that to allow discrimination in such matters would be to countenance cruelty and enshrine inequality in our common life. We said, in essence that we will not allow the fabric of our society to be torn apart by the exercise of religion; we said we must act civilly toward one another.  

At long last we are saying that not just about race and gender but also about sexual orientation. On this basis, too, we will not allow discrimination. 

We cannot escape the moral question: each person and each church needs to answer the question about the sinfulness of sexual orientation. While that question is being considered, however, we all need to insist that public accommodations be open to all. 

I believe that is legally wrong to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and also (this is a distinct matter) morally wrong to believe God disfavors anyone on the basis of sexual orientation. I want to add that I didn’t think at all about questions of sexual orientation until AFSC took a strong stand on the matter in the 1970s. It was among the earliest organizations to do so. 

There are still thirteen states where same sex marriage is illegal. Making progress in these states should remain a preeminent concern. 

In relation to this ongoing struggle, we should see the flap over religious liberty as a sideshow, one (I don’t doubt) being provoked as a rear-guard action by those who refuse to lay down their prejudice.

So while that struggle continues, a question for those of us who seek both justice and faithfulness to God is how we persuade those who misunderstand God’s will.   How can we be both steadfast and tender, persistent and respectful?