Last week, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty urged Catholics to oppose the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which passed a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on Nov. 17 — and is up for final congressional votes this month.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said in a Nov. 17 statement:
“It is deeply concerning that the U.S. Senate has voted to proceed toward potential passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would essentially codify the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell that found a constitutional right to same-sex civil marriages.”
The act would require states to recognize a civil marriage between any two people – regardless of sex – that was validly celebrated in another state.
It would also repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman for the purposes of federal law.
DOMA has not been enforceable since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor, which required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages performed by states where it was legal.
In the 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional state laws that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
In a letter to the U.S. Senate in July, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote:
“People who experience same-sex attraction should be treated with the same respect and compassion as anyone, on account of their human dignity, and never be subject to unjust discrimination. It was never discrimination, however, to simply maintain that an inherent aspect of the definition of marriage itself is the complementarity between the two sexes. Marriage as a lifelong, exclusive union of one man and one woman, and open to new life, is not just a religious ideal – it is, on the whole, what is best for society in a concrete sense, especially for children.”
The U.S. bishops have also called attention to the threats to religious liberty created by the Respect for Marriage Act. If passed, the legislation would reinforce the Obergefell decision and establish a national policy of recognizing same-sex marriage. This could lead to increased conflicts with religious liberty.
The legal imposition of same-sex marriage has challenged the rights of nonprofits and religious employers, including Catholic schools, to hire staff that support their beliefs about marriage. It has forced some Catholic adoption agencies to close their doors because their policies were no longer acceptable to the government.
There have also been attempts to directly force small business owners – such as Colorado baker Jack Philips or Virginia web designer Lorie Smith – to use their creative talents to celebrate events that violate their moral beliefs.
An amendment to the Respect for Marriage Act, added earlier this month, notes that people who hold traditional and diverse beliefs about marriage should be treated with “proper respect,” and says the act shall not diminish their right to defend themselves under existing constitutional or federal law.
But the creative professionals mentioned above have had only mixed success in defending their rights under existing law. The amended language does not grant the new and explicit protections that are urgently needed to protect such individuals.
The amended act also exempts various types of religious institutions from being required to participate in the “celebration or solemnization” of same-sex marriages.
But this narrow exemption applies to only one type of activity – wedding ceremonies. It does not grant a general right to religious institutions to be guided by their beliefs in decisions about their personnel and activities.
Another revision seeks to protect entities with traditional views about marriage from losing tax-exempt status or other benefits. But some critics of the bill have questioned whether the protection provided is strong enough.
In his statement, Cardinal Dolan called these amendments “insufficient,” and noted:
“Those protections fail to resolve the main problem with the Act: in any context in which conflicts between religious beliefs and same-sex civil marriage arise, the Act will be used as evidence that religious believers must surrender to the state’s interest in recognizing same-sex civil marriages. Wedding cake bakers, faith-based adoption and foster care providers, religious employers seeking to maintain their faith identity, faith-based housing agencies – are all at greater risk of discrimination under this legislation.”
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act in July 2022 with 47 Republican representatives joining their Democratic colleagues voting in favor.
On Nov. 17, the amended bill passed an initial vote in the Senate 62-37, with 12 Republicans, including both North Carolina senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, joining Democrats in voting for the legislation.
Votes on the final version of the bill in both the House and the Senate are expected this month. I urge Catholics to contact your U.S. senators and representatives and ask them to vote “no.”
In his statement, Cardinal Dolan concluded:
“The bill is a bad deal for the many courageous Americans of faith and no faith who continue to believe and uphold the truth about marriage in the public square today. The Act does not strike a balance that appropriately respects our nation’s commitment to the fundamental right of religious liberty. Senators supporting the Act must reverse course and consider the consequences of passing an unnecessary law that fails to provide affirmative protections for the many Americans who hold this view of marriage as both true and foundational to the common good.”
Father Peter Ascik is director of the Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Family Life and pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Shelby.