Religion proved a rallying cry for both sides when gay marriage opponents and supporters squared off during competing rallies at the State Capitol on March 1. (Photo illustration by Joey Carolino)
MORE INFO MORE INFO Rally at Marietta Square Saturday, Oct. 23, 4 p.m. Marietta Town Square Downtown Marietta Cocktails Against Discrimination fund-raiser Saturday, Oct. 23, 5-10 p.m. The Jungle 2115 Faulkner Road $10 404-844-8000 ‘Freedom To Marry’ film screening Sunday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m. Metropolitan Community Church of Our Redeemer 557Greene St. Augusta 404-378-9082 Rally for Gay Civil Rights Wednesday, Oct. 27, noon State Capitol Corner of Mitchell and Washington streets, Downtown Atlanta L.O.V.E — African-American churches and Amendment 1 forum Thursday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m. Zaban Recreation Center, East Lake Park 241 Daniel Ave. SE www.lovecoalition.org
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Oct 22, 2004  |  By: RYAN LEE  | COMMENTS |   |  

As attorneys and lawmakers fight over the impact of Amendment 1 in Georgia’s courts, the debate over the proposed gay marriage ban is heating up across the state. In the countdown to the Nov. 2 vote, churches and religious denominations are speaking out on both sides of the issue.

The Christian Coalition of Georgia led lobbying for the amendment in the General Assembly and is urging pastors to incorporate pro-amendment messages into their sermons.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Atlanta, Archbishop John Donoghue, recently urged parishioners to support the gay marriage ban in a letter also signed by Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah.

Many black pastors throughout the state are also using their pulpit to advocate for the amendment, according to Rev. D.L. Foster, a pastor at Restoration Church in College Park.

“There’s a lot of behind the scenes activity and a very strong resolve among African-American pastors in the greater Atlanta area to insure that the people in their churches and their circle of influence vote righteously,” said Foster, who identifies as an ex-gay man.

“It does more when, on Sunday, you go and sit in church and hear your pastor say this is God’s word on this issue — it means much more than some rally,” he added.

Foster, Rev. Creflo Dollar of World Changers Ministry in College Park and Rev. Wellington Boone of The Father’s House in Atlanta were among a host of black pastors who recently tried to lobby the Congressional Black Caucus to pass a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The caucus refused to meet with the pastors.

The Georgia Baptist Convention is also mobilizing its affiliates to vote for the ban, and is preparing to launch a media campaign in the final weeks before the vote.

Worshipers will undoubtedly be influenced by the messages coming from their pastors, whether sermons specifically address Amendment 1 or deal with the general topics of homosexuality and marriage, according to Tim Renick, director of the religious studies program at Georgia State University.

“That’s going to have some direct impact on what the congregants are doing to do when they’re voting,” said Renick, who added that opponents of the measure must, and are, using religion in their efforts to defeat the ban.

“They really shouldn’t give up the ground to the Religious Right because there is a very plausible and compelling argument that would argue against this type of amendment on biblical and Christian grounds,” Renick said.

A recently formed group of black gay Christians — Lifting Our Voices for Equality, or LOVE — hopes to initiate a conversation with black church leaders about Amendment 1, but received a cold reception from pastors who were invited to attend an Oct. 28 forum.

“It seems like they can sit up in the pulpit and talk negatively about people, but when they have to stand up for their beliefs, they won’t do it,” LOVE co-founder Crystal Lawrence said about black pastors, including those of Atlanta’s “mega churches,” all of whom declined an invitation.

But several churches have come out against the proposed amendment, including the Central Presbyterian Church, the Metropolitan Community Churches and the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Many Unitarian Universalist congregations wrapped rainbow ribbons around their buildings or property to express their disapproval of the gay marriage ban, according to Rev. Don Southworth, pastor of the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, which hosted an Oct. 19 forum on Amendment 1.

“So many people’s perspective of gay people and gay issues are shaped by their religion, and so that’s why this is such a hot topic,” Southworth said. “But I think there’s a huge group of people of faith who are against this amendment — every religious tradition has communities opposed to it.”

Professional, political groups take sides
Two professional groups recently weighed in against the amendment, while religious groups on both sides of the issue are trying to mobilize their faithful to voting booths on Nov. 2.

The Georgia Psychological Association issued a statement in September outlining its opposition to Amendment 1, saying the amendment would deny same-sex couples and their children more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits, along with 300 state rights.

“The Georgia Psychological Association recognizes that withholding these protections from a portion of the population, without empirical justification, is ...