Marriage debate splits congregations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' endorsement earlier this week of an amendment to ban same-sex marriage was short and simple. If there was any debate or hand-wringing that accompanied the church's decision, it wasn't apparent in the 25-word statement.

But gay marriage — and the proposed federal amendment outlawing it — has proved more divisive for some churches, many of whom have had to do their soul-searching in public.

In May, at the United Methodist Church's General Conference, several hundred members defiantly kneeled in prayer to protest their church's stance on gays. Meanwhile, at the same conference, a conservative wing of the church gave a standing ovation to a pastor who urged the denomination to split in two if it couldn't see eye to eye about homosexuality.

And last week, the Presbyterian Church USA also found itself at odds over gay issues. At the church's annual national General Assembly, members debated for hours whether to strike from some of its official wording descriptions of gays as "irresponsible" and "pedophiles." In a 360 to 356 vote, they eventually decided to leave the wording in — but then went on to encourage state legislators to allow same-sex civil unions.

Clearly, gay marriage leaves some churches conflicted, struggling to accommodate liberal and conservative factions while at the same time trying to discern God's will as the painful debate continues.

"I could send you to congregations that would be in favor of both gay marriages and ordinations, and I could send you to congregations that would stand in opposition," says the Rev. Marvin Groote, executive director of the Presbytery of Utah about the state's 24 Presbyterian congregations.

Divisiveness over same-sex marriage will likely heat up this summer and fall if a proposed federal marriage amendment makes it out of Congress. Debate over the amendment, which would define marriage as "the union of a man and a woman," began Friday. In Utah, the debate also includes an amendment to the state Constitution.

While some denominations agonize over the issue, others are clear about where they stand. The president of the Roman Catholic U.S. Conference of Bishops last week urged the Senate to pass the federal amendment, saying that the institution of marriage is "under serious attack." In mid-June, the Southern Baptist Convention, representing 16 million members, also backed the amendment.

"It was probably pretty close to unanimous, out of 10, 12 thousand people," says Pastor Mike Gray of Southeast Baptist Church, who attended the meeting in Indianapolis.