Interfaith Alliance Challenges Shameful New Attack on Marriage Equality

After a coalition of 47 anti-LGBTQ+ organizations announced this week the launch of a new campaign to end marriage equality in the US, Interfaith Alliance is making clear that diverse faith communities and traditions across the country reject this hateful discrimination and will do everything in their power to defend couples and families from this attack on their fundamental freedoms. 

The far-right “Greater Than” campaign’s core principle is that the sole purpose of marriage is to raise children – and that the constitutional right of same-sex couples to legally marry in the US, as established by the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, violates children’s rights.

Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, released the following statement:

“Let’s be clear: After over a decade of legalized same-sex marriage in our country, religious Americans refuse to accept these shameful attempts to strip millions of people of their fundamental right to marry and form a family with the person they love. The cruel extremists behind this new campaign, many of whom also helped create the “Project 2025” blueprint for the Trump Administration, claim to care about children – yet they are determined to tear families apart, deprive children of their parents’ love, and prevent loving couples from forming their own families. 

“The Greater Than campaign is Nothing Less than rebranded, old-school, fundamentalist hate. It belongs in the trash heap of history, and the majority of religious Americans who believe in human dignity will make sure it stays there.

“While the groups behind this campaign use a veneer of religiosity to justify their repression, in reality, their claims to dictate what marriage must mean or look like actually violate the sacred religious freedoms and civil rights of diverse faith traditions across our country. As an ordained Baptist minister, I have performed same-sex marriages, and I am part of a same-sex marriage. Both are part of the freedom of my faith and my rights as an American.

“I won’t let anyone tell me – or tell any of my fellow Americans in same-sex marriages – that our families, our love, and our care for our children are illegitimate or inadequate. Religious Americans across the country won’t let those who have signed off on the Trump Administration’s authoritarian repression and cruel attacks on immigrant families lecture us about how to keep kids safe or live up to the moral teachings of our faiths. 

“In the weeks ahead, we will work closely with partners across the country to make sure that attacks on marriage equality are met head-on with fierce resistance – rooted in love, in true religious freedom, and in the fundamental constitutional rights of all Americans. How dare they tell diverse communities what marriage means to each of us!”

CONTACT: Ben DePasquale, West End Strategy Team, 717-779-4660

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‍‍‍Interfaith Alliance and Interfaith Alliance Foundation are a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information, visit interfaithalliance.org.