Ever since the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, the radical Christian community has exploded in outrage. Christian public figures like Franklin Graham and Joel Osteen contend the foundations of Christianity itself are under attack.
Citing a supposed Thomas Jefferson quote (actually closer to Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"), "If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it; he is obligated to do so," Graham wrote in his column for The Christian Post, calling for Christians to oppose the ruling in their day-to-day lives.
We have since seen many objections and arguments — from Kim Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses for gay couples to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s reference to the ruling as a " threat to American democracy."
In light of all this contention, last week on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Colbert asked his interviewee, beloved actress and LGBTQ+ activist Ellen Page, "What do you say to people who feel that their religious rights go ahead of (gay people’s) marriage rights?"
Colbert’s question raises a profound concern we must confront as a nation: How do we reconcile social progress with seemingly contradictory religious convictions?
The answer lies in our admittance of two key points: the U.S. holds no official religion, and Christianity is fallible.
Radical Christian figures defer to the inaccurately paraphrased Thomas Jefferson quote recited earlier. Meanwhile, in one of his personal letters, Jefferson strongly argued "religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God," and cited the First Amendment, saying the government should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Irrespective of the religious undertones of early colonial American history and religious rhetoric of modern U.S. politicians, our Constitution, as stated in the First Amendment, first and foremost holds the law above religious convictions.
Second, we need to let go of our idealized attachment to a pure Christian faith. All religions are responsible for both immense good and evil.
As Ellen Page responded in Colbert’s interview, "Religious liberty and religious freedom is so, so important. It’s so, so crucial. And what’s unfortunate, throughout history, [is] religious liberty has been used to justify discrimination based on gender, based on race and now it’s the LGBT community."
Back in the 19th and 20th centuries, when states defended their anti-interracial marriage laws, they often referred to their strict abidance of the "natural law," or God’s law. Denying people of their civil liberties based on religious conviction now in 2015 is no different or any more acceptable.
Moreover, the religiously inspired hate of these Christians contradicts the core tenets of Christianity itself: love, respect and hope. Christians like Kim Davis and Franklin Graham are so quick to quote the Bible’s definition of marriage between a man and a woman, but they seem to forget how Jesus taught his followers "You shall not hate your fellow countryman… you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
All this to say, Christianity is not infallible: There is a sea of inconsistency and malpractice within the text of the Bible and its messages.
But as we embrace equal rights, not only do we bridge the gap between our societal practices and the core tenets of love in the Christian faith, but also we further expose the danger of permitting ignorance and discrimination with the excuse: "It’s in the Bible."
And so, to those Christians who feel discomfort in reconciling religious teachings with a changing society — an understandable discomfort, for we all naturally fear big change — I say embracing gay marriage and the LGBTQ+ movement is an opportunity to become better Christians.
As Jesus himself taught: Love thy neighbor.
David Hoffman is a UF history and physics sophomore. His column appears on Tuesdays.
