My Spiritual Response to Gay Marriage

All this talk of protests and the accompanying emotions I've experienced have affected me in surprising ways. It's certainly tipped me off my usual center--but I don't know that it's a bad thing. However, I've had to consciously carve out moments to put those concerns aside and regain my wider perspective. I've been asking myself, how do I respond spiritually to this situation?

It isn't an easy answer since this path I'm on is new. In my former Christian life, I think my response would have been fairly simple: act in God's love. You may be thinking, "Well, just do the same now." Except I don't believe in any god being or deity or even necessarily in anything divine, so the phrase "God's love" comes up empty.

I've also been struggling with the fact that the politics of gay marriage and gay rights are illusions. It's only because I live in a democracy and have an expectation of equality in one form or another that this is even an issue. Elsewhere, it wouldn't even be a possibility. My sexuality doesn't define me; I am more and beyond that categorization. In other words, I believe it is possible to live fully as you are without any rights handed to you. It is possible to live by values that are timeless, even if others do not recognize you or those values. That assumes, of course, that people will leave you alone.

That rarely happens, and such is the case in this defining moment. Yet regardless of the outcome for gay marriage in this country, I still am and always will be. But I feel a need to act in this moment, in this world of here-and-now politics. The visible goal may be "marriage," but the larger frequency is love and respect.

I've been surprised at my anger, at my desire to lash out in some way at the oppressors. Is this right? Where do I draw the line? What's a thoughtful pagan to do? I'm really glad that I no longer need to see this situation through a Christian lens because it forces me to dig deeper. I don't have a special book or text to guide me, so I have to really uncover what values are most important to me and how I should walk in this physical world. The oppressors use Jesus and the Bible as weapons, but there are some on the side of gay rights who claim Jesus and the Bible say otherwise. To me, the one cancels out the other. We need something more, something deeper, something more essential.

Regardless of where we all stand on this issue of gay rights, the fact is that something has been sparked, an energy has been released, something has changed. This energy is rushing through each one of us, no matter what our opinions are. I'm hoping that this will be seen as the winds of progress, but that won't be true for everyone. This energy will make some afraid. It will overwhelm others and carry them away. Others may harness the energy and try to use it for their own ends. Is there a way to simply open our arms, feel its tug and pull, and listen quietly to what it has to say?

artwork by Mark Kashino