Thursday, May 13, 2010

Laura Bush, okay with gay marriage



This blog has argued for marriage equality. But I have also argued that the debate is much like a cricket game—the end is known but we have to wait for all the players to go through the motions. Laura Bush seems to agree. Not only does she think equal recognition of gay relationships to be the right thing, but she also thinks it is merely a matter of time. It will come, she says. Her point is basically my own. We just have to wait for more old conservatives to die. That is happening.

I also think a lot of older people will slowly change their minds. The same age group resisted equality for blacks but today most old folk accept it.

It is not just an age issue, as Laura Bush thinks. It is also a religious issue. And I have argued that the United States has entered the first stages of post-Christian era. The US is joining Europe in abandoning religion, albeit too slowly for my liking. But the data supports my theory—there is a major implosion taking place within American religious circles. The numbers of young people who openly say they are atheists has more than doubled in recent years—thanks in large part to the likes of Laura's husband. Interestingly the gay issue has pushed a lot of young people away from the church. Young Christians say that their church is bigoted and mean-spirited. And they tend to support marriage equality. So anti-gay bigotry is a loser for the churches, all the way around. This is a battle that the churches have lost already. We are just waiting for the inevitable.

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