Dispatches from the religious left

by Frederick Clarkson

  Too many religious institutions have failed to embrace this diversity; worse, many have condemned it. Some have mistakenly called homosexuality sinful when the real issue is heterosexism, or the unjust privileging of heterosexuality. Heterosexism devalues gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people just as sexism and male privilege devalue women. Silence, misinformation and condemnation of differing sexual and gender identities create despair, destroy relationships and lead to violence, suicide, even murder. Sexual and gender oppression cannot be portrayed as virtuous and morally defensible.

  Biblical references to sexual and gender diversity are relatively rare, and focus primarily on a few verses about male homosexual behavior.' The Bible does not address the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity, which contribute to current thinking on human sexuality. Many LGBT people who have been rejected or marginalized by their faith communities find hope in the overarching Biblical call to love and justice.

  Progressive religious leaders must help to create a new understanding of sexual and gender diversity, and to promote full equality of LGBT persons in all areas of religious and public life. In denominational terms, this means advocating for welcoming and affirming congregations, ordination of LGBT persons and marriage for same-sex couples. In public policy terms, it means promoting the civil rights of LGBT persons, including anti-discrimination laws, access to health care, adoption rights for LGBT individuals and couples, and marriage equality.

  Marriage is an evolving civil and religious institution. In the past, marriage was primarily about property and procreation, whereas today the emphasis is on egalitarian partnership, com panionship and love. In the past, neither the state nor most religions recognized divorce and remarriage, interracial marriage or the equality of the marriage partners. These understandings have changed, and rightly so, in the greater recognition of the humanity of all persons and their moral and civil rights. Today, Americans are called to embrace another change, this time the freedom of samesex couples to marry.

  Marriage is about entering into a holy covenant and making a commitment with another person to share life's joys and sorrows. From a social perspective, marriage is valued because it creates stable, committed relationships; provides a means to share economic resources; and nurtures individuals, couples and children. Good marriages benefit the community and express the religious values of long-term commitment, generativity and faithfulness. In terms of these religious and social values, there is no difference in marriage between a man and a woman, two men or two women. Moreover, as many religious traditions affirm, where there is love, the sacred is in our midst.

  TRENDS FAVORING SEXUAL JUSTICE

  Sexual justice is not only a moral obligation, but a political opportunity, as recent polls clearly show:

  • Nearly half of Americans now consider themselves pro-choice, three-quarters favor some level of abortion availability, and most do not want Roe v. Wade overturned.4

  • Similarly, 51 percent of Americans favor either civil unions or full marriage equality for same-sex couples.' Even among evangelical Christians, four in 10 support some legal rights for same-sex couples.'

  • Nearly nine in 10 Americans support federal legislation protecting lesbians and gay men from workplace discrimination,7 a number that's been rising steadily since the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was introduced in 1996.

  • More than eight in 10 Americans favor comprehensive sexuality education in the public schools.'

  • Support for all of these issues is generally higher among younger Americans than older ones.

  This is no time to compromise on sexual justice. Not only is public opinion trending in its favor, but religious and progressive political leaders should not compromise their integrity and their clear obligations. We have an obligation to create a world that embraces the diversity of God's creation and enables all people to live to the fullness of their spirituality and sexuality with holiness and integrity. That is the only common ground where any person of faith should wish to stand.

  NOTES

  1. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, January- February 2003.

  2.These data are from the authors'A Time to Seek: Study Guide on Sexual and Gender Diversity, published in September 2007.

  3.1he 11 verses that address sexual behavior between men represent .035 percent of the total verses in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

  4. Gallup poll, 2007.

  5. CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 2007.

  6. American Values Survey, 2006.

  7. Gallup poll, 2007.

  8. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)/Advocates for Youth poll, 2000.

  REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE

  AND A COMPREHENSIVE

  SOCIAL JUSTICE ETHIC

  REV. DR. CARLTON W. VEAZEY

  It is time for the progressive faith community to affirm reproductive justice as inseparable from our overall social justice concerns. Probably the most insidious strategy of the Religious Right has been to use reproductive rights as a wedge issue to divide progressives, and we have not handled this situation as well as we might have. Fortunately, there is a framework that I believe can help us to overcome our divisions and become better, more effective advocates for our values. This model, the reproductive justice framework, is an idea that resonates broadly across our culture and deeply within our faith traditions and offers religious progressives the opportunity to take a fresh look at reproductive issues and incorporate them into a Religious Left agenda.

  This is a logical and necessary step in the development of a consistent progressive ethic because reproductive justice underlies and is connected to many of the social justice concerns that progressive religions espouse. In addition, the conditions to achieve reproductive justice are virtually the same as those in other priority areas of interest to the Religious Left: universal health care, the eradication of hunger, eliminating violence, reducing income disparities, improving environmental quality, and increasing se curity through peace at home and abroad. I believe that including reproductive justice among these concerns will address the issues of many people who are now not receptive to a Religious Left agenda.

  The California-based organization Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, which developed this framework, stipulates that reproductive justice is inherently connected to the struggle for social justice and human rights. There are two main modes of thought that reproductive justice incorporates: "reproductive health" emphasizes the necessary health care services that women need, and "reproductive rights" emphasizes universal legal protections such as Roe v. Wade. The reproductive justice framework addresses structural barriers to reproductive health and rights (restrictive laws and lack of access, for example) and envisions the complete physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of all people. It is a broad and compelling concept: it says that reproductive justice will be achieved when all people have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and reproduction.

  The prospect of reproductive justice is hopeful-as contrasted with being mired in irresolvable debates about abortion, or singling out what Evelyn Shen of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice calls "pieces of a woman's body."This framework opens up a deeper discussion that allows us to connect traditional religious concerns such as poverty, violence, hunger, poor healthcare, unequal educational opportunities, and gender and racial/ethnic inequality to reproductive issues. Reproductive justice may be the guiding principle that will allow us, at last, to convey a theological basis, from our respective religious traditions, for public policies that enable women to make reproductive decisions-including abortion decisions-as well as for providing the health, educational and other resources for healthy and wanted pregnancies and strong families.

  Here are some sound reasons for the Religious Left to include reproductive justice on its agenda:

  • Connecting the issues ma
kes each stronger: Keeping the focus limited to abortion and what is termed the unborn child is a barrier to addressing broader justice issues such as poverty alleviation, universal health care, and child development. For example, the growing environmental health movement is raising awareness about the dangers of chemical exposure to male fertility, pregnant women, developing fetuses, and young children. As Sister Joan Chittister writes, a nation that considers itself religious would want to provide "the corporal works of mercy" such as healthcare, housing, food and clean water. "After all, food and education and decent housing and support services are exactly the things that take the strain off families and make abortion unnecessary."

  • Removing barriers to progress: The intensity around the abortion issue has been a barrier to making progress in expanding access to birth control and family planning, funding comprehensive and medically accurate sex education in public schools, and developing and marketing improved forms of contraception. Consequently, the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates, unintended pregnancy rates and abortion rates among industrialized countries as well as an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections that affects the ability to have children and increases the risk of serious diseases such as cervical cancer.

  • Increasing understanding of "values": The misperception of the 2004 election that abortion was a chief concern of "values voters" has had negative consequences for women's health issues. Too many politicians took this fallacious interpretation of the vote as permission to retreat from safeguarding legal abortion and supporting measures to protect women's health. Several illconceived legislative proposals were introduced that focused narrowly on abortion reduction without seriously addressing the prevention of unintended pregnancy. An empowered Religious Left would expose such political pandering around the issue of abortion and reinforce that the "values" of great importance to most Americans include economic equality, peace, and a clean environment, and that these are all intimately connected to reproductive health.

  • Building political support: Political leaders may increase their support for prevention when religious constituencies speak out in favor of such programs as family planning, health services, and sex education and relate them to concerns such as poverty alleviation and child health.

  • Reinforcing the meaning of religious freedom: The opposition to comprehensive sex education, HIV/AIDS prevention that includes condom education, emergency contraception and legal abortion comes from religious groups that claim these violate religious beliefs-the underlying message being that the only valid religious beliefs are theirs. The failure to appreciate and articulate religious pluralism as a powerful value often leads to capitulation and compromise on reproductive issues with factions that do not honor the differing value systems inherent in our religiously plural society, as well as the value of religious pluralism itself.

  A Religious Left that is unwaveringly committed to protecting religious freedom and enabling religious pluralism to flourish should speak with one voice against all attempts to violate church/ state separation, including in areas of reproductive decision-making.

  Even as we work to embrace reproductive justice as a logical expression of our religious values, having a serious dialogue in religious and political circles on reproductive justice will be challenging. The issue of abortion has created fear and division among progressives and hampered our efforts to forge a broad movement for justice that includes both women's rights and religious organizations. So-called "renewal groups" that use the abortion issue to create divisiveness in mainline Protestant denominations and Catholic and evangelical groups that oppose abortion can be expected to resist efforts to broaden the discussion to connect to other social justice issues. But research shows that the public is tired of the seemingly unending divisiveness on abortion and would like positive programs to support healthy and wanted pregnancies, keep young people in school, expand healthcare, and strengthen families. With that in mind, the Religious Left should move ahead to incorporate reproductive justice in a comprehensive ethic of social justice.

  CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR STRONG FAMILIES AND WANTED CHILDREN

  Religions including The United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), The Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalism and all branches of Judaism agree that human life is sacred-and include the life of the woman as well as the potential child. It is because of this belief that many religious communities work for a world in which every child is wanted, loved and cared for, which is why they support birth control, family planning, safe and legal abortion, and health care for all.

  The reality, though, is that 82 percent of the approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended, with lifelong consequences for the teen mothers and their families. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social issues, including poverty and income disparities, overall child well-being, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood, health issues, education, child welfare, and risky behaviors. In addition, there are more than 500,000 births a year from pregnancies that women themselves say they did not want at the time of conception, or in the months preceding the birth. These children are particularly vulnerable. For example, even when taking into account various social and economic factors, women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy are less likely to obtain prenatal care, making their babies at increased risk of being born prematurely and at a low birth weight. These babies are also less likely to be breastfed, and are more likely to face a range of developmental risks such as poor physical and mental health compared to children born as the result of an intended pregnancy.

  CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR RESPONSIBLE PARENTING

  While an enduring commitment to family relationships is a bedrock religious value, many current social policies have the effect of weakening families because of a lack of regard for reproductive justice. Again, unintended and unwanted pregnancies put women and families at risk for numerous problems that are intertwined with many of the social justice concerns that progressive religions espouse. Most unplanned births occur to unmarried women, and these families are more likely to be poor and the children are more likely to drop out of high school, have lower grade-point averages, lower college aspirations, and poor school attendance records. "If more children in this country were born to parents who are ready and able to care for them," says the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, "we would see a significant reduction in a host of social problems afflicting children in the United States, from school failure and crime to child abuse and neglect."

  CREATING A HEALTH CARE SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR ALL

  The call for universal health care is coming from churches, temples, synagogues and seminaries. Reproductive healthcare is integral to any reasonable definition of health care, yet new data indicates that there are problems in terms of access to health care services. One consequence, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is that maternal mortality in the United States has been rising-as of 2004, it was at its highest rates since the 1970s. In addition, the maternal mortality rate among African American women is at least three times higher than among white women, an indicator of racial disparities in health services. Three studies have shown that at least 40 percent of maternal deaths could have been prevented with improved quality of care. If we are serious about universal health care, we must advocate for the health and well being of the whole person, including women's reproductive health care.

  CREATING A MORE JUST WORLD

  While most religions understands that the scriptural injunction to love your neighbor and care for "every living thing that moves on the earth" applies across national boundaries, 500,000 women die each year in impoverished and developing countries from pregnancy-related causes, including unsafe and illegal abortions, pregnancies at very young ages that cause irreparable physical damage, and pr
egnancies that occur too frequently. In addition, 9.7 million children die before they turn five years of age-including nearly 40 percent in the first month of life. It is estimated that more than 6 million maternal, newborn and child deaths would be averted yearly if essential maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition interventions were implemented at scale.

  Throughout the world, women's struggle for dignity includes the ability to consent to sex, to have a decision in childbearing, and to be able to care for themselves and their families. Healthy families are key to economic progress.These are values that are integral to an agenda for peace and sustainable global environmental practices.

  CONCLUSION

  The current and prospective Religious Left faces a significant challenge in how and even, for some, whether to address reproductive justice. The options are clear. We can continue to give lip-service to the issues of reproductive justice, rejecting theses issues as too divisive. Or we can directly address them because they are of the most profound concern to women and men throughout the world. If we choose the latter, as I believe we must, our central challenge is to show how reproductive justice is deeply rooted in our religious values and to do so in ways that are affirming and respectful of diverse religious views. For us to do anything less is to risk failing as healers of humanity and prophets of a comprehensive vision of a just world.

  Marjorie Brahms Signer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice provided research and editorial assistance in the development of this essay.

  CREATIONISM, EVOLUTION

  AND THE INTEGRITY OF

  SCIENCE AND RELIGION