9th June, 2015
Christian leaders from a spectrum of denominations have joined with other religious leaders in writing an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott urging him and fellow MPs to "uphold the law" regarding marriage "as the union of a man and a woman".
The letter, which was dated last Friday, says the definition of marriage, defined in the 1961 Marriage Act as being the union of a man and a woman, "reflects a truth deeply embedded across diverse communities, faiths and cultures".
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"To uphold marriage as the mutual love of a man and a woman, open to the gift of children, is not bigotry or prejudice…We should do more to ensure that our brothers and sisters who are same-sex attracted are treated with the dignity and respect owed to every human being. But this does not require the further deconstruction of marriage as traditionally understood." – From the letter to the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott |
It says that to uphold the view that marriage is the "mutual love of a man and a woman, open to the gift of children, is not bigotry or prejudice" but notes that while people with same-sex attraction have suffered injustice historically and today and that more should be done to ensure the same-sex attracted should be treated with dignity and respect, "this does not require the further deconstruction of marriage as traditionally understood".
Among the 38 signatories to the letter are Anthony Fisher, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, David Cook, moderator general of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, Wayne Alcorn, president of Australian Christian Churches, and Keith Jobberns, national ministries director at Australian Baptist Ministries.
The signatories also include representatives of various other churches including the Lutheran Church, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Armenian Church as well as representatives of the Jewish and Islamic faiths and faith-related organisations such as the Australian Christian Lobby which has repeatedly called for a plebiscite to be held on the issue of same-sex marriage.
The letter comes after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten last week introduced a private member’s bill in Federal Parliament in which marriage would be redefined as a union between "two people".
In the letter, the leaders say that Australia’s definition of a marriage between a man and a woman is consistent with "the vast majority of world nations, who represent over 91 per cent of the global population" and note that only 21 of the UN’s 193 member states had changed their legal definition of marriage to incorporate same-sex unions.
They say that the link to children is "essential to what marriage means" and said the proposed legislation "undermines the shared understanding of marriage and places the wishes of adults above the interests of children". "It fails to acknowledge the truth that children constitute the very basis for the state’s recognition and regulation of marriage".
The leaders write that redefining marriage will "create legal vulnerabilities for the millions of Australians who will always believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, and who entered into marriage on that basis."
"In overseas jurisdictions where the definition of marriage has been changed, the public manifestation of this belief has resulted in vilification and legal punishment of individuals and institutions," they write. "This violates not only freedom of religion, but also the rights of conscience, belief and association, and the right to parents to educate their children according to their own beliefs. The experience of these countries which have redefined marriage demonstrates that attempts to address these concerns through legislative "exemptions" have proven to be worthless."
The letter is the latest in which Christian leaders have raised concerns over redefining marriage. In May, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference published a pastoral letter reaffirming marriage as being the union of a man and a woman while Archbishop Philip Freier, Anglican Primate of Australia, said he had written to Mr Abbott urging any that changes to the Marriage Act allow for clergy to follow their consciences.
The full text of the letter and signatories can be seen here.
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ACL REPEATS CALL FOR NATIONAL PLEBISCITE ON THE ISSUE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE TO TAKE THE ARGUMENT "INTO THE PUBLIC SQUARE"
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