Churches and gay marriage

The Episcopal Church on Tuesday voted to allow religious weddings for gay couples, joining the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ in allowing same-sex marriages in all their congregations.

The decision by the House of Deputies – which includes lay people and clergy – came at the Episcopalian General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, when delegates voted overwhelmingly in favor of amending canon law so that instead of marriage being defined as between "a man and a woman" or "husband and wife", it is now gender-neutral and between “these persons” or “the couple”.

The resolutions, which will take effect after November 1, follow last Friday’s US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling to legalize same-sex marriages across the country.

NB: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and the United Church of Christ already allow same-sex marriages in all their congregations. This means that they not only recognize civil marriage for same-sex couples but that they hold that those marriages can have religious sanction for those who desire it.

Don't hold your breath for all the ecclesiastical dominoes to start tumbling, but I imagine this is a sign of the future, one that will eventually render the religious exemption movement useless except in the usual pockets of resistance in the Deep South and such places.