Get the government out

... of the marriage business. Please.

On the radio the other day I heard a program about culture wars. The premise was "in what areas would you be willing to compromise in order to de-escalate the culture wars?" Put another way, where could you personally declare (and live by) a cultural cease-fire, between you and those with whom you disagree?

Back before the Presidential election, I lamented the lack of civility in areas of debate on "moral issues" (as so defined by either the political right or left.) Both sides continued to scream at each other with what seemed like "religious fervor" (even if the religious part was a lot more ideology than faith.)

The two issues I wrestled with most in my own mind, heart, and soul were the issues of marriage "rights" and reproductive "rights" (both so-called). Eventually (roughly the day before Voting Day), I came to a position on both which I could support from the viewpoint of both others' civil rights and my moral conscience.

The position I came to was... get the government out of both topics. The state should take no position on either. Stop both defining marriage and regulating it. Stop both funding, and deciding the legality of, abortion - period. Leave both up to individuals, organizations and communities to decide.

Force no one to go against their conscience by either facilitating or restricting access to either marriage or abortion. Simply get out, deregulate, and leave both issues to private individuals, businesses and institutions to take positions on the issues (and deal with the consequences of their decisions.)

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(Now the rest of this post is on marriage, but for those of you who are rabidly either pro-life or pro-choice and can't wait... I will simply offer this on the subject of when life begins, for you to chew on:

DNA is unique from the moment of conception, and is present in the embryo. No doubt. But DNA is also present in my fingernail clippings and the chest hair I find in the tub after my shower, not to mention in mummies 3000 years old.

So does the presence of DNA necessarily imply that the being which it identifies is... alive? Unique, yes. But living? Not necessarily.

The bigger metaphysical question on abortion, I think, is this: "precisely when does the eternal soul become joined to the mortal body?" And if you can answer that definitively, you are better than all the theologians of the last 2000 years put together. 

This is not a simple question, and Christianity is still divided on the issue.  I can argue for soul-life at conception, viability, first breath, and the "age of accountability" equally easily, and all are supportable from Scripture.  By the way, Ps. 139 does not cut it as the definitive proof text here.  It's arguably about God's omniscience, providence and foreknowledge, not about soul-life.)

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So on the radio I hear of a movement to press for separation of church and state on the subject of marriage. Hm. That's sort of what I came to last Fall. The main idea is this:

Let religious institutions decide who can have a marriage ceremony, and let the state simply recognize whatever legal partnerships adults care to establish, much as the state now recognizes partnerships in various business ventures. Treat civil unions as miniature business ventures, focusing on the combining of property and estates.

Searching on it a bit, I came across this blog post on the subject, one more succinct than I usually am. :P There is also a petition drive going around, but I think it's poorly worded, so I won't post it here.

Seems to me that this is the way to go. Leave marriages in the purview of religious institutions, stop the state from intruding on their doctrine and convictions, and let the state focus on civil unions, where any two adults can voluntarily establish (and control by pre-nuptial agreements if needed) common property, dependency, inheritance and tax rights.

Then we can get on to other matters and move forward less divided.