The legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. indicates a growing distance between religious teachings and cultural norms.
The growing distance between religious teachings and American cultural norms as represented by the recent legalization of gay marriage may well lead to new conflicts in foreign policy, writes Andrew J. Bacevich in Commonweal magazine (Aug. 14). Bacevich writes that the Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of gay marriage in the Obergefell vs. Hodges decision had accurately gauged the “signs of the times.” He adds that “The people of ‘thou shall not’ have long since become the people of ‘whatever,’ with obligations deriving from moral tradition subordinated to claims of individual autonomy…As a force in American politics, religion is in retreat.” While politicians retain symbols with religious overtones, such as prayer breakfasts and currency emblazoned with “In God We Trust,” these are for the most part exercises in nostalgia; today, other symbols matter more, such as displaying the Confederate flag. Bacevich argues that “A nation purportedly ‘under God’ has decisively rejected the hierarchical relationship that phrase implies. Those who interpret the nation’s laws have dropped all pretense of deferring to guidance from above. From here on out, we’ve got the green light to chart our own course.”
Obergefell reflects the idea that for Americans “freedom is not a fixed proposition. It evolves, expands, and becomes more inclusive…But a nation founded on universal claims—boldly enumerating rights with which ‘all men’ are endowed—finds intolerable any conception of freedom that differs from its own.” This is borne out by the way gender equality has found a place not only in national politics but in foreign policy; today the State Department maintains an Office of Global Women’s Issues, devoted to pressing for women’s equality around the world. Bacevich concludes: “We should anticipate something similar occurring in relation to LGBT communities worldwide. Their plight, which is real, will necessarily emerge as a matter of official U.S. concern…Whether or not U.S. support for LGBT rights goes beyond the rhetorical, societies still viewing themselves as ‘under God’ will bridle at this sudden turnabout. Especially in the Islamic world, demands to conform to the latest revision of American (and therefore universal) freedom will strike many as not only unwelcome but also unholy encroachments…we are witnessing a remarkable inversion in the relationship between religion and American statecraft. Rather than facilitating the pursuit of America’s liberating mission, faith now becomes an impediment, an obstacle to freedom’s further advance.”
(Commonweal, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/)