#publisher The Federalist » Feed The Federalist » Comments Feed The Federalist » Gay Marriage: No One Expects the Secular Inquisition Comments Feed * our latest * most popular * contributors * subscribe The Federalist ____________________ TheFederalist The Federalist RSS Feed Follow TheFederalist on Twitter Follow TheFederalist on Facebook Follow TheFederalist on Pinterest Browse The Federalist * our latest * most popular * events * subscribe * Religion Gay Marriage: No One Expects the Secular Inquisition Follow Us on Twitter Like Us on Facebook Hangout with us Gay Marriage: No One Expects the Secular Inquisition October 20, 2014 By Robert Tracinski On Friday, city officials in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, informed Donald and Evelyn Knapp, ordained ministers and proprietors of the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel, that they would be required to perform gay weddings or face fines or possibly jail time under the city’s “public accommodations” statute. Their religious views are expected to adjust to the edicts of the state. So it’s official: a new religious orthodoxy is sweeping across the nation, imposed by government and backed by force. It’s a religious orthodoxy required by secular authorities for a secular purpose, but no matter. Heretics will be found out and forced to recant. No one ever expects the Secular Inquisition. Except that we actually did expect it. In fact, it’s inherent in the fundamental basis of the left’s arguments for gay marriage. I’m speaking here of the argument for gay marriage. It may be hard to remember now, but not very long ago there were compromise proposals for same-sex “civil unions” that were legally equivalent to marriage but under a different name. Gay rights activists consciously rejected these unions in order to specifically demand the use of the term “marriage,” insisting that the state legally recognize and enforce the equality of these marriages with old-fashioned, outmoded heterosexual ones. Personally, I have no problem with gay people getting hitched, having weddings, and saying that they are “married.” I don’t have any religious objection, on account of not being religious, nor do I think gay marriages, given their very small numbers, will have any particular impact on the state of marriage as an important social institution. (Which, alas, has all sorts of problems of its own.) But the test of liberty isn’t what happens to people who agree with the intent of a particular edict. The test is what happens to people who disagree. That brings us to the reason why gay rights advocates insisted on the government granting same-sex unions the title of “marriage.” The theory behind this was that homosexuals suffer from a lack of social acceptance, and gay marriage would put the government’s imprimatur on their status as social equals—along with the promise that this equality is to be backed by government force. The theory behind gay marriage, in short, was the theory behind the entire secular left: society and the state are the all-powerful forces on which the life of the individual depends, and the most important political task—indeed, the most important task in life—is getting this irresistible power on your side. Once you gain social and political power, you hold on to it by making your preferred views mandatory, a catechism everyone must affirm, while suppressing all heretical views. In this case, to gain social acceptance of homosexuality, you make the affirmation of gay marriages mandatory while officially suppressing any dissenting religious views. Hence, the Secular Inquisition, which we should have expected all along. Except that it turns out to have the opposite effect in the long run, as the history of the original inquisition reveals. A big part of the reason for the centuries-long decline in the influence of religion in the West is the aftermath of its attempts to protect its social monopoly through coercion. I don’t think the Church has ever really recovered from the legacy of the Spanish Inquisition, which served to discredit religion by associating it with brutality—an image that has lived in infamy for centuries, down to its use in a certain well-known Monty Python sketch. As an advocate of secularism—including secular morality and a secular basis for liberty—I don’t want my own views similarly discredited by association with the oppressive acts of a new Secular Inquisition. Follow Robert on Twitter. Coeur D'Alene Donald and Evelyn Knapp Editors Picks Gay Marriage Hitching Post Wedding Chapel Idaho marriage religious freedom secularism Spanish Inquisition 0 Comments [arrow.png] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus Most Popular * Eight Parenting Lessons I Learned From My Parents’ Early DeathsDon’t make the same mistakes my parents did. Prepare fo...continue reading > * Why Everyone Should Be Terrified By The GOP's Abortion Bill DebacleAn abortion bill that was about to pass easily was just...continue reading > * I'm A Stay-At-Home, Working Mom, And I'm Sick Of Being Insulted By The PresidentMr. President, I don't give a damn about national econo...continue reading > Related Posts giulio napolitano / Shutterstock.com Pope Francis Is Fair Game For Criticism, From Left Or Right When Pope Francis damages the cause of liberty across the globe, it’s only right that its defenders should speak up. giulio napolitano / Shutterstock.com Don’t Pick Political Fights With Pope Francis Conservatives have everything to lose and nothing to gain from getting mad at Pope Francis for his public comments on homosexuality, global warming, free speech, and more. shutterstock_138319112 Avoid A Funeral Standoff With Three Easy Questions Funerals can happen fast, and as the Lakewood, Colorado controversy shows, that can cause discomfort for families and congregations. Here’s how to prevent that. shutterstock_139438058 In Celebration Of Religious Liberty Day, ‘Je Suis American’ Religious liberty is often treated like the eccentric uncle of the human-rights family. It shouldn’t be. We need it now, perhaps, more than ever. shutterstock_197401883 It’s Time For Islam To Mature Or Perish Authentic Islamic adaptation to the modern world may not actually be possible. ____________________ Subscribe TheFederalist RSS Feed Follow TheFederalist on Twitter Follow TheFederalist on Facebook Follow TheFederalist on Pinterest Our Latest - Most Popular - Contributors - Contact Us - Subscribe Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray. Quantcast