Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker is a panelist for The Washington Post/ Newsweek online conversation, "On Faith." Each week panelists have the opportunity to answer a question posed by Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn, the moderators of the site.
This week's question was this: New Hampshire became the sixth state to let gay couples wed. The new law was approved after revisions exempted members of the clergy from having to perform same-sex weddings and religious groups and their employees from having to participate in such ceremonies. Polls say regular churchgoers are more likely to support gay marriage with these 'religious liberty reassurances.' Is this a good solution to the divisive issue of gay marriage?
Walker responded:
Religious exemptions can be a good, if not always fully satisfying, solution to the controversy over same sex marriage. As is often the case, the devil is in the details.
Exemptions from generally applicable laws that burden the exercise of religion are a time-honored way of accommodating religious liberty under American law. Some exemptions — usually granted by the courts — are required by the First Amendment's (and some states') free exercise provisions and church autonomy doctrine that prevents government from interfering with internal workings of houses of worship. Other exemptions — usually given out by legislatures — are permitted under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause when they remove governmentally imposed burdens on the exercise of religion and do not substantially prejudice the rights of third parties.
Read the rest of the post here.
