Secular and gay definition
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My purpose today is not to support or defend gay and lesbian marriages-indeed, many gays and lesbians do not want to marry-but simply suggest a theological approach that might open up the possibility for greater Christian acceptance of, and ecclesiastical approval for, same sex unions. The attitudes of Santa Clara students have evolved significantly in the last two decades vis à vis gay and lesbian relationships. Lee's classes over the years have been uniformly successful and very worthwhile. My intent was two-fold: first to invite students into dialogue with people different from themselves second, to work to eliminate, in whatever small way I could, homophobic attitudes on our campus and in our community. In every class, for the past 20 odd years, I have invited a gay former student, Lee FitzGerald, to speak on gay relationships.
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Let me share a brief personal note: I have been teaching Theology of Marriage at Santa Clara since 1983. The recent addition of same sex commitment ceremonies in the Sunday New York Times wedding and engagement announcements and the popularity of shows as "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye…" indicate a shift in our culture's attitude toward gays and lesbians. What has grown is a much greater acceptance of gays and lesbians in our culture, as well as the social and economic freedom for gays and lesbians to emerge from the closet that has confined them for so many generations. Statistics suggest, however, that gays and lesbians are not increasing in number, if we accept the best research data of Edward Laumann, who puts the number at about 5% of the population 1.
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Social conservatives are not only concerned about marriage, but also the rise of a gay and lesbian culture. One need only look at the recent one-day marriage of pop idol, Brittany Spears, and the shenanigans of "Benifer" about their on-and-off nuptials to realize that tradi-tional marriage between heterosexuals is in deep trouble. According to the New York Times, only 56% of Americans are married today and, even more surprising, only 26% of all households are the traditional married-couple-with-children homes. While George Bush calls for 1.5 billion dollars to bolster the sanctity of marriage-especially among the lower classes of society-we live in an unprecedented time of transition with reference to marriage and the family. I was first going to call my comments as "A Straight Eye for Some Queer Guys," but I see that the name has been taken. It is a special pleasure to be with Father Jerry Coleman and my colleague, June Carbone. It is a pleasure to be here with members of the University community today. Patrick's Seminary, offered these remarks as part of a panel on Gay Marriage held Jan. Fred Parrella, associate professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University, and Gerald Coleman, S.S., President of St.