The issue of faith and values plays very strongly on voters minds in Maine as they consider support for the state’s marriage equality law at the ballot box on November 4. The Maine Sunday Telegram finds active relgious leaders who see religion, scripture and their faith as a reason why to support the freedom to marry.

There is a “strong movement in every religious tradition to rethink family, gender and sexuality,” said the Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison, a Presbyterian minister and head of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry.

“Religion is going to be a factor — every religious tradition is concerned about the well-being of persons and the character of our community,” he continued. “Many of us who are deeply religious believe the best way to support all families is to make available the rights and protections all families and all couples deserve.”

[Rabbi Carolyn] Braun [of Temple Beth El in Portland], the rabbi, said that for her, the issue boils down to the concept that God made humans in his image. That’s where she plans to center her sermon for Rosh Hashana, she said.

“God wouldn’t create a being that’s no good; I believe that our sexuality is really part of who we are,” said Braun.

Click here to learn more about what faith leaders are doing to support marriage equality in Maine.

Despite organized efforts by the Maine Catholic Diocese to overturn marriage equality laws, a local group of Catholics firmly committed to ensuring that all have the right to marry.

Jack and Rose Dougherty went to St. Rafael’s Church in Kittery that same Sunday, armed with petitions spearheaded by Catholics for Marriage Equality. They also put a note in the basket during the second collection stating they did not support the church’s action. Six other parishioners found them after Mass and signed the petition, said Jack Dougherty, people who “had called to offer support, and said, ‘We’re behind you on this. We think you’re right.’”

Dougherty said the Catholics in support of the law are organizing and the petition is a step in that direction.

The one-page, single-spaced petition titled, “God is Love,” begins: “As faithful Roman Catholics and citizens of the state of Maine, we believe that the right of every citizen to practice freedom of religion is based on the principle of respect for the dignity of each individual.”

The petition states that Catholic teaching on social justice “has been central to the building of a just society,” and added, “We remember that Roman Catholics were once denied civil rights … because of our sacred rituals.”

To learn more about the campaign to protect marriage equality in Maine, visit No on One: Protect Maine Equality.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on today’s decision by the Lutheran Church in America to bless same-sex unions after a vote by delegates at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis.

The change in the Evangelical Lutheran Church does not require pastors or congregations to bless same-sex unions, but allows those comfortable with it to do so. Gay pastors can serve in Lutheran churches, but only if they are celibate. A coalition of churches known as Lutheran CORE opposed the affirmation of gay unions and pastors.

The Rev. Brad Schmeling of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Druid Hills, a gay man in a committed relationship, has been a key activist in the campaign to change church polity. Schmeling was removed from the list of approved Lutheran pastors in 2007. St. John’s kept him as minister and the denomination has not taken action against the church.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has about 4.7 million members in 10,000 congregations. It is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. More conservative Lutheran denominations, such as the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, still do not approve same-sex unions or gay relationships. The debate about full inclusion of gay members in the life of churches has been a hot one in U.S. Protestant denominations for more than a decade. The United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church accept gay ministers. The acceptance, in part, caused more conservative congregations in the Episcopal Church to leave the denomination.

Once again leaders of faith support the right of individuals to marry whomever they love, it’s time for states to allow Lutheran Churches to exercise their freedom of religion.

David Boies, the attorney who is part of a bi-partisan effort to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage, writes an excellent counter-offensive to opponents of marriage equality in the Wall Street Journal.

The occasional suggestion that marriages between people of different sexes may somehow be threatened by marriages of people of the same sex does not withstand discussion. It is difficult to the point of impossibility to envision two love-struck heterosexuals contemplating marriage to decide against it because gays and lesbians also have the right to marry; it is equally hard to envision a couple whose marriage is troubled basing the decision of whether to divorce on whether their gay neighbors are married or living in a domestic partnership. And even if depriving lesbians of the right to marry each other could force them into marrying someone they do not love but who happens to be of the opposite sex, it is impossible to see how that could be thought to be as likely to lead to a stable, loving relationship as a marriage to the person they do love.

Moreover, there is no longer any credible contention that depriving gays and lesbians of basic rights will cause them to change their sexual orientation. Even if there was, the attempt would be constitutionally defective. But, in fact, the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians is as much a God-given characteristic as the color of their skin or the sexual orientation of their straight brothers and sisters. It is also a condition that, like race, has historically been subject to abusive and often violent discrimination. It is precisely where a minority’s basic human rights are abridged that our Constitution’s promise of due process and equal protection is most vital.

It is time to end discrimination against gays and lesbians and allow marriage rights for all.

The Bishops of the Episcopal Church have backed the blessing of gay and lesbian unions at their recent convention in Anaheim.

Mike Angell, who is studying to become an Episcopal priest at the Virginia Theological Seminary, said yesterday’s decision comes as a relief. “I have a number of friends — straight and gay — who requested me to perform their weddings once I’m ordained,” said Angell, who believes in equality for gay parishioners. “I would have felt limited and compromised blessing hetero couples but not gay couples. It’s an issue of justice.”

Regardless of how one church or another feels about blessing same-sex marriages, it is not up to the government to choose which religious marriages will get recognized by the state and which won’t.