CULTURAL SIEVE AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

In the book, Mirror of Man, anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn describes culture as a sieve. Any new idea has to pass through it. Since same-sex marriage is fairly new idea, and a very delicate, sensitive, and complex issue because it affects the core (spiritual) value of many, it is not surprising that it would not easily pass through in many cultural sieves.

For nominal Christian, non-Christian and radicals, same-sex marriage is just part of a cultural dynamics. They will not consider it difficult to adapt and integrate to their existing way of life. However, for traditionalist and biblically-rooted Christians, this cultural mesh is more stringent. Any profane idea would take awhile or will have difficulty passing through it. Why? It is because another mesh(the biblical norm) is superimposed to the communal mesh.

As a non-homophobic Christian sociologist, who is living in California, I seriously have thought of same-sex marriage ever since the San Francisco Mayor allowed it in 2004, where 4,000 marriage licenses were issued, albeit invalidated when California Supreme Court struck it down. Now, that the same court has changed its position, hence, has legalized same-sex mariage, effective on June 16, in the state of California, stirring protest and further court battles, I have to think some more about it.

I am torn between three overlapping sets of cultural sieves: communal sieve is my culture A as a member of the society,in general; carreer sieve is my culture B as a member of the 'social science world' obligated to try one's best to look at a phenomenon bias-free, and spiritual sieve is my culture C having been born, raised, and with faith that is deeply-rooted in biblical dogma.

The problem is that marriage is not only a socially approved mating relationship, it also is a sacrament of the church. In the Scripture, it is specifically a mating relationship between man and woman. Mating outside such relationship, is considered an abomination. To impose same-sex marriage on the traditionalist and biblically-oriented citizens is like forcing,tearing or wounding that spiritual mesh, and beyond that, rubbing too much salt onto it. This problem wouldn't be easy to resolve.

Possible solution to the problem:
1) Rather than passing a ballot measure in November that would effectively overturn the court's decision by defining marriage as "between a man and a woman", a ballot measure that reiterates the subclassification of marriage must be passed. Since the term 'marriage' is the center of conflict, ( that's why the term,legal partnership, is considered unfair and for second-rated citizens) why can't we not just adhere to two specific classifications: Sacramental marriage ( define as a church scrament to symbolize the unity of a man and a woman as into one body.), Ceremonial marriage ( a ceremony performed by any licensed or authorized officials, other than the religious leaders. Maghos, the origin of the English term, marriage, which, according to Joseph Shipley, seems likely to come from Greek, Cornish, Lithuanian, etc., means virgin, of either sex.
2) Non-nominal Christians to just consider same-sex marriage as a sign of the end-times. If same-sex marriage is unstoppable, we should consider it as a motivation to stengthen our faith for the end time is near. Rather than wavering our faith, we should bridle our eyes and look up for that glorious appearing. There are things that are beyond our control, but it is part of God's plan. Having such marriage is a force to test our faith. Having such marriage is a test that will determine who are the "Jezebels" among us, most especially, among the religious leaders.

Following the thoughts of Theodore Mills (The Sociology of Small Groups, 1967:108) same-sex marriage has disrupted the existing structure of emotional and normative relations. The affected are the traditionalists and the non-nominal Christians; the goal-seekers are the pro same-sex marital groups. I just hope that this issue would be resolved very soon.