'A Matter of Faith' or 'The Complexities of Marriage Equality'

 My faith is of the utmost importance to me. As a pagan I see faith as a living thing, evolving, growing. As we mature, (or, at least, get older) life reveals new mysteries to us, which is how we in turn are led to grow.

 Blind faith is another matter. I have seen far too much of that in the last twenty-four hours.

 This entry has been prompted by a... conversation on Facebook concerning marriage equality. It is a subject that provokes some strong feelings on both sides, which is exactly as it should be. Marriage is not an institution I would want to be taken lightly. My handfasting to Keith is incredibly precious to me. So too, in its own way, the civil partnership that gave our union legal recognition.

 But there is the case in point - a fundamental inequality, biased against same-sex relationships. I call Keith my husband, but it has been pointed out to me more than once that legally he is my partner. We are not married and did not have a wedding; we are in a civil partnership. (Side note: I did try to be civil. For the whole day. It made my teeth ache.) If we can't call our union a marriage, well, that differentiates our relationship from that of a heterosexual couple. It is a line drawn in the sand.

 Semantics, you might say. Others have. But words are never just words, they really do matter. They can be used to label, to segregate, they carry the weight of connotation. If they did not, why would certain sectors of society be so intent on denying us the use of such terms as marriage, husband or wife?

 This is the definition of marriage as found in the Oxford Dictionary:

• the formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife: she has three children from a previous marriage
• [mass noun] the state of being married: women want equality in marriage
• (in some jurisdictions) a union between partners of the same sex.

 Fairly straightforward. And not one mention of religion. So why does Christianity (in its myriad forms) hold so much sway over how the term can be used?

 The Church of England is the most vocal opponent to same-sex marriage in the UK, claiming such unions will devalue the institution of marriage. 'The greatest threat to the church in 500 years' it has been said, which of course is all rather flattering... and utter nonsense. Scaremongering, bigotry and homophobia, all passed off as adherence to scripture.

 This should be a secular matter and yet it is not. The whole debate about marriage equality has been dragged down by dogma, stalled by a faith reluctant to evolve and to grow.