Stepping into the ring to take on one of the most hotly contested issues in the Christian Church today, the Duke Gay, Bisexual and Lesbian Association is challenging Duke Chapel's prohibition against holding same-sex marriages there.
Under the slogan, "It's a simple matter of justice," which was also used in the 1993 gay-rights march on Washington, D.C., DGBLA is seeking to overturn a policy that its members say is both theologically and ethically unsound.
Changing the policy is an important step toward affirming the validity of gay relationships at the University, said Trinity senior Seth Persily, president of DGBLA.
"What we have is a policy that says heterosexual love is legitimate and should be recognized, but homosexual love is not and should be penalized," Persily said. "This perverted way of thinking extends way beyond the Duke Chapel. It is inherent in the American mindset, and if we are ever to achieve the fundamental right to live our lives free from prejudice, discrimination and ignorance, it must end."
Chapel officials, however, said that the issue is not one of discrimination. Dean of the Chapel Will Willimon, who is on sabbatical this year, defended the policy based on four primary principles: no group has an inherent right to use the Chapel space; North Carolina does not recognize same-sex unions; almost no Christian denominations consider same-sex unions the equivalent of marriage; and changing the policy would evoke an "unprecedented outburst" from the Chapel's congregation and alumni, the majority of whom do not support the recognition of gay unions.
The issue of access rights has raised particular concern among some opponents of the policy, specifically because of the University's nondiscrimination policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of "race, color, national and ethnic origin, handicap, sexual orientation or preference, gender, or age in the administration of educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, employment, or any other university program or activity."
English professor John Clum, a member of the Task Force for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Matters, said he sees the Chapel's policy as a clear violation of the nondiscrimination policy. By specifically prohibiting homosexuals from being married there, even by ministers from denominations that would recognize their unions, the Chapel is denying them protection guaranteed by the University, Clum said.
Chapel officials and some University administrators, however, see it differently.
"No individual or organizationÉ has an absolute right to use the Chapel," Willimon said in a recent statement, a position echoed by Acting Dean of the Chapel Debra Brazzel.
Vice President for Institutional Equity Myrna Adams, who deals with issues of discrimination, declined to comment on the policy. Her office referred questions to Special Assistant to the President Judith White, who dealt with discrimination issues before Adams arrived this fall and who has dealt more with the Chapel's policy.
Some argue that because the Chapel is a University facility that serves a congregation, the debate should not be framed as a nondiscrimination or equal-rights issue. "The Chapel is a University facility, but it also serves a congregation--it's primarily there for worship and education," White said.
The Chapel's status as a religious institution also makes it an exception to the nondiscrimination policy, White said, citing as an example the fact that the University does not force Catholic organizations here to hire female priests.
President Nan Keohane expressed similar sentiments, saying that the Chapel has the right not to allow gay marriages because, according to North Carolina law and the Chapel's theology, such unions technically would not be marriages. "They are the Chapel," she said. "They get to decide what is theologically acceptable within the Chapel."
Those who choose to get married in the Chapel are responsible for providing their own ministers, who can represent any religion, such as Judaism, Islam and virtually all Christian denominations.
This policy has prompted some to question why the Chapel--which is officially nondenominational but, like the University, closely affiliated with the Methodist Church--will not allow gay marriages to be performed there by ministers from denominations that do recognize such unions. Currently, only three Christian denominations recognize and will allow their ministers to perform gay marriages: the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian/Universalist Church and the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Church.
No state currently recognizes gay marriages, although in 1993, the Hawaii state Supreme Court struck down a law prohibiting them. This has opened the door for legislation supporting recognition, but no bill has yet been proposed to this effect.
Not allowing certain denominations to perform union ceremonies they recognize is unfair, said Mary McClintock Fulkerson, associate professor of theology in the Divinity School. Since the Chapel's staff would not have to perform the unions, there is no reason for them to object on theological grounds, she said.
While Fulkerson acknowledged that the Chapel's congregation would likely object to a change in policy, she said that Willimon should not back away from taking a stand on a difficult issue.
"He's in a tough position--he's going to get major-league flak," Fulkerson said. "But then you have to balance the pain and outrage experienced by heterosexual Christians and alums against the outrage of being denied your full humanityÉ Which community of outraged, harmed people do you care about?"
Some point to the Bible as the strongest source of support for the current policy. Christian tradition has taught that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, said Richard Hays, associate professor of New Testament in the Divinity School. Since the Chapel is a Christian institution, he said, it has the right to deny same-sex unions on these grounds.
"If you look at what the Bible in general portrays about the created purpose of God for human sexuality, God has made human beings male and female for union with one another," he said. "We are created to find sexual fulfillment in relationship between man and woman. Other kinds of ways of expressing sexuality are simply against the grain, against the design of God's created purpose."
But Kathy Rudy, an assistant professor of women's studies with a doctorate in theological ethics, took issue with the notion that men and women were created as "complementary" beings, made to exist and have sex only with each other. Citing Galatians 3:28--"In Christ there is no male or female"--she characterized complementarity as "bad theology" that is as outdated as many of the "holiness codes" and purity rules found throughout the Bible. Rudy's book "Sex in the Church: Gender, Homosexuality and Contemporary Christian Politics," is scheduled to be published next year.
While Hays said he disagrees theologically with sanctioning gay marriages, he emphasized that it is possible for Christians to have a "deeply sympathetic and compassionate" view of gay people. He emphatically rejected the argument that homosexuality is a more grievous sin than any other, and said that hate crimes committed against homosexuals are an "abomination."
While many members of the gay community say that the issue of unions is a crucial one, some question whether it should be the top priority for gay groups on campus. Staffing the recently established Center for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Life, for example, is one issue that currently takes precedence over the Chapel policy, said Katharine Kunst, chair of the LGB task force and assistant director of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.
DGBLA president Persily conceded that although there may be other issues more pressing to the gay community than the union policy, he stressed the symbolic importance of changing the policy.
"Changing the Chapel policy is a necessary starting point on what will be a long road to improving life for gay students on campus," he said. "Before we can ask for anything else, Duke must recognize the legitimacy of gay love and gay lives. If they won't do that, we've accomplished nothing."
"The fact that the Chapel will bless cows and pigs but not committed, loving gay relationships is beyond my comprehension," he added.
But Acting Dean of the Chapel Brazzel said that motivation for change to the policy would have to come from within the Christian Church. If Christian tradition were to accept gay unions, then the Chapel would be much more comfortable with allowing them, she said.
The Chapel has established a committee of Religious Life staffers to examine issues of sexuality and their theological implications, which Brazzel said she hopes will foster much-needed discussion among diverse groups of people.
Task force chair Kunst voiced her support for this kind of interaction and said she would like to continue "the ongoing, quite reciprocal and cordial dialogue that we have been trying to set up" with the Religious Life staff at the Chapel.
Religious Life leaders also say they are pleased that the discussion about the Chapel's policy is taking place.
"I am glad that the policy is being questioned," said the Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, director of the University's Episcopal Center. "I think it's vitally important for particularly Christians who happen to be homosexual to find a way to commit themselves to each other in the eyes of God." The Episcopalian Church does permit the ordination of homosexual ministers, although these decisions are left up to individual bishops.
Duke Student Government is expected to discuss the policy at their Nov. 8 meeting.
About 100 weddings are held every year at the Chapel. University alums, faculty, students and employees, and their children, are eligible to hold their weddings there.
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