The Religious Right’s ‘Nashville Statement’ Is Nothing New (VIDEO)

Right-wing zealots in Nashville recently got together and crafted a statement saying that they don’t want same-sex couples to marry. Shocking! Groundbreaking!

This statement thing isn’t new. There was the Manhattan Declaration back in 2010 that said something similar. Now, we have the Nashville statement, which has nothing to do with the city of Nashville except for the fact that they signed it there. The mayor of Nashville has already criticized it.

Many of the people who signed the letter have a history of trying to get the government to side with their Evangelical values.

The fact is the Supreme Court has affirmed that same-sex couples have the right to marry. So far, no church has been forced to marry same-sex couples and society has not collapsed as the Evangelicals predicted it would.

In fact, new polls show that 64 percent of Americans are in favor of marriage equality.

The Religious Right remains on the wrong side of history. The clergy is free to preach anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from the pulpits all day long. However, they are not satisfied with just doing that.

They want their rhetoric in our government as well. They are allowed to have their religion and practice it, but not when it harms and discriminates against other people.

The Nashville Statement is made up of 14 articles that declare their beliefs. Here are the first three:

“Article 1 WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church. WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.”

“Article 2 WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage. WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside of marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.”

“Article 3 WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female. WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.”

Here is a news clip about the statement and an “Accurate Nashville Statement” that popped up in protest:

Featured image via Twitter.

Hi, I'm from Huntsville, AL. I'm a Liberal living in the Bible Belt, which can be quite challenging at times. I'm passionate about many issues including mental health, women's rights, gay rights, and many others. Check out my blog weneedtotalkaboutmentalhealth.com