--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can move to legalize same-gender civil…" description: "\"“We can move to legalize same-gender civil marriage without harming any religious institution or dictating any change to the beliefs and practices of a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/gene-robinson-14740_change_we-can-move-to-legalize-same-gender-civi_3055656.jpg" --- # We can move to legalize same-gender civil marriage without… ![“We can move to legalize same-gender civil marriage without harming any religious institution or dictating any change to the beliefs and practices of any faith. Religious opposition to civil marriage for same-gender couples irrelevant to the civil, public debate. You're opposed to gay marriage on…” quote by Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/gene-robinson-14740_change_we-can-move-to-legalize-same-gender-civi_3055656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/gene-robinson-14740_change_we-can-move-to-legalize-same-gender-civi_3055656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/gene-robinson-14740_change_we-can-move-to-legalize-same-gender-civi_3055656.jpg) > ““We can move to legalize same-gender civil marriage without harming any religious institution or dictating any change to the beliefs and practices of any faith. Religious opposition to civil marriage for same-gender couples irrelevant to the civil, public debate. You're opposed to gay marriage on religious grounds? Fine! Don't authorize your clergy to act as an agent of the State in any such unions. But don't deprive the rest of, who believe that such rites are good and holy, of our constitutional rights to practice our own freedom of religion. We don't live in a theocracy where some one understanding of religion and faith dictates what the State will and will not do. This religious argument against the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples is simply bogus. And unconstitutional. Religious belief should have no bearing whatsoever on the legal right to marry.”” [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legalizing same‑sex civil marriage does not threaten religious freedom; the state should not enforce religious doctrine on marriage laws. **In simple terms:** Civil marriage can be separate from religion. Key Takeaway Separate civil rights from religious doctrine. Themes equality religion law civil rights Mood thoughtful balanced Type political legal When to use this quote - legislative debates - court cases - public policy discussions - interfaith dialogues Key Concepts Constitutional law separation of church and state human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect both religious liberty and marriage equality? - What legal safeguards ensure state neutrality? A Different Perspective Religious groups may feel marginalized despite legal protections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Constitutional rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-rights/) [Freedom of religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-religion/) [Gay marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-marriage/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion And Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-and-faith/) ## Related quotes > [The religion that has to be supported by law is without value, not only, but a fraud and a curse. The religious argument that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-religion-that-has-to-be-supported-by-law-is-without-value-not/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [This willful deafness to religious argument, so new in our history, has had various effects. A principal one is encouragement of the already widespread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-murchison/this-willful-deafness-to-religious-argument-so-new-in-our-history-has/) [William Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-murchison/) > [When a man and a woman love one another that is enough. That is marriage. A religious rite is superfluous. And if the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/when-a-man-and-a-woman-love-one-another-that-is-enough-that-is/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Marriage is a religious and state issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/marriage-is-a-religious-and-state-issue/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [“Cop-out excuses and catch-phrase dismissals can only work so long before the holes in the religious argument cannot be ignored any longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-dustcircle/cop-out-excuses-and-catch-phrase-dismissals-can-only-work-so-long/) Steve Dustcircle > [I believe that marriage has a spiritual foundation because only a man and a woman can create life, which is a gift from God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-believe-that-marriage-has-a-spiritual-foundation-because-only-a-man/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [“Lincoln had entirely outgrown juvenile delight in religious argument. Talking with God seemed to the mature Lincoln more important than talking about Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-trueblood/lincoln-had-entirely-outgrown-juvenile-delight-in-religious-argument/) [Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-trueblood/) > [Marriage can be a religious thing. It can also be a secular thing. And guess what? Not everyone in the world is of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/marriage-can-be-a-religious-thing-it-can-also-be-a-secular-thing-and/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [It's a very different thing, religion and faith. Religion is man-made, it's man-regulated. And faith, you can define God as you wish. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/it-s-a-very-different-thing-religion-and-faith-religion-is-man-made/) [Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/) > [“It is my argument that American liberalism is a totalitarian political religion, but not necessarily an Orwellian one. It is nice, not brutal. Nannying,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/it-is-my-argument-that-american-liberalism-is-a-totalitarian/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Religion and faith are very personal matters. So far as the government is concerned, there is only one holy book, which is the Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/religion-and-faith-are-very-personal-matters-so-far-as-the-government/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [A lot of people have done things in the name of Christianity and religion and faith in a not-so-nice way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-orji/a-lot-of-people-have-done-things-in-the-name-of-christianity-and/) [Yvonne Orji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-orji/) > [“In one word, it is called Politics. But if you see closely, it is called Religion and Faith”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudra-kapalin/in-one-word-it-is-called-politics-but-if-you-see-closely-it-is-called/) Rudra Kapalin > [My faith is very private to me. It plays an important part in my life, but I do not try and throw my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/my-faith-is-very-private-to-me-it-plays-an-important-part-in-my-life/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [I hold that religion and faith are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buckley/i-hold-that-religion-and-faith-are-two-different-things/) [Pat Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buckley/) ## More by Gene Robinson > [When you claim to have the truth, as opposed to the truth as you perceive it, then you move us toward a theocratic view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/when-you-claim-to-have-the-truth-as-opposed-to-the-truth-as-you/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [You know, we live in a time when if somebody wants to kill you, they're going to kill you, and you can either go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/you-know-we-live-in-a-time-when-if-somebody-wants-to-kill-you-they-re/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [It seems to me that if God calls us to anything it's to a life of integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/it-seems-to-me-that-if-god-calls-us-to-anything-it-s-to-a-life-of/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [We love to talk about justice. It's the doing of justice that's hard...I believe it is work we are called to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/we-love-to-talk-about-justice-it-s-the-doing-of-justice-that-s-hard-i/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [“Still, as a straight person, you might say, "This just isn't my fight." No, it isn't. Unless you care about the kind of society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/still-as-a-straight-person-you-might-say-this-just-isn-t-my-fight-no/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [I think my election is one of several indications that gay and lesbian folk are being brought more into the center of things. I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/i-think-my-election-is-one-of-several-indications-that-gay-and/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [Stability is why society has an interest in marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/stability-is-why-society-has-an-interest-in-marriage/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [It is at least a small comfort to me, as a gay rights and marriage equality advocate, to know that like any marriage, gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/it-is-at-least-a-small-comfort-to-me-as-a-gay-rights-and-marriage/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [But by virtue of our baptism, Peter Akinola and I are brothers in Christ and one day we are going to be in heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/but-by-virtue-of-our-baptism-peter-akinola-and-i-are-brothers-in/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [“This is an important point, difficult for the modern mind to grasp: homosexuality as a sexual orientation was unknown to the ancient mind. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/this-is-an-important-point-difficult-for-the-modern-mind-to-grasp/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [Faith is a dynamic and ever-changing process, not some fixed body of truth that exists outside our world and our understanding. God's truth may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/faith-is-a-dynamic-and-ever-changing-process-not-some-fixed-body-of/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [God calls all of his children to the table. We can disagree and even say a lot of hateful things, but what we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/god-calls-all-of-his-children-to-the-table-we-can-disagree-and-even/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [“Remember how social change happens. Each of us has a worldview that pretty much interprets the world for us, puts our personal and public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/remember-how-social-change-happens-each-of-us-has-a-worldview-that/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [The bees learn where they live by landmarks. If they're moved within their home range, they get confused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/the-bees-learn-where-they-live-by-landmarks-if-they-re-moved-within/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [What I love about believing in a living God is that I believe God is constantly revealing God's self to us over time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/what-i-love-about-believing-in-a-living-god-is-that-i-believe-god-is/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) [Explore all 45 Gene Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We can move to legalize same-gender civil marriage without harming any religious institution or dictating any change to the beliefs and practices of any faith. Religious opposition to civil marriage for same-gender couples irrelevant to the civil, public debate. You're opposed to gay marriage on religious grounds? Fine! Don't authorize your clergy to act as an agent of the State in any such unions. But don't deprive the rest of, who believe that such rites are good and holy, of our constitutional rights to practice our own freedom of religion. We don't live in a theocracy where some one understanding of religion and faith dictates what the State will and will not do. This religious argument against the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples is simply bogus. And unconstitutional. 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