Religious Blacks, Politics & Gays
The Republican Party continues to use the issue of gay marriage as an inroad to garner the support of black ministers - and black voters. President Bush's offering to Herbert Lusk, an African-American minister opposed to homosexuality, of appointment to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/ AIDS is only the latest maneuver. While a few black ministers have called for greater acceptance of gays and lesbians - such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was recently a speaker at the Black Church Summit organized by gay advocates - most reject both of these extremes, choosing instead to remain silent on this issue.
Ref. https://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060310/...ilencehurtsgays
I was going to comment on the title and tone of the story, then I noticed that it was MEANT to be commentary.
Black Christians tend to be very conservative in moral issues, at least in my experience. What surprises me most is that so few of them speak out against the issue of gay marriage. I frequently listen to a local Christian radio station that has a black minister handling the afternoon drive-time show. He certainly speaks out against gay marriage.
The title of the commentary is, "Black clergy's silence hurts gays." I would say that better commentary might be titled "Black clergy's silence hurts traditional black family values."
Basically, the ministers are silent on the issue. I think it is because they KNOW that this is an important moral issue, and want to stand on the side against, but the side that is pro-gay marriage is firmly in the Democrats side, and they don't want to go against the Democrats.
I think the reason that more blacks do not stand against gays is because that would be standing against the democratic party, of which the majority of blacks are part of. However, this is obviously changing as we see more and more black republicans. As this changes, I'm sure the trend of blacks being silent on homosexual marriage will be reversed. In my opinion, it is something that should be stood up for one way or the other. If you think its a human rights issue, as I do, then don't you have an obligation to stand up for it? If you believe its morally wrong, aren't you in actuality sacrificing your own beliefs if you say nothing?