Brett Marston challenges my defense of the Southern Baptists fears of the conseqences of SCOTUS recognizing a constitutional right to sodomy.
Jim might be thinking of the pressure on Bob Jones University and Goldsboro Christian Schools because of the former’s ban on interracial dating and the latter’s practice of admitting only whites — both based on their interpretations of the Bible — pressure that eventually led to the University losing its tax-exempt status.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, in fact.
Brett notes that there are some key differences, citing then-CJ Warren Burger’s opinion in Bob Jones v. US:
But there can no longer be any doubt that racial discrimination in education violates deeply and widely accepted views of elementary justice.
Brett feels that, since there is much less consensus on gay marriage than racial justice, concern is unfounded. He’s probably right. Of course, I’d point out that Bob Jones was 20 years ago–and five years before Bowers v. Hardwick, the case Lawrence specificially overturned. Further, I’d note that, even if the courts refused to side with homosexuals in their suits, that doesn’t protect churches from the burden of defending themselves in court. A preemptive strike against that isn’t totally irrational.
