Louisville, Ky., Mar 19, 2015 / 05:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A majority of presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church (USA) have voted to redefine marriage, but one Presbyterian group warned that the denomination is “capitulating to the culture.” “By approving this change we are disregarding the clear teaching of Scripture, the wisdom of those who have lived and died for the faith before us, and the continuing consensus of the contemporary church around the world. To do this is both disobedient and unwise,” The Fellowship Community said March 17. “We know this particular change was intended by its proponents to extend the grace and the good news of Jesus Christ, and to further the witness of his Kingdom. We believe it accomplishes neither.” A majority of the denomination’s 171 regional bodies voted in the ecclesial community's General Assembly to approve a constitutional amendment that says marriage is now “a unique commitment between two people.” While the amendment to the denomination’s constitution acknowledges that marriage is “traditionally” a union of a man and a woman, the denomination already allowed ministers to perform “gay marriages” in states which recognize same-sex unions as marriages. The Presbyterian denomination will not require ministers with objections to perform any “gay marriage” ceremonies. Backers of the redefinition of marriage, such as Brian D. Ellison of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, said it means the ecclesial community “fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community.” The Louisville, Ky.-based Presbyterian Church (USA) has about 1.8 million members, down from 2 million members in 2010 and 3.1 million in 1983, when two Presbyterian denominations merged. In 2011 the denomination voted to eliminate standards requiring clergy to show fidelity in marriage, and chastity in single life. The denomination is following the path of several other U.S. religious denominations. Clergy may perform same-sex “marriages” in the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Quakers, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Churches – denominations which historically have had significant U.S. cultural and political influence. Clergy in Reform and Conservative Judaism also may solemnize such same-sex unions, the New York Times reports. The Fellowship Community said Presbyterians who do not want to compromise teachings “must be willing to go to the darkest and loneliest places with the compassion, conviction, and hope of the gospel we profess.” The amendment to the Presbyterian denomination’s constitution will take effect June 21. Read more

Washington D.C., Mar 19, 2015 / 05:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With religious freedom under assault in the U.S. capital, the Archdiocese of Washington is rallying behind its “only legislative recourse” left. The archdiocese announced its support of “two resolutions disapproving the unprecedented attack on religious freedom” in the District of Columbia. It was joined by a number of religious and pro-life groups in its support of the resolutions, which were introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.). The Senate resolutions oppose two new D.C. laws with which Catholic institutions say they cannot comply out of conscience. The laws were passed in December, and signed into law in January by the city's mayor, Muriel Bowser (D). The first, the Human Rights Amendment of 2014, forces religious schools to recognize persons and groups who might conflict with their stated mission and allow them use of their facilities and benefits. For example, a Catholic school would be forced to officially recognize an openly-gay student group and could not deny them use of its facilities. The second, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act of 2014, prohibits all employers from discriminating against employees over their “reproductive health decision making.” Thus, a Catholic or pro-life group could not make employment decisions based on their employees’ decision to act contrary to the mission – such as procuring an abortion, for example. Congress has 30 days to review the bills, which are slated to become law on April 17. The archdiocese has been joined in its opposition to the laws by various groups and schools in the city, including the Knights of Columbus, the U.S. bishops conference, the Catholic University of America, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The laws “subjugate the Church’s moral teaching to the moral views of the government” and “result in discrimination against religious believers,” the archdiocese said in its Mar. 18 statement. The general counsel for the Catholic University of America, Lawrence Morris, told CNA in February that if the bills become law, the school has not planned on taking legal action. He added that if action is taken against them, “we will vigorously defend ourselves,” citing protections under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Sen. Lankford chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees D.C. laws. He called the laws “a major threat” to the religious freedom of persons and organizations in the city “and a brazen display of intolerance.” “We must stop this assault on the Catholic Church, and we must act to protect religious liberty,” stated Sen. Cruz, who joined him in authoring the resolutions. Read more

Denver, Colo., Mar 19, 2015 / 04:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- We've all heard the popular American rhyme about relationships: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. However, thanks to the current phenomenon of the 'hookup culture,' the traditional American family is rearranging to conform to the structure of modern, noncommittal relationships: first comes sex, then comes cohabitation, then maybe a baby, and possibly marriage. In fact, the sequence of hooking up, sex, and premarital cohabitation seems to represent a growing norm in society, pointing to the fact that the traditional major milestones of a relationship are happening prior to marriage rather than after tying the knot. Although the phenomenon of the hookup culture is often attributed to millennials, studies from the Journal of Sex Research have shown that millennials (2004-2012) do not actually have more casual sex than the generation before them (1988-1996). With this in mind, it should be equally as enlightening to both millennials and non-millennials to hear that this culture of casual sex, the haze of hooking up, and the slide of sexual intimacy is also affecting the chances of a happy marriage. The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia published a study called "Before 'I Do'" and found that what couples do before they say 'I do' actually matters -- and that premarital experiences from the past could end up haunting them long into marital bliss. "What people do before marriage appears to matter," stated Dr. Galena K. Rhoades and Dr. Scott M. Stanley in the 2014 study, saying that "how they conduct their romantic lives before they tie the knot is linked to their odds of having happy marriages." Rhoades, a Research Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Denver, and Dr. Scott, a Research Professor and Co-Director of the Center of Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver, have spent their time researching relationship commitment and development, as well as related implications for family, children, and divorce. Their findings lead to the conclusion that happy marriages could weigh on the balance of relationships past. They found that those couples who partook in hooking up, premarital cohabitation, or even engaging in multiple sexual encounters with different people over the course of their lives would have a less likely chance of remaining in a happy marriage - if they even got married at all. "What happens in Vegas - everything you do before settling down in marriage - may not stay there," Rhoades and Stanley continued, saying that "those who have had more romantic experiences are more likely to have lower-quality marriages than those with a less complicated romantic history." About 90 percent of Americans have sex before marriage and on average, these Americans will have five sexual partners before settling down with "the one." The study pointed to the probability that the more familiarity one has with relationships and sex, the harder it is to maintain commitment to just one person and to continue their satisfaction with only one partner. Marriage involves leaving behind other options, which may be harder for people who are used to having their choice of multiple romantic partners. Having multiple relationship experiences also alludes to the conclusion of having multiple break-ups, leading to a more skewed viewpoint of lasting love and committed relation. The same goes for cohabitation. Most American couples think that moving in together will help make the transition into marriage smoother. However, cohabitation before marriage has repeatedly been associated with higher divorce rates over the years, according to the study. Stanley and Rhoades pointed out that cohabitation, which includes creating a life together - buying furniture, investing in a pet, paying monthly rent together - can create a kind of inertia that makes it harder for the couple to breakup, if the time came. So instead of breaking up if the match proved to be unsuitable, the couple would likely stay together in a kind of unhealthy paralysis. The cohabitating couple would more likely enter into an unhappy marriage rather than delve into the inconvenience of breaking apart the life they so carefully created when living together. Therefore, the findings of Rhoades and Stanley seem to show that in the case of marriage, having more sexual experience leads to a lower marital quality. Marital quality in this particular study was defined by happiness, confiding in one another, believing things in the relationship were going well, and an absence of thoughts of divorce. "In general, couples who wait to have sex later in their relationship report higher levels of marital quality," Rhoades and Stanley continued, pointing to the fact that sex in a relationship - especially hooking up early on - will have repercussions on marriage. This could have to do with the fact that typically, both parties are be blinded by attraction. The couple who has sex early on in the relationship still has no idea if they are well-matched because they are captivated by sexual enthrallment. If the relationship starts off with sex, then the more detailed and subtle aspects of their partner could be glossed over by the hazy lenses of sexual attraction. The research also suggests that if an individual only has sex with their eventual spouse and no others, the odds of marital happiness are substantially better than if the individual had sex with multiple partners. However, marriages are not fated to end in divorce when their past involves messy break-ups and haunting hook-ups - there are ways to maneuver this new, uncharted phenomenon. "The more support a couple has, the better they are able to navigate the occasional choppy waters associated with marriage," Rhoades and Stanely found. One of the most interesting revelations of the study was that those couples who had more guests at their wedding reported greater marital quality, alluding to the possibility that commitment is strengthened when publicly declared, symbolizing a clear decision to commit. This not only highlights the significance of community, family, and friends in a relationship but also suggests that community and a circle of support is one of the many ways that couples can enhance their chances at a happy marriage and renew their desire for committment. In addition, the professors added that seeking advice, couple counseling or therapy, and transparency about past relationships could also be helpful for those want to escape the wounds inflicted by the casual sexual habits of the past. "Our bottom-line advice to Americans hoping to marry is this: Remember that what you do before you say 'I do' seems to have a notable impact on your marital future. So, decide wisely." Read more