Obergefell, Kim Davis, and Same-Sex Marriage … Reflecting on the Last 10 Years

By Tyler McKenzie

Editor’s Note: Tyler McKenzie writes a monthly online column for Christian Standard. We reprint one of Tyler’s online columns in each print issue of this magazine.  

A little more than 10 years ago, on September 3^rd, 2015, Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis, denied marriage licenses to two gay couples in Kentucky. She cited her Christian beliefs, claiming she could not be forced to violate her faith. She was briefly jailed for contempt of court. It made national news because earlier that summer, in a 5-4 vote on June 26^th, the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that states had to recognize same-sex marriages. That evening, President Obama lit up the White House in rainbow colors to celebrate. 

All of this escalated the already brutal culture wars between the Religious Right and Progressive Left. On one side, Christians argued that the further breakdown of the traditional family would be ruinous for our nation. The Bible states a life-long covenant between a man and woman is the only God-ordained context for sex. There has been profound consensus on this across global and multi-denominational Christianity for all of its existence. Christians on the right warned, “Destabilizing marriage is a slippery slope that will lead to worse forms of sexual license and gender confusion. And it could unleash targeted persecution against those who maintain the historic biblical sex ethic.” 

On the other side, Christians argued that America is a pluralistic society. People should have religious freedom. Forcefully legislating Christian beliefs on our neighbors is not a precedent Christians should set. We should seek to persuade people of our convictions through public witness, compassion, and evangelism. Christians on the left warned, “This is destroying our image. If we do not loosen our legislative (and perhaps theological) convictions on marriage, we will lose an entire generation of youth who are affirming. We don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.” 

It’s been 10 years since the summer of 2015. Where are we now? I have three observations. 

Cultural acceptance continued to shift quickly. 

One of the reasons Christians resisted Obergefell v. Hodges is because of how quickly cultural norms around sexual activity had changed the previous 50 years. Boomers have seen a lot. First, sex without the responsibility of children was normalized. 

• 1960 – FDA approved the birth control pill. 

• 1965 – Griswald v. Connecticut established the freedom of married couples to use contraceptives. 

• 1972 – Eisenstadt v. Baird legalized birth control for unmarried people. 

• 1973 – Roe v. Wade (recently overturned) established a woman’s right to abortion. 

• 1977 – Carey v. Population Services International affirmed the right to privacy for minors who want to obtain contraceptives. 

Do you think the invention and rapid legalization of birth control would change how people see sex? Of course. Therefore, second, sex apart from a lifelong marital commitment was normalized. Without the high risk of children, unmarried sex increased, and divorce laws were weakened. Before the sexual revolution, it was harder to get a legal divorce. The mindset was, “It’s good for the future of our kids (and thus our nation) to keep parents together.” Over time these laws came to be seen as oppressive. “No Fault Divorce” was first legalized in 1969 by California Governor Ronald Reagan. This allowed couples to get divorced without proving their spouse did anything wrong. By 2010, every state had NFD. 

Finally, sex and marriage between same-gender people were normalized. The rate of change here was astonishing. In 1996, the House of Representatives passed the Defense of Marriage Act. It defined marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and declared the word “spouse” refers “only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” DOMA gave states the power to deny marriage to same-sex couples. It was fast-tracked for approval (342 yes votes v 65 no votes). Bill Clinton signed it. 

In August 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama did an open forum with candidate John McCain at Saddleback Church moderated by Rick Warren. At that forum, Obama stated, “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix. . . . I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage, but I do believe in civil unions.” During Obama’s first two years in office, he supported DOMA. 

Then things began to change. In 2011, he instructed the Attorney General to stop defending it. Then in a 2012 interview on ABC, Obama announced he had gone through an “evolution” on the issue and was ready to affirm “same-sex couples should be able to get married.” In 2013, in United States v. Windsor, SCOTUS declared DOMA unconstitutional. Then in 2015, the court ruled 5 to 4 in Obergefell v. Hodges. 

Consider how fast all this happened. In 1996, there was bipartisan agreement on the definition of marriage. In 2010, President Obama was defending DOMA. Within four years, the legal system had shifted entirely. It is shocking to think that Donald Trump was the first incoming president to openly support same-sex marriages. 

The cultural momentum for same-sex marriage has halted. 

Statistician Ryan Burge shows that while support for gay marriage among the American populace skyrocketed from 31 percent in 2004 to 68 percent in 2018, it has hit a brick wall. It leveled at 67 percent in 2022. He goes on to break this down based on religious groups (2018 → 2021 → 2022). 

• Evangelicals: 45% → 35% → 36% 

• Mainline: 75% → 68% → 67% 

• Black Protestant: 54% → 56% → 55% 

• Catholic: 73% → 66% → 68% 

• Other Faith: 70% → 65% → 75% 

It’s worth noting that, 10 years later, Kim Davis has petitioned SCOTUS to reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges. 

Religious liberty for Christians supporting the historical biblical view is not under threat. 

There is no denying that there are some who take aim at Christian beliefs and institutions. However, SCOTUS currently sits at a 6 to 3 conservative majority.  

David French, a lawyer whose expertise is in religious liberty and constitutional law, recently wrote, 

Religious liberty proponents haven’t lost a significant Supreme Court case in 14 years. During that time, the court has established (often through supermajorities that include justices from the left and the right) that people of faith enjoy equal access to school facilities, equal access to public funds (including tuition assistance to fund private religious education) and extraordinary independence from nondiscrimination laws that would otherwise interfere with the hiring and firing of ministerial employees. 

Where will the Next 10 Years Take us? 

It’s hard to tell. The cultural pendulum swung quickly and with force. However, I am not sure if it will swing back. It seems, at least for now, it has frozen. American Christians may have to learn to live in an environment where their religious liberty is protected while their historic beliefs on sexuality and marriage are unpopular outside the church and even debated within segments of the church. 

It is my opinion that we would do well to learn how to engage this issue (and others) in a framework of cultural persuasion rather than culture war. It’s not enough for us to believe that God’s Word has something to say about the issues of our time. We must also desire to model a better way of discussing them. Those choosing the warfare framework leave us with casualties and walking-wounded filled with shrapnel. Those choosing to ignore the issues altogether look out-of-touch. We have the Word of God! We have Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. We have a Holy Spirit who can produce fruit like love, kindness, peace, and self-control. So, we should be the first and the best at engaging this, but we should do it through cross-shaped means. 

Tyler McKenzie serves as lead pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He also produces a fun Bible podcast for parents and their kids called “The Preacher and the Piano Man.”