> Why is being "complicit" in same sex marriage any worse than being "complicit" in a marriage for someone who has sinned, possibly grievously, in other ways?
If you subscribe to the view that same-sex marriage is a sin against a higher power, then your involvement in the marriage makes you actively involved in the sin.
If sinners get married, the marriage itself is not a sin. This is very straightforward in my mind.
Additionally, some churches have interviews with the bride and groom before marriages and if the pastor feels that they are unworthy of getting married will not marry them.
FYI I personally am not opposed to the legality same-sex marriage.
> tldr: many religious Republican views like these are not actually all that conservative ;)
> If you subscribe to the view that same-sex marriage is a sin against a higher power,
This is a newer one to me, off the top of my head I'm not aware of from where the marriage act would be considered the sin vs the homosexuality itself. What's the doctrinal reasoning here? Just curious, here, since I'm A-OK with churches being able to individually choose who to marry.
Businesses, on the other hand, are subject to a very different set of laws for very clear historical reasons.
Many religions view marriage as a sacred sacrament, instituted by God to join men and women. Under this view, same-sex marriage is easily viewed as mocking God and debasing the sacrament.
> This is a newer one to me, off the top of my head I'm not aware of from where the marriage act would be considered the sin vs the homosexuality itself.
Sin is normally considered at its core an offence to God because He is the only perfect one thus He is the only one with legal/moral standing to take offence. This is often highlighted as the reason that Joseph, when his master's wife wanted to sleep with him responded "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"
If you subscribe to the view that same-sex marriage is a sin against a higher power, then your involvement in the marriage makes you actively involved in the sin.
If sinners get married, the marriage itself is not a sin. This is very straightforward in my mind.
Additionally, some churches have interviews with the bride and groom before marriages and if the pastor feels that they are unworthy of getting married will not marry them.
FYI I personally am not opposed to the legality same-sex marriage.
> tldr: many religious Republican views like these are not actually all that conservative ;)
It's called "social conservatism."