Observations on Members of the Episcopal Church

This document presents observations made on the members of the Episcopal Church regarding their views on same-sex marriage. The study reveals that the members of this denomination believe in equality, fairness, and acceptance. They are also liberal and ready to adapt to societal changes. The document explores the political views of the church and the reasons they use to justify their support for same-sex marriage.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Sociology
Name
Institution

SOCIOLOGY 2
Sociology
Observations made on the Members of the Episcopal Church
Personally, I believe in anthropology. Sometime last month, I got an opportunity to
conduct a study on the views of the followers of the Episcopal Church. I interviewed three
church members and got to learn a lot from them. My interview sought to question the
controversies revolving around the acceptance of same-sex marriage in the society today. I made
so many observations. One, the members of this denomination believes in equality and fairness.
The interview made me to observe that the members of this church do not like discrimination
because it encourages unfairness and inequality in the society. Besides, I observed that the
members of this denomination are welcoming. Despite openly telling them that I do not belong
to this denomination, they welcomed me and told me to be free to interact with them irrespective
of my religious beliefs (Djupe, Lewis & Jelen 2016). Initially, I thought that these people would
not accept to be interviewed by someone like me. It was indeed surprising. The other
observation that I made is that the followers of the Episcopal Church are liberal. These people
are not conservative because they are progressive and ready to adapt to the changes in the
society. That is why they told me their views on some of the issues that have become contentious
in the society today. Lastly, during my interactions with the members of this church, I realized
that they are religiously-compliant people who speech with one voice. All the people whom I
interacted with told me that they are compliant people who have a steadfast faith in God and
fully subscribe to the church’s doctrines and canon laws.
Political Views of the
When I took my time to conduct the research, I only had one objective: to seek the views
of the members of the Episcopal Church on same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is one of the

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most contentious topics in the country. Over the years, same-sex marriage has been eliciting a
heated debate because people have divided opinion regarding it. The debate has taken a political
dimension because it has divided the nation right in the middle (Kirby, McKenzie-Green,
McAra-Couper & Nayar 2017). The church has also been dragged into this debate because
different denominations hold divergent views regarding it. While there are some Christians who
oppose the practice, there are others who support it.
During the interview, I found out that the members of the Episcopal Church argue in favor of the
practice. There are different reasons that these people use to justify this act.
The first reason that is used to justify same-sex marriage is that it encourages the spirit of
love. According to the information from the interviewees, love is the most important
commandment in Christianity. All the Christians are supposed to show love to everyone in the
society. During His ministry, Jesus Christ taught that the Christians should show unconditional
love not only to God the Almighty, but also to the fellow human beings (Perales, Bouma &
Campbell 2018). So, as Jesus’ followers, the members of the Episcopal Church hold the view
that they should always show love to everyone in the society without considering their life
choices, lifestyles, uniqueness, and conditions in life (Kaoma, 2018). These Christians, therefore,
have a feeling that same-sex marriage should be permitted because its acceptance is a sign of
love to fellow human beings.
The second reason that the members of the Episcopal Church use to justify same-sex
marriage is that it is a sign of sympathy, understanding, and tolerance. The interviewees argued
that the current society has been disintegrated because of the kind of intolerance and
misunderstandings that have been experienced over the years. That is why, according to them,
issues like same-sex marriage have become quite contentious and used to polarize the society.

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However, to the members of the Episcopal Church, this is something that should not be tolerated
because it does not benefit the society, but only harms it a great deal (van der Toorn, Jost,
Packer, Noorbaloochi & Van Bavel 2017). So, to promote understanding, diversity, and
tolerance, those who engage in same-sex marriage should be accepted. That kind of acceptance is
appreciated because it benefits the society by creating fairness, equality, and harmony.
The last reason that the Church uses to justify its acceptance of same-sex marriage is that
is not an illegal activity. Church is an institution that regards the rule of the law. As a distinct
agent of socialization in the society, the church should be at the fore front of setting precedence
to the members of the public (Chapman & Janes, 2018). One of the ways through which it should
do this is by serving as an example for others to emulate. As a reputable religious organization,
the Episcopal Church permits people to practice same-sex marriage because the constitution
permits it (Gerstmann 2017). The constitution gives everyone liberty rights such as freedom of
choice. Meaning, if it discriminates upon those who practice same-sex marriage, the church
would be regarded as non-compliant (Sherkat, 2017). So, as a law-abiding church, the Episcopal
Church gives its followers a freedom to choose whether to engage in same-sex marriage or not.
In conclusion, the interview gave me an opportunity to study about and get firs-hand
information on same-sex marriage that has, for a very long time, become a politicized debate in
the country. As a leading defender of the same-sex marriage, the Episcopal Church has made its
voice to be heard. The church has drafted a canon law that guides it and its followers when it
comes to the issue of same-sex marriage. In its canon law, the church clearly outlines that it
supports same-sex marriage. So, any of its followers including the clergy is free to profess and
practice it. The canon law, which is basically based on the principles of liberty, fairness, and
equality, supports same-sex marriage and advocates for its acceptance as much as possible.

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Because of this, the church welcomes everyone to be part of irrespective of their sexuality or
sexual orientation.

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References
Chapman, M. D., & Janes, D. (2018). Introduction: Same-Sex Love and Desire—A Time for
New Approaches. In New Approaches in History and Theology to Same-Sex Love and
Desire (pp. 1-9). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Djupe, P.A., Lewis, A.R. & Jelen, T.G., 2016. Rights, reflection, and reciprocity: Implications of
the same-sex marriage debate for tolerance and the political process. Politics and
Religion, 9(3), pp.630-648.
Gerstmann, E., 2017. Same-sex Marriage and the Constitution. Cambridge University Press.
Kirby, A., McKenzie-Green, B., McAra-Couper, J. & Nayar, S., 2017. Same-Sex Marriage: A
Dilemma for Parish Clergy. Sexuality & Culture, 21(3), pp.901-918.
Kaoma, K. (2018). Contesting Religion: African Religious Leaders in Sexual Politics. In
Christianity, Globalization, and Protective Homophobia (pp. 47-72). Palgrave Macmillan,
Cham.
Perales, F., Bouma, G. & Campbell, A., 2018. Religion, support of equal rights for same-sex
couples and the Australian national vote on marriage equality. Sociology of Religion,
80(1), pp.107-129.
Sherkat, D. E. (2017). Intersecting identities and support for same-sex marriage in the United
States. Social Currents, 4(4), 380-400.
van der Toorn, J., Jost, J.T., Packer, D.J., Noorbaloochi, S. & Van Bavel, J.J., 2017. In defense
of tradition: Religiosity, conservatism, and opposition to same-sex marriage in North
America. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(10), pp.1455-1468.