Local View: Blame it on Constantine

By Larry Wills

As gays and lesbians line up to gain what they consider their basic right to marry, the uproar from the Bible belt is deafening.

To the devout, this is not just another rights issue. This is an assault on a belief system. Even if you're not devout, you too are part of that system. We are all children of the Judeo-Christian scheme of things, and, like it or not, have been shaped by uniform standards of right and wrong and how to behave.

That's why the issue is so explosive. Allowing gays to wed is roughly akin to tossing out one of the Commandments. It goes against holy writings that permeate the Jewish, Christian and, yes, Muslim worlds, writings that warn us that God really worries about whom we sleep with.

It wasn't always that way. In the Western world, pagan Romans considered marriage a civil contract, one that they could void at any time. It protected property rights and children. Gays were tolerated and could presumably make their own civil arrangements. Julius Caesar liked to sleep with everybody and after one episode was ridiculed as the Queen of Boethia. But that didn't hurt his career.

Enter the 4th century. With the rise of Christianity and the blessing of an anal-retentive guy named Constantine, all that changed. An essential element of the church was that the body was a temporary chamber you tolerated while waiting for salvation. You were not to enjoy physical pleasures. Even sex with a spouse was a matter of duty. One Egyptian bishop fought temptation by castrating himself, denying any chance for sainthood since he cheated. He was supposed to control himself while remaining intact.

When the church solidified its position, it took over marriage as a sacrament. That meant clerics gained unprecedented control over people's lives. You were told whom to marry and whether a divorce was possible. You were also told that sex outside marriage would get you a free trip Downstairs. Constantine learned his son had committed adultery and killed him. Gays and heretics got top billing at the Coliseum.

When the Romans disappeared and people stopped bathing, the power of the church increased, substituting the threat of eternal damnation for mere execution. Pity poor Henry VIII.

The American period seemed at first to break with this tradition. Children of the Enlightenment had little use for traditional dogma and invented freedom of religion. But by the early part of the 19th century, fundamentalism was again on the rise and old taboos came back into play. Andrew Jackson caused a scandal by marrying a divorced woman. Mormon leader Joseph Smith died for daring to have more than one wife. Adultery was a crime and divorces required the approval of state legislatures. Gays concealed their activities, and as late as the 1960s, they were arrested if caught.

Americans, the freedom guys, just had to draw the line if a behavior was deemed offensive. After all, we could speak our minds, go where we want, believe what we want and enjoy all the blessings of liberty. But not in the bedroom. An Indiana man served two years in prison after his wife alleged in divorce papers that they had oral sex. She dropped the action, but the district attorney filed the criminal charges anyway. Lascivious carriage had nothing to do with your posture.

It's as if we are two different people: one loving liberty, the other terrified someone might actually practice it. And that's our cultural dilemma. Millions of Americans find deep comfort in their spiritual beliefs. They provide a reason to live their lives and an inspiration for their children. Beliefs help make sense out of the world. But those same beliefs would have us stone harlots and kill gays.

Maybe we could take a page from the old Roman book. Have the state issue licenses to any adult and leave the sacrament of marriage to the individual churches. If they object to same-sex marriages, let the couple go elsewhere. But otherwise, get the government out of the bedroom. It's tough to get into the mood when a federal wonk is leering at the end of your bed.

And we need to talk to this guy Constantine. Bring the jawbone of an ass.