Vice President Joe Biden officiated at the wedding of two male White House staffers yesterday, despite belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that marriage is a sacrament that can occur only between a man and a woman.
You do not have to be an opponent of gay marriage or even a religious person to see the contradiction in Biden’s actions. By officiating at this ceremony, Biden demonstrated that progressive politics drive his actions more than his religious identification does, as is also evidenced by his support for abortion. This should disturb even people who agree with Biden’s support for same-sex marriage and abortion.
If religion takes a back seat to the shifting politics of the day, the former’s ability to influence civil society for the better is undermined. Religion has long been regarded—not just by those on the right—as part of the bedrock of civil society. It cannot continue to be that, however, when its adherents don’t hold to their professed faith with integrity.
The Catholic Church has had the same view of marriage for almost 2,000 years, while Joe Biden flipped to support its redefinition in 2012 (just in time for reelection). It is reasonable for Americans not to see churches as serious community leaders or consequential societal voices when their core teachings are publicly disregarded by prominent members: People notice when politicians show more faithfulness to their party than to their religion.