The general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Eddie Makue, has called for a single law governing all forms of marriage, including same-sex unions, rather than the dual legislation proposed by the government.
He made the call in an open letter, released on Thursday, to the chairpersons of Parliament’s home affairs and justice portfolio committees.
”Our national history illustrates all too painfully the folly and injustice of creating multiple legal and administrative mechanisms to perform essentially the same functions for different categories of people,” he said.
”Separate institutions are rarely, if ever, equal. Their chances of achieving equal impact are further reduced if they are embedded in a society that remains afflicted by prejudice and discrimination.”
The letter does not have the status of a full SACC document, but it was drafted in consultation with key figures in several religious denominations.
The home affairs committee is gearing up for public hearings on the Civil Union Bill, a measure additional to the existing Marriage Act, which will provide for state recognition of a same-sex ”civil partnership” or marriage, as well as of what it calls a ”domestic partnership”.
Makue said the state should craft a single legal framework capable of recognising and protecting the legal rights of all partners who wish to declare their commitment to each other — irrespective of gender, faith or cultural tradition.
He suggested this should be done by amending the Marriage Act.
”We urge Parliament to act expeditiously to reconcile existing marriage legislation with the provisions of section 9 of the Constitution [the equality clause] within the timeframe designated by the Constitutional Court.
”We trust that, in so doing, Parliament will refrain from imposing any duty on faith communities that would inhibit them from celebrating and blessing partnerships in ways consistent with their respective beliefs.”
The Constitutional Court last year gave Parliament until December 1 this year to correct what it said was the unconstitutional definition of marriage in the Act.
Makue said the SACC does not presume to speak on behalf of all Christians, and noted that there is not a single ”Christian” perspective on marriage.
He is alarmed by what he said is the widespread misapprehension that those who oppose equal marriage rights speak on behalf of a monolithic ”Christian church”.
Currently, most churches uphold the union of one man and one woman as the only valid model for Christian marriage.
At the same time, there is a growing number of dissenting voices in all denominations ÂÂ- people who see equal validation of homosexual and heterosexual unions as consistent with their understanding of the inclusiveness expressed through the unconditional love referred to as God’s grace.
The fact that most Christian denominations are not currently prepared to bless same-sex unions should not necessarily be a rationale for inaction by the government.
”Government’s responsibility, in a secular democracy, is not to interpret the Bible but the Constitution.
”It has a duty to test legislation against constitutional principles and to protect the rights of all citizens equally.
”At the same time, the state must defend religious freedom by ensuring that churches retain control over decisions regarding religious rites and sacraments, including the religious aspects of marriage.” — Sapa