As Denmark requires its churches to perform same-sex marriages, it offers a preview of loss of religious liberty to come. In 2012, Denmark’s parliament legislated a law that required all churches to perform same-sex marriages. When the law passed, “Denmark’s church minister, Manu Sareen, called the vote ‘historic,’” reported The Telegraph. The threat to religious freedom presented by the redefinition of marriage has become a reality.
The law carried a large majority with 85 of 111 Members of Parliament in favor. Popular support is strong as well; there is only a “minority among Danish people, politicians and priests who are against” it, according to Sareen, who pushed for the law. However, “Karsten Nissen, the Bishop of the Church of Denmark in Viborg, who is refusing to carry out the ceremonies, has warned that the new law risks ‘splitting the church’.”
The implications of a government forcing a church or religion to perform something to which it objects are grave indeed. First, though, some important differences between Denmark and the United States should be noted.
American ears are accustomed to the phrase “separation of church and state” (which actually appears in Thomas Jefferson’s letters), and we know that freedom of religion is enshrined in the first amendment of the Constitution. In Denmark, however, there is a national church: The Church of Denmark. Denominationally, it is Evangelical Lutheran. There is, then, no separation of church and state. In such a case, there would be no legal reason why the government could not impose such a statute. It is yet unclear how the new law would apply to other churches, such as the Catholic Church in Denmark.
The Telegraph notes, however, that the gay marriage ceremony is now mandatory for “all churches”. Presumably, the government will seek to use coercion against any church that defies its mandate. This would make orthodox Catholicism de facto illegal, which would set a harrowing precedent for faith and religious freedom in the West.
Significantly, Denmark is characterized by “homogenous secularity”, according to its ownwebsite.
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