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The issue has gone far beyond the freedom of homosexuals to live and act openly; the issue is now the freedom of religious people and organizations to criticize that lifestyle.

A factor adding to the fog obscuring the impending train wreck is the ambivalence of ordinary Americans on marriage. Though nearly 60 percent oppose gay marriage, the nation is split evenly regarding a constitutional amendment officially defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Twice in two years, moreover, bills introducing the Marriage Protection Amendment have failed by a wide margin to gain the needed two-thirds majority in the Senate.

The danger is that gay marriage has always had the potential to be a wedge issue for other, more controversial forms of marriage like polygamy. Don't laugh. In Holland, there has already been one polygamous marriage.

Sexual freedom? Why not, as long as it doesn't bother me. But when it affects religious freedom, it bothers us all.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Maggie Gallagher made a similar argument in a May 15, 2006, article for The Weekly Standard. The Associated Press's Richard Ostling examined the issue in June, as did The Christian Science Monitor (which also covered it in 2004), The New York Times's Peter Steinfels, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's op-ed page, Jonathan Last (writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer). National Review Online's Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote about the issue back in March.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has several papers on this topic. The Heritage Foundation has video and audio.

More about David Aikman is available from his website. He is author of Jesus in Beijing and A Man Of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush. His latest book Qi, a novel, is now available.

David Aikman's previous Global Prognosis columns for Christianity Today include:

'A More Practical Approach' | A fledgling group in China tries a 'new' strategy to secure human rights. (Aug. 16, 2006)

An Ugly Phoenix Reborn | European anti-Semitism is more widespread than has been let on. (June 6, 2006)

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October 2006, Vol. 50, No. 10