Ever wonder why marriage for same-gender couples generates such passion? Why is it so important to gay people? And why is it felt as an attack on “traditional” marriage by others? Writing accessibly for the general reader, author Chris Glaser narrows it down—first to taboos around sexuality, then to taboos around the sacred.

Glaser presents the many contexts in which the conflict plays out, beginning with the present civil and religious contexts, and retrospectively in the biblical and historical forms and meanings of marriage. The reader comes away with a better grasp of the issues at stake, as well as the persons and the personal behind the “issue.” Especially the chapter “Sex and the Body of Christ” prompts a reconsideration of Christian attitudes toward the body and sexuality.

Glaser contends that the public debate on same-gender marriage has proven a blessing for the institution of marriage itself. His own conclusion of what marriage is—regardless of the genders involved—may surprise you.

“What we want can be simply put:…we want to belong. We want to belong to each other in marriage. We want to belong to our congregations in ministry. We want to belong to our vocations in service. And we want everyone to belong, even those whose privilege grants them immediate access to blessings we can only pray for, work for, struggle for, and sometimes die for.”

— The Rev. Chris Glaser

CHRIS GLASER is the author of 12 books including Coming Out to God and The Word Is Out. He has served congregations in California, Connecticut, and Georgia, and worked with ecumenical campus ministries at Yale, Penn, and the University of Southern California. He is a respected theologian and popular retreat leader, and was pastor of Virginia-Highland Church in Atlanta, a Baptist and United Church of Christ congregation. Read Glaser’s full biography by clicking on his name in the title above.