Recycler

The Roman Catholic Church in Burundi has instructed its clergy not to perform church weddings for those infected with AIDS (or pregnant women) as individuals who have premarital sex have not followed the teachings of the church and are not entitled to be married in the church.

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The story is interesting and I believe the liberal knee-jerk reaction is to say, "that's not right." And although I don't agree with the position of the church, I don't oppose it.

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And so I will recycle my thoughts from my sparring with Deep Thoughts further down. The conversation was about same-sex marriage but can be just as easily applied to the little conflagration in Burundi.

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I recognize that marriage is a Christian sacrament and don't think the government needs to take that away. I think the government should give control of marriage back to the church exclusively. No more marriages of gays, non-Christians, or people who the church doesn't want to marry. I'd be fine with that. Because I think Christian marriages can be essentially a good thing, I think the state should recognize them as a legal union and provide some benefits.

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But I do think the government should set up something for everyone else. It wouldn't entitle you to get into heaven. It wouldn't qualify as a marriage in the eyes of the god of (insert church here). But it would be legally binding and be a good start for people who wanted to try and work together, perhaps raise kids or do something else important. It might allow you to inherit from the other person, share control over finances, adopt kids or have them, control medical decision making in the event the other person is incapacitated, etc. etc. etc.

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Does that impose morality? I don't know. No one has to think the other system is moral, good or anything. But I think that everyone should be able to agree that you shouldn't discriminate against either group. If no one could agree on that, then I guess discrimination against both groups would be fair game.

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So I think the church should have its way in Burundi. But I also recognize what the consequences are. According to the BBC 6% of the population in Burundi has AIDS. In some countries in Africa it is double or triple that or more. If the Church really clamps down on its dogma it isn't doing itself any favors.

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Whether its in the best interest of the church is another question. If the main aim of a church is total unity of thought and behavior among its adherents, and it has a high ante in terms of dogma, it seems to me there are only three choices (1) be small, (2) be content with believing your flock is faithful, when the reality is different or (3) crush free will and thought. I'm good with two of those options. As for the third, a friend once said, the more you tighten your grip, the more will slip through your fingers.