‘The gay bishop’ to speak at Emory

The Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson no longer rejects his identity as “the gay bishop,” and is taking a lead in the fight over gay marriage.

He said he tried being “just a simple country preacher” after he came out to friends, family and the Episcopal Church in the 1980s.

But the storm of strong religious and political feelings over the issues of gay rights, church acceptance of gay people and gay marriage kept pulling him away from being just another face in the pulpit. When he was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, the storm spread worldwide, leaving Robinson as spokesman.

“I don’t know why God has let this happen,” he said by phone. “But I think it would be unappreciative and unfaithful if I didn’t use this opportunity that God has given me.”

Robinson will speak at 7:30 tonight at Emory University about gay civil rights, marriage and religion. Robinson advocates that the church simply bless a marriage and not be involved in its legalization.

“The nonseparation of church and state is holding us back from full acceptance,” said Robinson, who lives in a New Hampshire-ratified civil union with a man.

Perennial opponents of gay marriage, such as the Christian Coalition of Georgia, see Robinson’s strategy as “divide and conquer.”

“Traditional views are always assaulted one step at a time,” said Jim Beck, a national officer and the head of the coalition in Georgia. “Liberals will always tell you, ‘What’s the big deal? It’s just this one thing.’ But clearly it’s an assault on the institution of marriage as ordained by God.”

The battle over gays in church is the most recent in a decades-long tug-of-war between traditionalism and modernity, said Mark Jordan, a former Emory divinity professor now at Harvard University. The battle started with issues such as accepting female pastors and rewriting liturgy.

“I think a lot of energy and animosity generated [by those] is being dumped into the present fight,” he said.