We have begun to overcome many types of discrimination in our world today, but are still struggling with others. The issue of same-sex marriage has been debated for years, and in many states we have resolved to accept it. There are still many people who are not convinced it is ethical or should be legal. Frank Bruni’s article in the New York Times “Race, Religion and Same-Sex Marriage” calls attention to the fact that statistics are showing certain races or religions to be particularly opposed.
The sociological viewpoint of conflict theory is a great tool to use to analyze the questions raised by Bruni’s article. First there is the obvious conflict between traditional heterosexual marriages and same-sex marriages place in society. I find the conflicts revolving around the statistics of Blacks opinion of gay marriage more interesting in the context of this article: victims of discrimination vs. religious affiliation. Bruni points out that one might think that people who have suffered discrimination such as Blacks have in the past should see common ground with the gays being discriminated against and support them in their equal rights.
On the other hand, a large percentage of the Black population voting against the legalization of gay marriage are extremely religious, and find that the rules of the bible outweigh the issues of discrimination. I think this might make the statistics quoted in Bruni’s article more an issue of religion rather than race, as most of the focus in the article is put on. Our actions and opinions are often formed by our morals. If these morals are rooted in religion they can change our views of issues such as discrimination.
There are also conflicts between types of discrimination. “African-Americans were enslaved. And during their brutal struggle for justice, they couldn’t make a secret of what set them apart from others, said Henderson, who supports same-sex marriage, during a phone interview Friday” (Bruni). Henderson’s point is that some Blacks feel that the discrimination against gays isn’t the same because they can hide or change the reasons that cause the discrimination against them, unlike issues of Black oppression.
Is sexual orientation really a choice? Should discrimination on a religious basis be tolerated? Conflicting processes of socilization in a person’s development create rifts in people’s opinions about such questions. To lessen these rifts, and come closer to equality for Blacks and gays alike, we need to examine statistics as Bruni’s article does and break down conflicts behind them to find some sort of a solution to inequalities in our world.
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