Stand Firm

• Post by: Gordon C. Boronow
• September 9, 2015

Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom Ryan T. AndersonRegnery Publishing, 2015; 256 pages, $16.99 On June 26, 2015, by a slim, one-vote majority, the Supreme Court redefined marriage to be the affirmation of an intense romantic relationship between any two people. With this momentous step of judicial activism, the Court turned the page on human history. Until just a few short years ago, marriage was universally understood to be a relationship between a man and a woman; this was not simply a romantic relationship, but a special relationship which was permanent, exclusive, and ordained for the possibility of creating and nurturing new life. Going forward, however, marriage is merely an affirmation of romantic love, at least in the eyes of the state. This is the latest development in the cultural struggle taking place in our country today. The advocates of sexual liberty have been chipping away at the societal constraints of America, a nation whose culture is rooted in a religious tradition dating back 150 years before its founding in 1776. Since the sexual revolution in the 1960s, there has been a steady change in societal norms, as sexual liberty overwhelmed the constraints still upheld by churches and synagogues in their respective religious beliefs. Will the ideologues of the liberal elite push on from this victory in the Supreme Court to attempt to marginalize religious freedom in America? How should those who hold to the traditional view of marriage and those who are faithful to the free exercise of their religion respond to the Supreme Court decision? In his new book, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, Ryan T. Anderson explains what just happened, the potential adverse effects of the decision, and what must be done to limit the damage to marriage and to religious freedom from this judicial act. Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, is already a leading voice in this debate.