Black churchgoers break with leading Democrats on marriage amendment

Bishop Phillip Davis had not planned to talk about marriage and politics, but five minutes into his sermon at Nations Ford Community Church in Charlotte he changed his mind.

Not only should the 6,000 members of the overwhelmingly African-American congregation pray with one voice, he said, come May 8 they should vote with one, too.

“You know, we got this amendment on the ballot,” Davis said, walking to the back of the church stage, then throwing his arm around a member of the men’s choir as laughter grew.

“If I was your pastor, and I was married to him, how many of y’all would be here today? ”

Thirty-one states – in 31 tries – have approved amendments to block gay unions. Based on the polls, North Carolina is a good bet to extend the streak May 8, due in part to African-American congregations like Nations Ford.

A March 23 survey by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh showed that black voters statewide support the measure 61 percent to 30 percent. Whites: 58-38 percent in favor.

More than 80 percent of the state’s African-Americans voters are Democrats. Their support for the amendment represents a rare break with the party’s leaders and civil rights groups.

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Yet, most of the state’s African-Americans appear ready to rely on the Bible as their voting guide. They cite Genesis and the Gospels as defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and quote from Leviticus in the Old Testament and Paul in the New, which call same-gender sex abominable, perverse and shameful.

As such, the marriage amendment has hammered a wedge between two enduring traits of African-American believers – a tradition of political and social activism, and a streak of moral conservatism, especially when it comes to gays and lesbians.

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This is just one example of why President Obama, even if he were inclined to, does not come out strongly in support of gay marriage.

America is first and foremost a religious nation, and secondly a democratic one.