Contact: Loralei Coyle 202-682-4131, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@ird-renew.org; Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton, jwalton@ird-renew.org; both with the Institute on Religion and Democracy

WASHINGTON, May 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) criticized the California Supreme Court today for its decision overturning the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. That definition was overwhelmingly adopted by 61 percent of the state's voters in a 2000 referendum.

The Rev. James Tonkowich, IRD President, commented:

"This ruling is supremely arrogant; it directly overrules the will of the people of California expressed in the referendum upholding the definition of marriage.

"We need to declare the importance of marriage in our culture and take action to protect that providential institution from judges who would unilaterally impose a radical redefinition.

"Such a radical redefinition of marriage ignores the teachings of all major religions. While they all have somewhat differing understandings of marriage, they all recognize that marriage involves the union of the two complementary sexes in a relationship that ordinarily serves as the locus for childbearing and childrearing.

"Dangerously, this ruling places mainstream followers of all those religions in the legal position of being regarded as bigots who are in opposition to state policy on a matter of fundamental human rights.

"While a small minority is exalted as a specially protected class, the majority of religious people are marginalized from public life. We have already seen this process in places like Massachusetts and Great Britain, where churches have been driven out of adoption and traditional believers have been punished for supposed hate speech because they affirm the traditional definition of marriage.

"Church leaders should condemn this decision and work to overturn it, consistent with their own churches' understandings of marriage. United Methodists, particularly, have spoken firmly about this on the national level just two weeks ago and their denominational leaders should reflect that church teaching.

"It seems likely that, sooner or later, the same forces that are celebrating this California decision will find similar courts elsewhere that will compel the other states to recognize those marriages."

www.TheIRD.org