Rainbow dreams in the emerald isle
Rainbow dreams in the emerald isle: Ireland’s affirmative gay marriage vote may signify larger shifts in Catholic values
Two Irish men kiss in celebration of the referendum results approving of gay marriage in their country Saturday, May 23. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, FILE)
by Erin Yarnall
on May 31, 2015
With young voters mobilizing, and one of the largest voter turnouts Ireland has ever encountered, rainbow flags were seen flying over the Emerald Isle in celebration of the Republic of Ireland becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in a popular vote.
The Republic of Ireland joined 19 other countries, the first being The Netherlands in 2001, as well as 37 American states in its legalization of same-sex marriage, as 62 percent of voters helped pass the referendum making same-sex marriage legal throughout Ireland.
Around 71.9 percent of the Irish population is Catholic, a religion which has been traditionally against same-sex marriage. Instead of looking at the result of the vote as a defeat for Catholicism, some are looking at it as a shift in Catholicism — one that focuses on the experiences of others.
“What we saw in the result is less a rejection of Catholicism itself, I think, and more a further piece of evidence that Irish Catholics are looking to their own experiences — in this case, with gay family members whom they love, or with gay neighbors and colleagues whom they know well and respect — and then relying on their own consciences as they make up their minds on these newer social questions,” Mary McCain, a professor of Irish history at DePaul, said.
http://depauliaonline.com/nation/2015/05/31/affirmative-gay-marriage-vote-ireland-catholic-values/
