Moralophobic?

Is opposition to same-gender marriage actually "homophobic"?  The definition of phobia is fairly straightforward and simple:

"...usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational."

Of all the people I know and with whom I have spoken, including homosexuals, "fear" of homosexuals - much less "irrational" "fear" - simply is not present. But many people are often cowed by the accusation; because like Br’er Rabbit fighting the Tar-Baby, the more they fight to defend themselves against name-calling, the more stuck they become.

I have wondered: Are those who support abortion, same-gender marriage, and other "Progressive" social issues "moralophobic?"  That is, do they have an "irrational" "fear" of morals, or would using that term just be name-calling instead of sound, reasoned debate as well?  I have come to two conclusions on this question.  First, it would be name-calling and, as tempting as it may be to me, it comes across as a playground squabble ending with ‘So is your mother!’  The accusation that Progressives and Liberals are moralophobic lacks reasoned debate land comment on the issues at hand.  Second, it is actually not true.  They don’t have an "irrational" "fear" of the morals which have been the fabric of our nation since its inception - the ones contained in the Judeo/Christian Scriptures.  Rather, they have a rational fear and hatred of those morals.  They are not opposed to morality per se, but they are working to change morals to accommodated the way they desire to live rather than how God says we ought to live.  Fear of condemnation can be assuaged - if not eliminated altogether - by making the change.  It is being accomplished a little at a time.

The big push now is to normalize same-gender, sexual relationships.  The line from married to non-married sexual relations had been shifted a few decades ago.  Not that unmarried sex is more acceptable, there is just a small shift in cultural thinking to embrace same-gender, sexual relationships.  "How can you deny someone sexual satisfaction solely because they are attracted to others of the same gender?" we are asked.  The highest moral value in this area today: Personal Satisfaction.  Legitimizing same-gender sex happens simply by moving the marital requirements one (albeit huge) step to include these homosexual relationships.  But the, why not include polygamy or eliminate the age of consent and include children in the mix?  Well, that would absolutely be met with near-complete cultural rejection ... right now.  However, by moving the boundaries one-step-at-a-time, it is easier to change morals.  The new morality becomes, "How could you deny the right of two people who love each other 'the right' to marry."  Once that is accepted, it then becomes immoral to oppose same-sex marriage.  The next part of the process is to create peer pressure to conform to the new morality.

L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr. & Dr. Jerry Buckner
“Moralophobic”
Midwest Christian Outreach Journal, Vol. 19 No.2

Fall 2013/Winter 2014