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Much of the opposition to civil rights for LGBT people is based on the belief that being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is somehow immoral. "Moral" opposition to domestic partnership is often even stronger. For many Americans, religion is the primary source of guidance on morality. In most parts of the U.S., you won't be able to pass a policy if the only religious voices that your board hears are speaking in opposition.
Your primary goal should be at best to isolate the fundamentalists as your only religious opposition, or at the least, to make sure there is a serious division in religious views.
A division will reduce religious influence; if there is no single message about the morality of being LGBT, board members who might otherwise defer to a religious view may pay religion less heed. Weak supporters who fear religious opposition may feel more comfortable.
Isolating the fundamentalists is even better because their opposition is usually tinged with a prejudice that borders on hate. When they are alone, this is more likely to surface, and the violence of their prejudice will often push people to your side.
Some advocates argue for "low profile" campaigns to try to avoid alerting religious opposition. Although it has drawbacks, the stealth approach may sometimes be the only way to handle potential religious opposition.
At the outset, you should decide whether you want to have religious leaders involved as primary proponents of the legislation, as active participants in the campaign, as public supporters, or if you are modestly aiming at neutrality or "soft" opposition.
In part, the level of involvement you aim for depends on what kind of commitment you can get, who you could get commitments from, and what the cost of the commitment would be.
In part, the level of involvement you want should depend on your board. If religion is very important to your board, you may want as much as you can possibly get.
If religion is important to your board, plan to preempt the issue; raise it on your terms before someone else brings it up. This means deciding on the level of religious involvement and getting commitments for support before your proposal is publicly announced, and probably before all or most members of the Board know about it.
You need to do a little basic research to decide on the level of involvement you want and to put your plan into action. First, find out how important religion is to your Board. How often is the Board addressed by religious leaders, how important do the views of religious leaders seem to be in the Board's decisions.
No matter how important religion seems to be in general, find out how important it is to the individual members of the Board. Their biographies may give you important clues. You can usually get a biography by calling a member's office and asking for it. You could do some basic internet research on individual members. If nothing turns up, or the member doesn't have a biography, try asking the office what church she or he belongs to. Newspapers and observers could also be helpful here.
With both boards and their individual members, some religions and some clerics are likely to more important than others. Go for these details -- who seems to speak to the board most, who does the board seem to pay most attention to, what are their denominations, what are the denominations and parishes, etc. of the individual board members -- so you can focus your religious recruiting efforts. Get people who know about religion to make sure that you are asking the right questions. It isn't enough to know that a person is Jewish or Christian. You need to know what branch of which denomination, and who the pastor of the member's church is.
Next, find out what kind of support you can line up. You need to do two things. First, find out where the churches you've decided are important stand on civil rights for LGBT people. Many churches have adopted national policy statements. You may be able to get copies by calling one of the national LGBT organizations, or by calling the national offices of the individual denominations.
Second, scope out the local scene, and locate a couple of clerics who will probably support the policy. Start with the more liberal denominations (the Unitarian Universalists are a good bet). To find them, check the religion section of the local newspaper for stories and listings of Sunday sermons. If there is a LGBT religious group in the area its members are likely to be the best source. Religious universities and religious social justice organizations (like Catholic social services) can also be a good source of likely supporters.
When you've located a couple of supporters, ask them to help you finish your plan by identifying others who might be brought on board, particularly those in the sects and denominations you've targeted.
Next use "logrolling" and the national endorsement statements to line up commitments. Go to your most likely supporters first, and use the commitments you've already gotten and the national statements to bring them on. Then use their names with the next most likely group. If you are seeking more than just endorsements -- if, for example, you want people to appear at a press conference or lobby other clerics or board members--you need to think each time about what to ask for. With a relatively strong supporter, it may make sense to ask for a full commitment at the start. With others, you may want to ask for support at first. Many people find it easier to campaign for a policy after they've committed to it.
Put out the message that the policy has religious support early and as positively as possible. If you can, have one or two prominent religious leaders at whatever press conference or event you have to publicly announce the proposal.
Whether you have religious leaders at an event to start the campaign or at a special event, have a list of all your religious supporters and all of the national support statements for the press. Make the tone positive; your speakers should explain why they support the policy, and avoid any reference to religious opposition unless the press brings it up.
Religious supporters who are willing to lobby should be deployed thoughtfully. Match the cleric to the board member as closely as you can. An individual's own rabbi or priest is probably the best match, nuns can be especially effective with people who attended parochial schools, and, just like other lobbyists, people from the district are best.
Even if a cleric is not willing to personally lobby, he or she might let someone else connected with the church do it, and speak on his or her behalf.
Bashing religious opponents by referring to them as the "religious right" or "fringe fundamentalists" just doesn't work. It never turns people away from those you are attacking, and it often makes you look intolerant. No matter what you think of a person's views, everybody has a right to participate in the process and the fact that a person's views are motivated by conservative religious dogma does not change that. Attacking church involvement in the process as a violation of tax or lobbying laws is also generally ineffective. People just generally are not impressed, and the government never does anything about it. Time you spend on this is likely to be wasted.
Finally, don't debate the policy on religious terms. You'll almost never succeed against a pro. To the extent there is a dispute about god's views on civil rights laws, let your clerical supporters take it on. Your line should be that although people motivated by religious conviction have every right to speak and participate, in a pluralistic society, policy shouldn't be based on one group's dogma.
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