The LGNT community, and those who support members of the community, battled for same-sex marriage rights for several decades in the United States before the issue was finally decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, or Scotus earlier this year.

The landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges found that marriage is a “fundamental right” and, as such, cannot be infringed upon by the individual states.

Opponents offered a number of arguments against same-sex marriage as well as raised a number of concerns about how the American landscape would look if same-sex marriage were to become legal. One commonly heard concern was the question “Will churches be forced to marry gay and lesbian couples?” To truly understand the answer to that question it helps to understand the concept of marriage better as well as the concept of the separation of church and state.

Marriage, in the U.S., can be both a religious and a legal status. Although churches, and other religious holy places, have traditionally been allowed to conduct weddings, it is not necessary to partake in a religious ceremony in order to get married in the U.S. All that is needed is a marriage license and someone authorized to perform the ceremony.

A judge, for example, can marry a couple in the hallway of City Hall and the marriage will be legal. Whether or not a church, or other religious organization, will recognize the marriage is another question.

Religions may determine their own criteria for conducting and recognizing a marriage. What matters for gay and lesbian couples, however, is the ability to be legally married.

Which brings us to the question of whether or not a church will be forced to marry same-sex couples. The answer is a resounding “NO.” The separation between church and state, coupled with the First Amendment’s religious freedom protection, will serve to prevent this from occurring.

Just as a Jewish synagogue cannot be forced to marry a Catholic couple, no church will be forced to marry a same-sex couple. Churches are free to establish the requirements under which a marriage will be sanctioned as well as prohibitions that will prevent the church from conducting a marriage ceremony. Many Catholic churches, for instance, will not perform a wedding if the bride or groom is divorced (unless the prior marriage was annulled).

The bottom line is that while the law now prohibits the state or federal government from enacting laws that prohibit same-sex marriage, no church will be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

If you have additional questions or concerns regarding the issue of same-sex marriage, contact the experienced Florida same-sex marriage attorneys at Celler Legal, P.A. by calling 954-716-8601 to schedule your appointment.