合同キリスト教会（United Church of Christ、UCC）は、アトランタで開かれた総会（宗教会議、General Synod）で、同性婚を支持する方針を示した。各教会代表者による投票結果は、同性婚支持が、全体の80％に達する圧倒的多数だった。
General Synod overwhelmingly calls for "full marriage equality" [United Church of Christ]
“On this July Fourth the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has acted courageously to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of same gender couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages,”
このUCCの方針が実現されれば、米国主流の宗派のひとつが同性婚支持になる。合同教会は、約6000の会衆・組合（コングリゲーショナル）からなり、130万人のメンバーを擁す。
しかし今回の総会で議決された同性婚に対する方針は、各教会に対しては拘束力を持たない。したがって、反対票を入れた教会は、会衆から離脱する可能性もある。
UCC Votes To Support Gay Marriage [365Gay.com]
The Rev. John H. Thomas said that the church's General Synod "should affirm the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender persons" to have marriages "equal in name, privileges and responsibilities to married heterosexual couples."
"I believe our local churches, as they are able, should move toward the development of marriage equality policies," Thomas added during a speech at Emory University.
Church Panel OKs Gay-Marriage Resolution [Yahoo! News]
Sunday's debate and vote continued the church's tradition of support for gays and lesbians. In the early 1970s, the United Church of Christ became the first major Christian denomination to ordain an openly gay minister.
UCC は、これまでもゲイ、レズビアンをサポートする方針を貫いてきた。また、同性愛を公言している聖職者の叙任も行った。
US Church backs same-sex marriage [BBC NEWS]
The Episcopal Church (the US branch of the Anglican Communion) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church permit same-sex unions, while the Presbyterian Church is seeking to resolve severe disagreements over the issue.
米国聖公会、福音ルーテル教会は同性カップルを承認している。プレスビテリアン（長老教会）は、まだ対立が続いている状況。
Rev John Thomas, the UCC president and general minister, noted the significance of passing the resolution on US Independence Day.
"On this July 4, the United Church of Christ has courageously acted to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of gay... couples to have their relationships recognised as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches celebrate those marriages," he said at a news conference after the vote.
ジョン・Ｈ・トーマス議長は、同性婚承認をアメリカ独立記念日になぞらえた。そうか、この日は7月4日だった。
United Church of Christ Backs Same-Sex Marriage [NY Times]
The United Church of Christ prides itself on being in the forefront of human and civil rights issues. On its Web site, the denomination says it and its predecessors were among the first churches to take a stand against slavery, in 1700, the first to ordain a woman, in 1853, and the first to publish an inclusive-language hymnal, in 1995.
Its slogan, "God is still speaking," is meant to suggest that the Bible is not the sole source of divine instruction, and that Scripture must be interpreted in today's context.
The equal marriage rights resolution states, in part, "Ideas about marriage have shifted and changed dramatically throughout human history, and such change continues even today." It continues, "In the Gospel we find ground for a definition of marriage and family relationships based on the affirmation of the full humanity of each partner, lived out in mutual care and respect for one another."
Last year, two major networks refused to broadcast a United Church of Christ commercial that showed two bouncers standing in front of a church, allowing some people to come in and refusing others, including nonwhites and a gay couple. "Jesus didn't turn people away," the text said. "Neither do we."
米国合同キリスト教会は、これまでも、人権や市民権運動の重要な担い手だった。奴隷制度に反対し、1853年には女性聖職者を任命した。1995年には性差別のない（inclusive-language）讃美歌集を出版した。
（このことはとても重要だ。それは僕が現在「問題化」している岩波書店問題──人権無視の差別的表現に塗れた50年も前のラカンのセミネールを、何のフォローもなしに「新刊として」出版した──を考える上で非常に参考になる）
UCC は──２つのテレビ局に放映を拒否されたが──有色人種のカップルやゲイ・カップルが登場するコマーシャルを作成した。「イエスは誰も拒まない、私たちと共にいる」。
