Here’s an unusual news clip:

A major Christian denomination is suing a state government because it objects to its gay marriage laws.

Doesn’t sound so unusual? Here’s the catch…

The church is suing because it WANTS to marry same-sex couples. 

The United Church of Christ says North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban violates their religious freedom to perform marriage ceremonies for whomever they choose. On April 28, the United Church of Christ, other clergy, and several gay couples  filed an official complaint, declaring their:

“…Right to freely perform religious services and ceremonies consistent
with their beliefs and practices.”

 In this case, marrying same-sex couples. 

So does their argument hold water? 

Couples who wish to wed in North Carolina must obtain a marriage license, something the church can’t issue. And there are other limitations: Fundamentalist Ladder Day Saints churches, for example, cannot perform (legal) multiple marriages, despite the fact that their faith encourages it. 

This suit is just the latest chapter in an ongoing conversation about the boundaries between church and state.

 In 2011, Westboro Baptist Church won the right to picket funerals with anti-homosexual propaganda after taking their case to the Supreme Court.  

This March, the Supreme Court began considering the case of Hobby Lobby, a Christian owned retail chain that objects to paying for certain types of birth control covered under the Affordable Care Act.

Now, with the United Church of Christ case, politicians on both sides of the aisle may be forced into some unusual stances. While we wait for the courts to decide, we’re asking you:

When should faith trump law?