The clash of liberalism and toleration regarding same-sex marriages in the U.S.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: good (B), Maastricht University (University College), course: Writing Political Philosophy in Practice, 12 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Although there are marriage-like unions for same-sex couples in the U.S., the traditional institution of marriage is still only reserved for the conventional heterosexual couple. As a modern liberal country the U.S. would be expected to be tolerant on this issue, giving this subcultural group the freedom to marry. Some reasons why this is not the case can be found in the United States` strong ties to religion. This paper outlines the influence of religion on the interplay of liberalism and toleration in the case of same-sex marriages in the U.S.