I dimly recall that Catholics are encouraged to (or at least at the Catholic school I went to, this is what I remember from Religion class) exercise their own conscience.
Some years ago I read a fascinating book called “Torn” by Justin Lee, a gay Christian man who went to Wake Forest. A great read for anyone interested in the topic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Lee_%28activist%29
I always find it so interesting that people think homosexuality is chosen, because if gays choose to be gay, that means straights must choose to be straight. I’m straight, and I don’t recall making that choice, ever. It’s just how I am. I’ve talked to gay friends about this as well, and their internal process is the same. There wasn’t a point at which they chose to be gay; they just were.
I think the argument is that everyone “chooses” to have sex or not, and with whom. Some people think one is not gay unless he actually has had same-sex sex. (This is not my view, but one I understand to be held by some others.)
^Yes Bay, and hence, this is how Ben Carson was able to say “people come out of jail gay,” presumably because they had gay sex while incarcerated, which in his mind defines them as gay. I doubt all those “gay ex-cons” continued having gay sex after they were out.
^Although they were probably much gayer after they were out 
It’s true that the denominations that perform gay marriages and have partnered gay clergy represent a small fraction of the population right now. But it was close to zero 30 years ago (maybe U-U). What will it be 30 years from now? I think we’re going to see the number of denominations in that group grow dramatically. Today’s teenagers, including religious ones, are going to run things pretty differently when they are in charge.
Hanna, yes I’ve been an active member of our Presbyterian (USA) church for over 20 years now. While our particular congregation has always been on the “cutting edge” of gay rights, for most of that time we were in defiance of some rules of the overall denomination (ordaining openly gay members as elders and deacons for example). Now we are in the complete harmony with those rules, including, shortly, a definition of marriage in the church that includes gay couples. Times they are a’changing.
Isn’t Erskine affiliated with the Presbyterian church?
It’s a different flavor of Presbyterian. Presbyterian (USA) is the “liberal” one. Erskine is part of Associate Reformed Presbyterian. There are other flavors too. Kind of reminds me of that scene in “Life of Brian” where the early followers of Jesus were already pointing out other little groups as “splinter groups” 
donnaleighg - what has the impact been on the denomination (Presbyterian USA) since these policy changes have been implemented? Membership numbers, number of congregations, etc.? Is the denomination thriving and growing?
How are you going to prove that the denomination’s stance on that one issue significantly affects its numbers?
I think he’s counting on the conventional wisdom that mainline denominations are shrinking, personally.
Mainline denominations are shrinking, and have been for years, long before this issue. Some individual churches have left the denomination over this issue. Our particular church, which as I said was on the “forward edge” of this change, is one of the strongest in terms of membership, growth, and income, in our presbytery. I’m not going to try and say whether this was in spite or, or because of our stance. But personally, I think you do something because you think it is right, and for no other reason. If some people like your church because of it, and some hate it, that’s the way it goes.
Lots of very intolerant religions are growing. That’s not proof that they have the corner on righteousness.
Then I won’t either, in the larger denominational sense. I just thought it might be relevant in light of the “times are a-changing” sentiment, to have a picture of what that really looks like in the life of your denomination.
Is the article linked an accurate representation in your opinion?
Just because some counter groups grow doesn’t mean that the times aren’t a-changing in the overall culture.
I also think that where you sit informs your perception of what’s going on in the cultural zeitgeist. Look at the map in alh’s link - note that the states that have gay marriage / civil unions are the northeast, upper Midwest, and west coast. If you’re sitting in one of those areas, it’s pretty natural to think - yep, wave of the future, rest of the country is sure to come along at some point, if you’re sitting in Louisville, KY - as I assume based on your screen name - it may be harder to comprehend how very much of the country’s population has already moved on. As well, it’s harder to remember that most of the country simply isn’t concerned with what evangelical conservative Christian denominations do or don’t do.