In America, there are many, many people who heed and accept religious arguments. People may not like that, I may not like that, but it is the reality that exists and the construct we must necessarily work within at this particular point in time.
It does no good whatsoever to pretend that very religious people who make decisions using religiously informed logic and reasoning do not exist or can simply be reasoned with using plain secular logic.
I feel the author is being very selfish here by putting her religion (or lack thereof) in front of the entire community's current need - to convince millions of religious Americans to accept LGBTers. It's the religiously influenced who are our greatest oppressor in this country. We need to talk to them as effectively as possible. We need to approach them from a place that they are receptive to.
When I came out to my very Catholic parents, I knew where their heads were. It was wrong, the Church raised them to think it was wrong, it was against God, etc. etc. Sure, I used secular arguments about equality, the Constitution. But I also had long talks with them about God, what God would do ("Why would God make me this way if He thought it was an abomination? Doesn't that strike you as a bit off?"
. I needed that religious component of argument to bring them around. I gave them literature from progressive Catholic priests. I offered them writings from prominent Jesuits.
Over time, that worked. They're still Catholic, but now they are accepting as anyone.
That is where Robinson is coming from. Religious people exist and some of them need to be addressed in a religious language.
The author doesn't like it? So what. I love it. I will take any angle of attack humanly possible. He's doing his bit, in the language he knows, in a way that may influence people who we need to achieve equality.
The author comes off as bitter and tantrum-flecked because, gasp, someone's using religion!
(I'm also not thrilled with her implication that somehow religion is separate and apart from the LGBT community. Someone should let her know about all the theistic LGBTers out there. She doesn't state her narrow, tunnel-visioned view outright, but her subtext is marinating in it).
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