After the Rev. Ken Grenz of Spring Hill United Methodist Church wrote in his church newsletter that the same-sex marriage amendment was contrary to Methodist teachings, leaflets were put on the windshields of cars in the church parking lot on Palm Sunday by a Republican Party group that urged a yes vote on the measure.

“We were targeted,” Grenz said. “We are in an era when the pendulum swings, and now the religious right is on a roll.”

The incident typifies what has become a volatile mix of religion and politics in Kansas not seen since a generation ago when voters went to the polls in the mid-1980s and approved gambling and liquor-by-the-drink.

“There is no doubt that religion and politics have become more prominent,” Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty said.

On Tuesday, religious beliefs and politics will come to a head as Kansas voters go to the polls to decide whether to add to the Kansas Constitution a prohibition of same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Same-sex marriage already is banned by state law, but supporters of the amendment say putting the prohibition in the constitution provides an extra layer of legal protection assuring that marriage remains a covenant between a man and woman.

“This is a hill to die on when it comes to defining marriage,” the Rev. Terry Fox of Wichita, a leading proponent of the amendment, has said.

But opponents say the amendment discriminates against gays and that the second part of the measure will hurt heterosexuals by prohibiting courts from recognizing agreements and laws that affect relationships outside of marriage.

“This is bigotry wrapped in a prayer,” Topeka attorney Pedro Irigonegary said.

Yearlong battle

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The issue has roiled Kansas politics for more than a year. Last year, the Legislature fell short in close votes of getting the necessary two-thirds majority to put the amendment in the November ballot.

That energized a network of fundamentalist Christian ministers, who helped defeat a handful of legislators and replace them with their supporters.

When lawmakers returned in January, they quickly worked the amendment, approving it Feb. 2 to put it on Tuesday’s ballot.

That kicked off a two-month campaign for the amendment that has been led by conservative pastors Fox and Joe Wright of Wichita, who urge voters from the pulpit, a radio show and broadcast advertising. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., also has recorded radio ads in support of the amendment.

In addition, the amendment campaign has gained the support from the national headquarters of the Roman Catholic lay organization Knights of Columbus, which contributed $100,000, and the conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family, which has spent $23,063 on the campaign. Those figures were reported two weeks before the election. The conservative Kansas Republican Victory Fund: State PAC also has been involved in the campaign and distributed the fliers that were found in Grenz’s church parking lot.

Meanwhile, opponents of the campaign have relied mostly on individual donations, a large portion from Lawrence residents. Two weeks before the election, Kansans for Fairness reported raising $31,302, and the Flint Hills Human Rights Project, $4,738.

To counter the conservative ministers, more than 100 ministers have signed statements opposing the amendment.

Problems with Part B

Grenz, the Methodist minister, opposes the amendment because of the second part of the amendment, which denies “the rights or incidences” of marriage to all relationships except marriage between a man and a woman.

He said that part could deny basic civil rights and justice to some individuals and is inconsistent with the United Methodist Church.

Supporters of the amendment say Part B will not affect other relationships, and the comments to the contrary are being used as scare tactics.

Even so, states that have passed similar amendments are having problems sorting out the problems of denying rights to marriage-like relationships that don’t fit the definition of marriage as being a civil contract between a man and a woman.

Beatty, the Washburn professor, said the issues surrounding Part B had been glossed over during the campaign.

“In Kansas, the amendment will pass. But in a full information campaign, if you gave both sides $10 million, it would be a lot closer because of the ramifications of section B,” he said.

Beatty said he told his students that the fact that Kansans were voting on this amendment is a lesson in politics, religion and the direction of the country.

It shows how a minority of vocal opponents of gay marriage can drive an agenda that won’t affect the vast majority of Kansans, he said.

And it shows that as the United States becomes more affluent, people’s attention turns from economic issues to philosophical issues.

As evangelical Christians get more of their positions before the public, it will be interesting to see what happen next, he said.

“We don’t know where this is going, but it’s an open field,” he said.