It’s been a decade since the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling legalised same-sex marriage across all 50 U.S. states, and—despite a barrage of doomsday predictions from religious conservatives—civilisation remains very much intact.
In the lead-up to the 2015 Supreme Court decision, anti-LGBTQ+ voices warned of dire consequences. Among the loudest was Pope Benedict XVI, who, in 2012, claimed that marriage equality threatened “the future of humanity itself.” He wasn’t alone. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee warned in 2007 that redefining marriage would doom society, arguing, “There’s never been a civilisation that has rewritten what marriage and family means and survived.”
No evidence was offered then—and none has materialised since.
Such dire predictions were common among right-wing leaders in the 2000s and early 2010s. Rep. Todd Akin infamously linked same-sex marriage bans to the preservation of society. Rick Santorum declared that marriage equality would undermine the institution entirely, discouraging heterosexual couples from marrying and having children, and thus leading to societal collapse.
Rev. Thomas Euteneuer even invoked ancient history, claiming the fall of Greece stemmed from the acceptance of “the gay lifestyle.” He prophesied that if same-sex marriage wasn’t fought, society would find itself at “the end of the line.”
But in the ten years since marriage equality became law of the land in the United States, none of these warnings have come true. Civilisation didn’t crumble. The institution of marriage didn’t disappear. People still fall in love, start families, and go about their daily lives. If anything, the law simply expanded those rights to more people.
What these fearmongering predictions failed to grasp—or deliberately ignored—is that social progress doesn’t destroy institutions. It strengthens them by making them more inclusive.
In fact, support for marriage equality has continued to increase in the United States. The 2010s saw a dramatic rise in public acceptance of LGBTQ+ rights, with more Americans embracing the idea that love is love. If the Christian right’s warnings had held any weight, this shift in public opinion would never have happened.
Perhaps the apocalyptic rhetoric was never meant to be believed literally. “Civilisation ending” became a dramatic abstraction—a catch-all phrase meant to spark fear rather than reflect reality. In practice, it meant very little beyond “this makes us uncomfortable.”
Ten years on, marriage equality has proved not to be the end of anything, but rather a continuation of the long journey toward equality and dignity for all.
