“The Land of the Free”: freedom and same-sex marriage in the ObergefellUnited States Supreme Court decision

MAXIMILIANO CAMPANA; JUAN MARCO VAGGIONE

Religion and Nonreligion in Same-Sex Marriage Debates. Emerging imaginaries

de Gruyter

Año: 2026; p. 181 - 206

The chapter delves, at the beginning, into the legal battles and campaigns that led to the eventual recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. By analyzing the process toward Obergefell, we can gain a better understanding of the factors that shaped the decision and the role of different actors, both for and against the recognition of same-sex marriage. It also addresses the Obergefellcase taking into consideration the majority and minority opinions and analyzing the implications that these opinions have in the understanding of three main issues: what is changeable and what is not within a marital regime, the autonomy/heteronomy dimensions of marriage, and the different articulations between religious freedom and the freedom to marriage. Rather than conducting a technical analysis of the Supreme Court decision, our objective is to examine both the majority and dissenting opinions to identify the predominant narratives and underlying meanings that emerge when debating whether same-sex couples have the right to marry.