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With Election Day less than a month away, religious arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage are growing louder.

People of faith on both sides of Proposition 107 are making biblical values part of the debate.

Arizona's three Roman Catholic bishops, whose support of the measure has been widely publicized, say marriage as designed by God is a lifelong union of a man and woman and that in the Bible, Paul teaches that Christ made marriage a sign of his love for the church.

Similarly, conservative Christians who support the measure sent a letter to Arizona pastors that says marriage between a man and a woman is God's idea, not man's.

But an emerging voice of people of faith opposed to the proposal say that Jesus' message of inclusion is not consistent with policies that push people farther to the margins. They say it's wrong to use Jesus' name to preach intolerance, and that he never discussed sexual orientation or activity but instead talked about protecting the least of his children.

In a push to shore up opposition to Proposition 107 before the Nov. 7 general election, about 200 people are expected to be part of an interfaith service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson on Tuesday evening. The service will be sponsored by a small group called the Southern Arizona LGBT Faith Alliance, which quietly began holding monthly sessions to pray for the proposal's defeat after the measure was first announced. About 40 local clergy members are expected at Tuesday's service.

LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

"Religion has spurred people to support 107. But there are other people of faith who believe their faith is calling them to oppose it," said Carol Brorsen, a lay leader at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Midtown.

Like Brorsen, some proposition opponents refer to themselves as progressive people of faith, while others say they're part of the religious left. But they all believe the amendment will harm families, not protect them. Some of the local religious groups that have signed onto the organized effort to defeat the proposal include St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in Midtown, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, First Congregational United Church of Christ in Midtown and Grace St. Paul's.

"In terms of what you could find in Scripture, there's not much evidence to conclude anything. Jesus never said anything about it (gay marriage), so clearly it didn't matter to him," said the Rev. Gordon McBride, the rector of Grace St. Paul's.

The Right Rev. Kirk Smith, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, has spoken against 107 because he says it is not about theology but rather about denying basic legal rights to people who don't fit the sponsors' definition of marriage.

The state Court of Appeals already has ruled that Arizona law bars same-sex marriage, but backers of the constitutional amendment say the issue needs further resolution. In addition to defining marriage, 107 would prohibit state and local governments from creating or recognizing legal status for any unmarried couples, which would nullify domestic-partner benefits. When support for the measure first mobilized in May 2005, it was unveiled at conservative Christian churches.

"Jesus talked a lot about justice and mercy and he never once mentioned homosexuality," said Tucsonan Kelly Frieders, a parishioner at Mosaic United Methodist Church in Midtown who is helping to organize Tuesday's event. "He spoke harshly against divorce, but not against being together as people."

Churches in the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church — which includes Arizona — already have formally opposed 107. In announcing their decision, United Methodist leaders said marriage is threatened by infidelity, violence, addiction and lack of communication and commitment, "not how marriage is defined."

Scott Morris, a lay leader at St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, worries Arizona voters won't understand the proposal — that they will see it only as a vote on gay marriage.

"This will have a broad effect on straight and gay employees," he said. "The real damage is what it does to people in relationships other than marriage, in terms of benefits, hospital visitation, things like that."

Yet those supporting the measure say 107 and similar measures are essential to the continued existence of the United States.

Mike Phelan, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, told 400 fellow Catholics that if marriage is not protected, young people will have difficulty figuring out the meaning of relationships. He worries that public schools already are "normalizing" homosexuality.

Alan Sears of the Scottsdale-based Alliance Defense Fund urged the Catholics to adhere to church teaching even when their views appear to go against what the rest of the world is thinking and doing. He told them to stand up for the preservation of religious liberty and drew enthusiastic applause when he talked about recent court rulings against same-sex marriage.

"We are in conflict with the world so that we can win it for Christ," he said.

ELECTION 2006