America conservative activists in mainline Protestant denominations have issued a statement supporting the Federal Marriage Amendment.

The statement was signed by United Methodists, members of the Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ etc. A life-long Episcopalian is also cheering the recent defiant actions of some Ohio congregations in her denomination.

They claimed that it is necessary for American society to maintain the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. One of the document's signers is Diane Knippers, who heads the Institute on Religion and Democracy. She says the signers want their churches to hold fast to historical Christian teaching. "But even more basically, we want to argue that marriage is the primary, essential institution of civil society, and it is in fact the most universal institution," she explains.

"The idea of marriage between a man and a woman is recognized across all cultures and across history -- and we think that our nation will abandon that model at its peril.?Knippers says.

"I think that most of the reformed leaders would think that civil unions is not a good idea; that obviously this is something that will be fought out in the states across the country," Knippers says, "but we believe that it also would chip away at the basic idea of marriage. The reform leaders represent the majority of people in mainline Protestant denominations, and believe same-sex marriage is a "trendy mistake" to which many churches have fallen captive.?

That is why the life-long Episcopalian is praising six Episcopalian congregations in Ohio for not following another "trendy mistake" and, instead, taking a stand against the denomination's appointment of an openly homosexual bishop.

But Knippers calls the move by the Ohio congregations a "splendid" action. "They're saying to the Episcopal Church that we are in a state of crisis; that we cannot have 'business as usual.'"

Meanwhile, many parents do not want their children confirmed by a bishop who voted in favor of a homosexual bishop. "They want their confirmation to come from godly bishops who uphold biblical standards," she states. "So they invited five retired bishops and one bishop from overseas to come and do the confirmations."

"We want to be Anglican, we want to stand with the Anglican Communion, because we believe what most Anglicans believe around the world," Knippers says. "But it is no longer acceptable for us to be identified with the leadership and the direction of the Episcopal Church.