LEWISTON – Presbyterian minister Marvin M. Ellison, author of “Same-Sex Marriage: A Christian Ethical Analysis,” will give a talk, “Is Christianity a Heterosexual Religion? Lessons From the Same-Sex Marriage Debate,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, in The Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The public is invited to attend this Bates College Zerby Lecture in Contemporary Religious Thought sponsored by the chaplain’s office. It is free of charge.

Opponents of same-sex marriage frequently cite religion and morality as primary reasons for refusing to allow same-sex couples the right to marry.

Is Christianity a religion that favors heterosexuality? Would “gay marriage” force a lowering of moral standards? Ellison, a Christian ethicist (and gay man), examines the marriage-and-family debate and draws lessons for a progressive theology that places justice as well as love at the heart of intimate relationships.

Author of “Erotic Justice: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality” and co-editor of the anthology “Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice-Love,” Ellison has published widely in both scholarly journals and the popular press about religion, sexuality, ethics and culture.

Ellison received his bachelor of arts degree from Davidson College, his master’s in arts degree in religion and society from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Christian ethics from Union Theological Seminary. He is the Willard S. Bass Professor of Christian Ethics at the Bangor Theological Seminary.

The annual lecture honors the late Rayborn L. Zerby of Lewiston, professor emeritus of religion and dean of the faculty at Bates. The program brings to campus some leading commentators on contemporary religious thought. Previous Zerby lecturers have included Holocaust chronicler Elie Wiesel and Harvard University theologian Peter J. Gomes, Bates class of 1965.

For more information, people may phone the chaplain’s office at 786-8272.