The newspaper reported that in late September, a majority of the African American community supported redefining marriage, while the most recent poll found that 50 percent opposed it and 42 percent supported it. It attributed this shift in black opinion to the efforts of religious leaders.
Peters agreed that "in Maryland special credit goes to the African-American pastors and leaders who are informing their community" about the importance of defending marriage.
Contributing to these efforts is the Coalition of African-American Pastors, a national group that has been working to raise awareness and support for marriage at the grassroots level.
Rev. Williams Owens, president of the coalition, recently spoke out against an ad aimed at African American Christians that encouraged them to follow President Barack Obama's lead by voting to redefine marriage in Maryland.
"This ad is the worst attempt at pandering and manipulating the Black community to ignore their own pastors who rightfully uphold the sanctity of traditional marriage," he said in an Oct. 31 statement.
Owens warned that the African American community is being courted "for political gain," and said that the "Black church has been the conscience of not only the Black community but of the nation."
Marriage advocates argue that redefining marriage will remove its focus on the biological relationship that provides the foundation for new human life.
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that more than 40 percent of babies in the U.S. are born to unmarried women. Studies have found correlations between out-of-wedlock childbearing and poverty.
According to Peters, the report reinforces the need to recognize and promote marriage as the child-centered union of a man and a woman.
He explained that "men and women coming together in marriage to raise the children they have is a huge benefit to society, to the next generation and to the spouses, and is one of the strongest safeguards against poverty."
Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.