Nothing under secular discussion in Vermont would require a pastor to do so, by the way. Homegrown fundamentalists in this tiny, rural state present perhaps the most united front, but it's not a particularly powerful one. The Northeast doesn't know what the Bible Belt is. Bensen is measured and polite in an interview, saying that he feels friendly toward gay couples in his village of 3,000. Like many on both sides, he sees Terry as unwittingly aiding liberals by appearing extremist.
Religious authority has never been a easy thing to exercise in Vermont, scholars say.
Early settlers prized tolerance, having given up on lower New England states where a single denomination dominated. You can't get away with just laying a religious imperative on anybody. About 30 percent of Vermonters report worshiping regularly, according to pollster George Gallup Jr., executive director of the Princeton Religion Research Center. The comparable national figure is about 40 percent. Catholics are easily the largest religious group in the state, though many are seen as infrequent churchgoers.