Maryland senator seeks inclusive, gender-neutral religious language in state code

Sen. Cheryl Kagan, the state senator for Gaithersburg and Rockville, told the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee on March 24 that she is sponsoring a bill to update references in the state code that currently use the word "church" and to replace gendered language referring to clergy.

Kagan said the change is meant to reflect the state's religious diversity. "A 142 times, in our code, the word church is used, and that does not reflect the full diversity of our state," she told the committee. She added the bill also "takes out the gendered, the gendered language from clergy man to member of the clergy." Kagan told the committee the measure passed the Senate 45-1.

Why it matters: The bill would alter statutory language used across multiple provisions of state law to use terms that include other houses of worship and use gender-neutral references to religious leaders. Kagan noted the update is intended to avoid singling out one faith tradition in code language and to modernize occupational terminology for clergy.

Details from the hearing: Kagan said the term "church" appears in the code roughly 142 times and that the bill is largely technical and corrective. She told members there is a House cross file by Delegate Von Stewart and that the measure has already passed the Senate 45-1. No committee vote was recorded during the March 24 Rules hearing; the committee concluded the hearing after Kagan's remarks.

The committee did not take further testimony or debate on the measure during the March 24 session. The chair closed the hearing and the bill will proceed according to the normal legislative process, including action by the House committee assigned to the cross file.

No formal committee action on the bill was recorded at this meeting.