The election of the Rev. Gene Robinson on August 6 as the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church is a landmark event for all gays and lesbians, regardless of their religious affiliation. Rev. Robinson will now become the bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire.

In a vote at the Episcopal General Convention held this year in Minneapolis, Episcopal leaders voted in favor of confirming Rev. Robinson’s election as bishop.

This vote was the last hurdle Rev. Robinson had to clear. New Hampshire parishioners had chosen Rev. Robinson to be their leader, apparently with little fuss over his sexuality. Rev. Robinson had served for 13 years as the assistant to New Hampshire’s retiring bishop.

But their choice had to be ratified by a majority of clergy, lay people, and bishops in the church. On Sunday, August 3, the church’s House of Deputies—a church legislative body comprised of Episcopal clergy and lay people from across the country—approved Rev. Robinson by an overwhelming 2-to-1 margin. The debate in the House of Bishops was more heated, and the vote was closer. But on August 6, the body voted 62 to 45 in favor of Rev. Robinson. (Two bishops actually abstained, but under church rules, those counted as "no" votes against Rev. Robinson.)

This success is noteworthy on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that, despite political progress on gay and lesbian issues over the years, the question of how we fit into God’s plan remains one of the most contentious and sensitive arenas for straight Americans struggling with homosexuality.

Even many Americans who disapprove of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people at work and in their communities, often find it hard to reconcile the old-fashioned religious interpretation of homosexuality ingrained in them. Most frequently, that interpretation, regardless of religious affiliation, is that our sexual orientation alone is enough to make us sinners. Of course, in many churches, it’s put more harshly. But few churches, particularly large, mainstream ones, have found ways to fully embrace their GLBT followers.

Bestowing the title of bishop on an openly gay man boldly defies that history. How could someone unworthy simply because he is gay be such a high servant of God? Now, the Episcopal Church has given the rights and responsibilities of one of its highest positions—that of bishop—to an openly gay man. That is a tremendous sign of faith.

Sure, other denominations may be ahead of the Episcopal Church when it comes to gay issues. But this move is noteworthy partly because it is happening in the Episcopal Church, in many ways the Protestant version closest to Catholicism. In America, the Episcopal Church has 2.3 million members. Globally, there are 77 million Anglicans.

Of course, not all the church’s followers are happy about the move. After the vote, about a dozen bishops joined together behind Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, one of the leaders of the opposition against Rev. Robinson’s confirmation. Duncan read a statement saying there was "grief too deep for words" over the decision. He and other conservative bishops are threatening to split from the church, and have scheduled an October meeting to decide their next step.

It should be noted, however, that the threat of "splitting the church" has been used as a playing card by such conservatives in the past, not only about gay issues, but also about such issues as ordaining women. So far, the conservatives, realizing they were in the minority,

have thrown their little temper tantrums, but have not actually taken steps to separate from the church.

Duncan’s grief—and the fear that has rocked conservative religious leaders both inside and outside the Episcopal Church—is largely over "the election of a person sexually active outside of holy matrimony."

Rev. Robinson lives openly with his partner of 13 years, Mark Andrew.

While the issue of gay and lesbian marriage was not a specific topic of debate at the Episcopal convention, it was at least in the back of everyone’s mind.

The battle over gay marriage has recently gotten a huge boost. Many believe the U.S. Supreme Court decision to outlaw sodomy across the nation will help pave the way to matrimony. Gay and lesbian couples are now getting married just like heterosexual couples in Canada. And the Massachusetts state supreme court is expected to rule any day now on whether or not gay and lesbian people will have the right to marry under the state constitution.

So far, gay and lesbian advocates for marriage have been smart enough to couch the debate as a legal one, not a moral or religious one. In Canada, church’s opposed to uniting gay or lesbian couples are exempt from doing so, and any pro-marriage ruling here would surely offer the same legal "out" for religious groups.

Strategically, separating church and state is vital in the fight for winning equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. But in real people’s minds, the legal and the religious are more muddled. Average people tend to simply focus on what they think is "right" or "wrong," and whether we like it or not, churches have tremendous influence on their opinions.

It will now be that much harder for Episcopalians, and other religious people of good faith who are watching this drama closely, to avoid asking the question of how one of the church’s highest leaders can be sanctioned to carry out all the sacraments and responsibilities of the church, without being able to share in them.

If I was Bishop Duncan or one of his conservative followers, I’d be scared too. They’re losing, and they know it.