%1

The political furor over Vermont’s two-year-old civil union law has begun to subside, but controversy is still roiling the state’s churches. Some disputes have set pastor against congregation.

Of the 4,350 civil unions performed in the state since July 1, 2000, more than 80 percent were for couples from out of state, according to state officials. Two out of three of the people joined in civil unions were women. And, while the state does not tabulate this figure officially, only an estimated 10 percent of civil unions were performed by clergy.