Along with sadness and dismay, many evangelicals expressed guilt and regret that they did not fight harder against what Scripture tells them is a sin.

The Rev. Bill Owens, president of the Memphis-based Coalition of African American Pastors, said conservative ministers are now organizing to oppose the ruling, planning protests in the South as they did during the civil rights era.

“It’s not over. The Supreme Court has gotten things wrong. It got the Dred Scott decision wrong,” Owens said, referring the 1857 ruling that propped up slavery…

At Mount Hebron and other African American churches, worshipers said they felt particularly betrayed by President Obama, who cited his Christian faith in opposing same-sex marriages when he first campaigned for president…

“Ask me if I regret it,” said Fisher, still holding his Bible. “I do. If I could take it back, I would — on this issue alone. We expect him to rule this nation based on the beliefs in this book.”