Saturday, March 10, 2012

Voices of Faith Speak Out: Support from the UK

In the UK, gay couples can get civil unions. The discussion now is whether they should be married. And, because Anglicanism is a state religion (no separation of church and state there), whether such marriages should be recognized in church is a political question.

The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, London, is firmly in favor:
The Very Rev Dr David Ison, who was appointed by the Queen this week, said the church should welcome gay people wanting to take on the virtues of marriage, such as faithfulness.

"We need to take seriously people's desire for partnership and make sure that the virtues that you see in married relationships are available to people who are gay," he said...

"For Christian gay people to model that kind of faithfulness, in a culture which, historically, has often been about promiscuity, is a very good thing to do."

....Asked whether the government was right to change the law on gay marriage, Ison said a commitment to being together was "the best pattern for how to flourish if you're going to be in a relationship ... whether you're gay or straight."

He added: "Marriage doesn't belong to the Church."
Read more from the Voices of Faith series on this blog.

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