Gay marriages and civil partnerships in church

Post Reply New Topic

Gay marriage is not legal in every state so they are not yet equal. You cannot justify asking them to stop based on that. Also no one is suggesting to make a church marry anyone that would be asinine, they are suggesting allowing the option for the churches who are not opposed to such things as well as allowing them to have legally recognized marriage.

You appear to be labouring under a fundamental misconception. Christianity does not take a single, uniform position on homosexuality. Many individual denomination do not have a single uniform position on homosexuality--the Anglican communion includes dioceses in which blessings of same sex unions were permitted prior to legalization of same sex marriages, and dioceses in which homosexual conduct of any kind is considered anathema.

Let's consider the analagous issue of remarriage of a divorced person. Such a marriage is perfectly legal, with the possible exceptions of marriages or remarriages celebrated in Malta, Philippines, the Vatican or Eire (for divorces granted before 1995). But, the position of many churches (e.g. the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church) is clear--no person with a living spouse may remarry in the church. Why were the perfectly legal remarriages of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal conducted in a registry office and the Church of Scotland, respectively? Because no legal compulsion can properly be brought to bear compelling a religious institution (in this case, the Church of England) to perform a marriage that is contrary to that religion's teachings.

But there is absolutely nothing to invalidate a marriage between previously married people in a church which allows for such marriages (q.v. the remarriage of the Princess Royal.)

The same is properly true of same sex marriages. Different denominations have different approaches.

Some have a blanket approval: the United Church of Christ, the Metropolitan Community Church and the Society of Friends (the Quakers) are all examples of these.

Some allow individual diocese, parishes or congregations to address the question: the United Church of Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church all provide for such an approach. (As do the Reconstruction, Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism--but the dicussion seems limited to Churches).

The question is somewhat moot in jurisdicitions in which same sex couples are prohibited from legally marrying. But even in these jurisdictions, some churches have been unequivocal in their support: the Church of Sweden and the Church of Scotland are two prime examples.

So the answer to the question of whether a same sex couple should be permitted to marry in a church can only be answered by the proper authority of that church, and not by you, by me, by Parliament or by the Courts.

Visagrunt, there's too many religions within religions.

I don't think any church should be made to change their poilicies cause of pressure from gay rights groups or Elton John. If a certain church does allow gay people to get married, then I guess thats up to them yeah. But again, there's too many religions within religions. I'm sure if there was a God, it'd be pretty simple.