We Don’t Need Christian Marriages

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has reacted with contempt to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement that the Church of England will not sanction same-sex marriages.

The Archbishop, who gave the assurance on the Breakfast with Frost programme on Sunday 8 April 2001, added that “marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman” and “the Church draws a line at practising homosexuals”.

GALHA spokesperson George Broadhead said: “The Church of England’s opposition to gay marriage is contemptible but hardly surprising given its official condemnation of gay sexual relationships. However, lesbian and gay couples don’t need Christian marriages. They can take heart from the fact that the Church of England is steadily in decline (only about 2 per cent of the population attend its churches regularly) and the vast majority of heterosexual marriages now take place at registry offices.

“Lesbian and gay couples don’t need the sanction of a religion that bases its sexual morality on a 2,000-year-old ‘holy’ book. They must campaign to force the British Government to follow the example of the Dutch who take a much more liberal, humanistic stance on lesbian and gay rights and have recently introduced legislation to enable same-sex couples have a legally binding civic marriage ceremony equivalent to that provided for their heterosexual counterparts.”