Today’s announcement in the House of Commons should have been
a cause for celebration.
Indeed, in many ways it is.
The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to introduce legislation to
enable same-sex couples to marry. More
than that, it has pulled back from earlier plans to prohibit religious groups
from celebrating same-sex marriages.
Both these are to be warmly welcomed.
But as I listened to the statement by Maria Miller today
there were two areas which left me profoundly sad.
Firstly, the vast majority of the statement was devoted not
to joyful news for LGB&T couples, but instead to the level of protection
for churches and other religious groups when the proposed legislation comes
into force.
This is not, of course the Government’s fault. It is the Church which has forced its way to
the top of this agenda. The Church
of England’s response to the Government consultation earlier this year displayed
alarming levels of defensive self-interest while ignoring or patronising the
hopes and aspirations of same-sex couples.
Statements by Roman Catholic leaders have been even more offensive.
As a result, today’s statement, welcome as it was, said more
about the Church than it did about the longing among many same-sex couples to
express their love and commitment in the ultimate expression of Marriage.
My second sadness however, is more serious, as it comes from
an announcement which will have far reaching consequences.
While the opportunity will be created for churches in general
to ‘opt in’ to celebrating same-sex Marriages, Anglican churches will not have this
provision. The statement today made it
clear that one of the ‘quadruple locks’ to protect religious belief and
practice, will be specific legislation making it illegal for the Church of
England (and Church in Wales) to conduct same-sex marriages.
For me and many others this will be a safeguard too far.
It will mean that even when (in years to come) the CofE
changes its mind, it will require a change in primary legislation before
same-sex marriages can take place in parish churches. Unlike other religious institutions, the CofE
will not be able to vote to ‘opt in’ – it will have to ask the Government to
change to law.
This has been presented as a further reassurance to the Church
of England (& Wales) but it only reassures those who want to stop same-sex marriage
in the first place. There are many
others who have been appalled by the Church response to these issues. We do not want the CofE excluded from the
ability to ‘opt in’ when that view achieves a majority. We do not want to be treated differently from
other churches and religious groups. We
do not want to see such discrimination cast into law.
If the Church of England welcomes these new ‘safe-guards’ the
real effect of the ‘quadruple lock’
announced today will be to ensure that LGB&T couples are left in no doubt
that the Church of England is locking and bolting the door to them for as long
as it possibly can. It will send out a
clear message – “You are not welcome here.”
If the CofE welcomes these safe-guards, once again it will be
seeking to protect itself at the expense of others. Once again, it will be putting its own
interests first.
How far we
have departed from the famous words of William Temple when he said, “The
Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its
members”. If the CofE welcomes these
safeguards today, it will be demonstrating that the Church of England only now exists
to protect itself against social change – in relation to women, in relation to
LGB&T people, and in relation to the State.
The trouble with locked doors is that they tend of
keeping everyone out who doesn’t have the right key. Is that really the kind of church we want to
be?
