People want churches to ‘keep up with modern attitudes’ and carry out same-sex weddings, Justine Greening claimed in July.
The Education Secretary and equalities minister said she did not want to ‘prescribe’ how faith groups deal with the issue, but that ‘it is important that the church in a way keeps up and is part of a modern country’.
Authoritarianism
But commentator Melanie McDonagh challenged the comments, saying that they were evidence of the ‘authoritarian aspect of modern liberalism’.
Speaking to Sky News as proposals to liberalise the law on transsexualism were revealed, Greening acknowledged the ‘massive debate’ around introducing same-sex marriage. She highlighted the fact that many churches, including the Church of England, did not want to hold same-sex marriages.
But, claiming that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was a big step forward, Greening said attitudes have now changed.
According to a report from a taxpayer-funded group in July, the interpretation of sacred texts should be challenged, ‘queer theology’ should be promoted in seminaries and Sunday schools should talk about abortion.
The remarks came in a document from Wilton Park, a foreign affairs discussion organisation, tied to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Dismissing marriage as ‘part of heteronormative society’, it affirms polyamorous and bisexual relationships and suggests the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ are not the only way to describe gender.
The report was produced after a meeting on ‘the intersection of faith and human rights of LGBTI+ persons’ – attended by 64 unnamed people from 27 countries. The meeting was held in association with the Arcus Foundation, a well-financed pro-LGBT group.
