Evangelicals are celebrating after the Baptist Union (BU) reaffirmed that its ministers cannot be in same-sex marriages.
The decision was taken by the 90-strong BU Council following extensive discussions of what it termed its ‘Ministerial Recognition Rules on Ministry and Marriage’. That process included a survey of Baptist Churches and ministers that was ‘designed to give Council a clearer picture of how our churches are engaging with issues of marriage and sexuality’ – including same-sex marriage.
After the discussion the BU issued a statement that said: ‘The recent consultation and Council decision centres around whether accredited Baptist ministers can be in a same-sex marriage. Council has now voted to keep the rules for accredited ministers unchanged. Therefore, married accredited ministers in the Baptist Union can only be in a marriage which is defined exclusively as between a man and a woman.’
