THE TELEGRAPH: Homosexual couples could be allowed to “marry” in traditional religious ceremonies for the first time, a government minister has said.
Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, said the Coalition was considering allowing same-sex couples to include key religious elements in civil partnership ceremonies.
In a parliamentary answer, she disclosed that homosexual couples could be permitted to use “religious readings, music and symbols”.
This would make civil partnerships practically indistinguishable from traditional weddings as Parliament recently removed the bar on same-sex unions in churches and other places of worship through an amendment to Labour’s Equality Act.
The proposals will delight equality campaigners who believe civil partnership is a “second-class” status, but they prompted fierce opposition from mainstream Christian leaders who believe marriage can only take place between a man and a woman. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Friday, June 02, 2010
