It was great to be able to contribute to this documentary, but it’s sad to see that the churches are still not treating people with dignity and equality a decade on from this important legislative change.
In Northern Ireland, only 2% of religious officiants are currently able to perform same-sex marriages. This is because none of the main Christian denominations over here have ‘opted-in’ to the equality legislation. This prevents even those individual ministers who ARE willing to marry same-sex couples from legally doing so.
Instead of affirming the dignity of all humans as sacred image bearers of the divine, they are continuing to discriminate against LGBT+ people of faith by preventing them from having a church wedding like everyone else.
If churches were refusing to marry people based on their skin colour, as many did not so long ago, we would rightly be having a conversation about racism in the church. It’s on all of us now to challenge the increasingly sacralised homophobia at the heart of institutional Christianity – but which has nothing to do with actual faith in Christ.
Change isn’t going to come from the top down. If your church or denomination still hasn’t opted into the legislation, challenge them as to why they are continuing to discriminate. This isn’t just hurting the LGBT+ community, it’s hurting all of us.
We have nothing to fear from celebrating and affirming love in all its diverse forms. When it comes to the body of Christ, however, “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” 1 Cor 12:26
Ten years on from the UK’s first gay weddings, how equal is equal marriage?
(Feed generated with FetchRSS)
