Same-sex marriage in the UK-the law and its impact on RE – Jim Robinson
31 July, 2013
This year the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman has changed. It will undoubtedly impact on how marriage is taught in schools. Section 403 (1A)(a) of the Education Act 1996 states that the Secretary of State for Education has a duty to issue guidance to ensure that pupils learn about ‘the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and the bringing up of children’ especially in relation to compulsory sex education. It will impact on education at all levels including RE lessons and RS courses.
The standard approach of the Church of England to marriage is that it involves the ‘intimate and permanent relationship of a man and a woman’ as instituted by God, in other words for heterosexual couples only. Up until recently in the UK the only way that same-sex couples could have their union recognised was through a Civil Partnership ceremony conducted in a registry office. Some churches offered blessings, but marriage was out of the question. Now same-sex couples can get married in the UK either in a civil or a religious setting, with Stonewall suggesting that it involve the former without there being a mandate for religious organisations to celebrate it. Some Christians, such as Quakers and the Metropolitan Community Church, as well as Reform and Conservative Jews and progressive and modern forms of most of the world religions (Sikhism apparently being the exception) support the right for same-sex couples to marry. By summer of 2014 same-sex marriages will start to take place here in the UK, but not within the Church of England and Wales, despite the head of the Church, the Queen, giving royal assent to same-sex marriage.
There are now 13 countries worldwide such as New Zealand, France and recently the United Kingdom that allow same-sex marriage. Several other countries or parts of countries such as Australia, Mexico and the USA are in the process of legalising it. The Republican Party in the USA recently decided to legalise same sex marriage and The Supreme Court in America ruled that the federal definition of marriage in the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned the recognition of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional discrimination. Christian organisations in the USA such as Exodus International which sought to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight has ended its ministry and apologised over its stance that gay people could never be acceptable to God. It appears that the society wide view in favour of same-sex marriage has meant that support for traditional conservative religious views have dwindled along with financial backing for such views. The younger generation in particular have turned their back on anti-gay views even within the evangelical and fundamentalist churches.
In contrast to the UK where there was little public protest over the issues and where there were cheers in the House of Commons, in France there were violent protests from traditionalists. The Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, had proposed the legislation in the first place and was determined to see it through despite minority backbench opposition from within his own party. Nevertheless it has had cross-party support from the outset as well as broad public support, canvassed through polls, demonstrating to some commentators that Britain was a much more cosmopolitan nation rather than a traditionalist one. In the view of Stephen Fielding, a political scientist from the University of Nottingham “It was an issue whose time had come. To oppose it seemed slightly strange” (The Christian Science Monitor).
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passed its third and final reading in the House of Lords on 15th July 2013 and has now had royal assent from the Queen and parliamentary backing. Equalities Minister Maria Miller was quoted as saying “This is a historic moment that will resonate in many people’s lives” and campaigner Benjamin Cohen commented “Giving gay couples the right to marry will make our nation a more tolerant, open and welcoming place to live”. Legally it will protect the rights of married couples in relation to pension schemes, inheritance, life assurance, child maintenance, next of kin and immigration rights. Civil Partnerships remain distinct from same-sex marriage and carry some of the same legal benefits of marriage and couples in Civil Partnerships can convert these to marriage if they wish, but are not under obligation to do so and may choose to remain as Civil Partners.
It means that lesbian, gay or bisexual people will have the same rights as heterosexual couples to get married with the same rights, responsibilities and choices this involves. It means that the Bill will become law in spring 2014 and same-sex marriages in England and Wales can occur soon after, possibly in the summer. Under the law, churches have to ‘opt in’ to offer weddings, though the Church of England and Wales is banned from doing so, mainly because of their strong opposition to same-sex marriage and safe-guarding it against legal claims that, as the established church in the country, it has to marry anyone who requests it. It has yet to be decided whether Humanists can offer same-sex weddings. Quakers are likely to welcome and endorse the legal recognition of same-sex marriage arguing that the light of God is in all and so the inherent worth of every individual should be respected in loving relationships.
There will undoubtedly be those within the Church of England who will support same-sex marriage such as Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham and chair of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education who regards its stance as hypocritical and incoherent, arguing that the ‘stupidity and hysteria’ of the anti-same-sex marriage campaigners has ‘considerably smoothed the passage of the legislation’. It is clear that the Church of England has already given permission for wedding-style services for couples in civil partnerships despite its official opposition to same-sex marriage (The Telegraph 21st July 2013). The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, says he has ‘no truck with homophobia” and is impressed with the level of commitment of gay couples. Several ‘blessing’ ceremonies have taken places in churches under the guise of ‘thanksgiving’ or ‘dedication’ and there have been dedications of Civil Partnerships in Southwark Cathedral and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. ‘Accommodations’ and dealing with matters on a case-by-case basis is encouraged within the Church, indicating a change of stance if not policy. The Church in Wales may go even further, reconsider its teachings on homosexuality and cut links with the state over gay marriage.
Opponents to same-sex relationships have compared it to bigamy, incest and slavery. At one stage Lord Dear tried to introduce a clause that would ‘protect’ teachers from ‘promoting’ same-sex marriage. Some opponents of same-sex marriage tried to rename it as ‘civil union’, allowing teachers to opt out of having to teach facts about it and making it law that pubic servants can refuse to serve gay people. Biblical passages (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 as well as Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) warn against sex between people of the same sex and the consequences of such sinful acts, but there is no specific ban on homosexuality nor did Jesus make any pronouncement on it.
Supporters of same sex marriage say that it will mean that same-sex relationships are seen to be just as valid as heterosexual ones and offer the same legal rights. Home Secretary Theresa May said “Put simply, it’s not right that a couple who love each other and want to formalise their commitment to each other should be denied the right to marry”. In other words it ends discrimination against lesbian and gay couples and removes their second-class status. It also goes towards combating homophobic bullying in schools.
The legalisation on same-sex marriage in the UK does raise interesting questions about the relationship between the religious and the secular, the church and state, human rights and the law and not least the rights of teachers and pupils. It will be interesting to see how the Secretary of State responds and what guidance, if any, is forthcoming on how teachers should teach about same-sex marriage. Teaching about Civil Partnerships and attitudes to sexual orientation is already part of Religious Studies courses so presumably this will adapt to incorporate the changes in the law. But there are wider implications, not least for lesbian and gay teachers and pupils and how teacher training courses, unions, head teachers and schools themselves can offer support and guidance. No doubt the next few years will provide some of the answers, but equally there will be further questions and dilemmas to solve.
Countries that allow same-sex marriage:
Argentina
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
France
Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
South Africa
Sweden
UK
For a discussion document on how Coalition for Marriage (which opposes same-sex marriage) believes this topic will impact on primary education see the following link, which includes examples of children’s books illustrating the lives of same-sex couples with children:
http://c4m.org.uk/downloads/schools.pdf