Methodist church to allow same-sex marriage in the UK

PRETORIA – The Methodist Church has become the largest religious denomination in the United Kingdom (UK) to allow same-sex marriages, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The British broadcaster said the proposals to allow same-sex marriages was passed with 254 votes in favour and 46 against.

However, freedom of conscience clauses mean ministers will not be forced to conduct such weddings if they oppose the move, the broadcaster wrote.

In a story on its website, BBC added that same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. However it is welcomed in the Scottish Episcopal Church, the United Reformed Church and the Quakers in Britain.

According to the news channel, the Methodist Church is Britain’s fourth largest Christian denomination with about 164,000 members across more than 4,000 churches.

One of the country’s newspapers, Metro UK, it cited Campaign group Dignity & Worth, which champions the LGBTQ+ community in the Methodist Church, saying the Methodist Conference has taken a momentous step on the road to justice and inclusion.

‘After many years of, sometimes, painful conversations, the church has now agreed to allow local congregations to open their buildings to host the marriages of same-sex couples.

‘The members of Dignity & Worth have been working and praying hard to see this day, recognising that the hard work of implementing this decision still lies ahead of us,“ the group was quoted as saying.

According to The Guardian UK, Jayne Ozanne, a campaigner for LGBT+ equality and a member of the Church of England’s ruling body, said the vote reflected the significant shift that there has been among Christian attitudes in England, and shows how so many people would echo the recent call of Bishop Paul Bayes to allow same-sex marriage in the Church of England.