Do you believe that churches have a right to refuse marrying a same-sex couple?

We have a separation of church and state for a reason. Churches are free to refuse to marry people of mixed faiths. My church will not marry you if you are not Orthodox, and the same can be said for same-sex couples.

That said, churches have the right to not perform same-sex marriages.

 

They can, just as a church can also technically refuse to marry an interracial couple. Society will begin to start ostracizing churches that do this however, just as what has happened with segregationist churches.

Churches also cannot issue marriage licenses, which is how it should be. Only the state can give you a marriage license, and it's also possible to get married in a secular ceremony.

 

I think churches who are against us should not be forced to marry us. I think that since it is against their religion they shouldn't have to. Of course, if they refuse to marry gay people, they should also refuse to marry divorced people... But I haven't heard of a church doing that yet.

 

I think they refuse the right. Why would we want to be married by someone who is intolerant of the LGBT community anyway? Nonsense

 

Oh, no that's definitely a thing. Although, as will likely be the case with same-sex marriage, churches have become more flexible over time, as the risk of alienating more and more people increases.

ETA: I voted yes. Of course! And who wants to be married by a person that is completely against the entire thing anyway?

 

No. See this is how messed up people get with religion they say God loves everyone but yet they refer to a piece of paper saying being gay is an abomination. But it's not.

 

I don't think any person should be forced to do things that disagree with their faith (with certain limits, I mean if you're a nudist great but wear something in public). And personally, if I were to marry anyone I wouldn't want to be married by someone who HAD to but disagreed with my Union for whatever reason, that would sour the day anyways. Although, my church has officially accepted LGBT people, and their marriages as valid in the eyes of the lord so, no problem for me.

 

Using your all-loving religion to support your bigotry or cherrypicking verses to suit your needs isn't okay. If they really wanted to do the work of an all-loving god, then they wouldn't turn their backs on gay people.

 

Oh yeah that happens! If I wanted to marry a Catholic I would have to convert to them. Churches not marrying divorcee's, interracial couples or atheists is nothing new at all, divorcee's and atheists aren't seen as 'vulnerable minorities' so the media isn't interested in covering it.

 

i think they should have the right to sadly to say but hopefully over time the majority of churches will have achange of heart and accept gay marriages. Many already so progress being made and will continue to be made.

 

Yes, because we now live in a time where pro-LGBT Churches, Synagogues, etc... exist.

 

I voted to allow churches the right to refuse. However, I believe that if a church does not agree to marry everyone who wants to, then they should not be allowed to marry anyone for official purposes. In other words, the discriminating churches could marry people for religious purposes, but the couple would then have to also get married in a civil ceremony. If the church agrees to take all comers, then the civil ceremony would be waived and the marriage recognised by law.

 

Oh, my bad. I don't know very much about church being an atheist myself. Are there really ones still out there that won't marry interracial couples?

 

Whilst people can have a religious ceremony attached if they like, marriage is something sanctioned by the state. Why anybody would want to attach a religious ceremony to their marriage conducted by an institution which resents their union is hard to understand.

Conservative churches will in time be forced to address and change their position on gay couples as it becomes increasingly at odds with popular opinion to be in opposition. Forcing them now to conduct marriages between same sex couples would not really be productive though.

---------- Post added 26th Jun 2015 at 08:47 PM ----------

No and tbh I find it hard to believe there's any churches in the UK who would refuse to marry a divorcee or atheist.

 

Yes, they do. But this does NOT mean that these churches are entitled to or deserving of respect or support if they do refuse a same-sex couple.

 

I mean everybody has the right to be stupid

 

Their club, their rules. As long as they don't try to impose their ideas to the whole society, I don't care at all.

 

Yes, if it's against their religion then I think it is sort of enforcing them to do something that goes against their practices. Also, if we started forcing the churches to do so, it would create a big fight, and more "evidence" as to why same sex marriage is immoral/unconstitutional...etc

 

Here in the U.S. I know of several churches who will not marry someone who is a divorcee, or someone who is an atheist, or even people of two different sections of Christianity, or someone who is pregnant, or a bunch of other things.