Church seeks assurance of religious freedom on civil partnerships issue

by Karen Peake
Friday, June 24, 2011

The Church of England told the Government yesterday that it should have “unfettered freedom” to decide whether to permit civil partnerships on church premises.

In its submission on the last day of a Government consultation on the issue, the Church said its objective was to ensure that amendments to existing legislation continue to provide “unfettered freedom for each religious tradition to resolve these matters in accordance with its own convictions and its own internal procedures of governance”.

The consultation follows Parliament’s announcement last year that it planned to lift the prohibition on the registration of civil partnerships in places of worship.

The decision was welcomed by some faith groups, including the Quakers, but strongly opposed by some Christians who expressed fears that churches would be forced to conduct the ceremonies against their will. the rest