John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, speak out against gay marriage

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, has called for the government not to legalise gay marriage and said any such move would make David Cameron a “dictator”.

Sentamu, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, set out his opposition to the legalisation of gay marriage. He is the second most senior figure within the Church of England to signal his opposition to proposals to legalise same-sex unions. The Catholic Church has also been highly critical of such plans – especially in Scotland – but has attracted wide-spread criticism for its outspoken and vicious attacks on gay rights.

Sentamu, in his interview with the Daily Telegraph, said ‘Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is. It is set in tradition and history and you can’t just change it overnight, no matter how powerful you are. We’ve seen dictators do it in different contexts and I don’t want to redefine very clear social structures that have been in existence for a long time and then overnight the state believes it could go in a particular way.’

Critics would argue that the Church has often dictated to the people what they should and should not believe so it now has little right to protest. The Church will also been seen as out of step with modern society which, the majority of, see’s no reasons why a couple in love can not marry. The Church may find it increasingly hard to defend its position on gay marriage as it becomes more vocal on the subject.

However, adopting a popular attitude isn’t on Sentamu’s agenda as he told the Daily Telegraph ‘The Church has always stood out – Jesus actually was the odd man out. I’d rather stick with Jesus than be popular because it looks odd.’ But would Jesus really deny a couple in love the right to marry?

In March the government is to hold a public consultation on the possible introduction of same-sex marriages to the UK. All three leaders of the main political parties have stated their support for such moves and it is widely expected that gay marriage will be legalised at some point within the next few years. A similar consultation has taken place in Scotland as the SNP led administration there plans to move ahead with at its own speed in regards to legalising same-sex unions. {jcomments off}