Women more likely than men to say they support the idea
Church of England bishops have put forward proposals to permit the blessing of same-sex civil marriages for the first time, but have refused to allow their clergy to conduct same-sex marriages.
Although welcoming the church’s plans to bless same-sex married couples, the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has refused to personally conduct them while Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, said he would offer blessings to same-sex couples.
Now, new Profiles data reveals that Anglicans are more likely than not to say that the Church of England should conduct same-sex marriages. Almost half of Britons who regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England (48%) say same-sex marriages should be allowed in church compared to 36% who say they don’t support the idea.
The wider public are slightly more in favour of the Church of England conducting same-sex marriages, with the majority of Britons (55%) in support and only 28% against.
While Anglican men tend to oppose the idea by 46% to 40%, more than half of Anglican women (55%) say they would like to see same-sex couples allowed to marry in church compared to 28% who would not. There is less of a gender divide among the general public with both men (51%) and women (60%) in support of same-sex marriages taking place in church.
More than half of Anglicans aged under 60 support same-sex marriages in church
Although more than half of Church of England members aged 18 to 59 (54-56%) are in favour of same-sex marriages being held in church, Anglicans aged 70 and over are against the idea by 48% to 36%.
There is a similar age split among the wider public too with three in five Britons aged 18 to 59 (57-61%) saying that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry in church compared to 37% of those aged 70 and over.
Photo: Getty
