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Quakers back gay marriage
By: Nigel Robinson

Quakers have approved gay marriage

Today the Quakers have backed gay marriage.

In doing so they have become the first mainstream religious group in the country to approve of same-sex marriage.

 At the Quaker’s annual gathering this week in York, they agreed to “treat same-sex committed relationships in the same way as opposite sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses.’

Michael Hutchinson, of Quakers in Britain, said: ‘We recognise that many homosexual people play a full part in the life of the Society of Friends.

‘Many of our meetings have told us that there are homosexual couples who consider themselves to be married and believe this is as much a testimony of divine grace as a heterosexual marriage. They miss the public recognition of this in a religious ceremony.

"We hope our discussions this week will help us recognise, in love, the friend whose experience is not our own and will lead us forward in exploring what true equality means."

The decision was welcomed by human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, who said:

‘The vote by the Quakers to open up marriage to same-sex couples, on exactly the same basis as heterosexual couples, is an honourable, courageous, trail-blazing decision.


"It exposes the homophobia of other faiths that refuse to recognise love and commitment between couples of the same sex, and it specifically exposes their denial of religious marriage to same-sex couples,

The Quakers in Britain have acknowledged same-sex partnerships since the 1960s and have considered same-sex blessings since 1987.