I think it’s about time for the Church of England to be disestablished, isn’t it? The latest outbreak of whining over gay marriage is surely the final straw; it’s been looking for a long time as if Church and Country are in a dysfunctional marriage, staying together “for the sake of the kids,” and fewer than ever of those kids really care any more.
In fact, I’d suggest that the vast majority of people who tick the “CofE” box on forms do so not because they are actually CofE members, but because they still feel slightly ashamed about putting “atheist.”
The sheer spite of the Church of England trying to force its view that other organisations mustn’t be allowed to perform gay marriages, in case they too might be asked to one day, is breathtaking, and argument enough that their Bishops are unfit to vote on legislation with fairness and equality.
It’s impolite to denigrate other people’s faith, but the actions of the CofE with regard to gay marriage make it extremely tempting, to be honest. How am I expected to feel about an organisation that wields such power, doing so purely to further discrimination? It does so in the name of faith, but that same organisation would happily assist my father were he to embark upon a fifth (probably equally doomed and adulterous) marriage, yet feels that I should not even be allowed to have one.
If you’re reading this post before Thursday 14th of June, I urge you to fill in the consultation response on Equal Marriage in the UK. And remember – this is a matter of equality, not of religion. The Quakers and Liberal Judaism in the UK both support equality, as do other faith groups.
The CofE would stop those organisations from running their own places of worship in the way they want. So, it’s time to disestablish the Church of England, and let it go its own way. If that’s the price of Equal Marriage, it’s a price well worth paying.
