A new survey found that over half of Anglicans believe that same-sex marriage is "right" despite it being opposed to by the church.
A new survey conducted by YouGov between February 22 and 27 on 5,120 adult respondents showed that 55% of self-identified Anglicans support same sex marriage, a rise from last year's results. In fact, nine years ago in 2013, 38% of Anglicans said that same-sex marriage was "right," a figure that increased to 45% just two years later in 2015. The figure continued to climb to up to 48% in 2020.
According to the Christian Headlines, the survey conducted last month found that only 29% of Anglicans said same-sex marriage was "wrong," a figure that saw a major decrease from 2017 when 47% said it was "wrong." In addition, between 15% to 19% of Anglicans admitted they "don't know" if same-sex marriage is right or wrong, a statistic that remained steady since 2003.
The YouGov survey also found that Anglican females were more likely to support same-sex marriage with 62% of women saying so, compared to only 44% of Anglican men who believed the same. In the age demographic, an overwhelming majority of 73% of Anglicans aged 25 to 29 said that same-sex marriage is "right," compared to 64% of 18 to 24 year olds who believe the same. Meanwhile, 57% of Anglicans aged 50 to 64 years old believed that same-sex marriage was "right," while 64% of Anglicans aged 65 and older said the same.
In the U.S., the Pew Research Center found in 2015 that the acceptance of homosexuality across American Christianity has increased. At the time, 54% of Americans who identified as Christian said that homosexuality should be "accepted, rather than discouraged, by society." The survey found that while the figure is still lower than shares of religiously unaffiliated people, of which 83% believed the same and the shares of non-Christian faiths, 76% of which said the same, the Christian figure has in fact risen by up to 10 points since a similar study was conducted in 2007.
The YouGov survey was commissioned by the Ozanne Foundatiopn, an organization advocating for the LGBT cause, which expressed joy over the increasing Anglican support for same-sex marriage. Jayne Ozanne, an LGBT church campaigner and former member of the Church of England's Archbishop's Council highlighted the "overwhelming majority" of Anglicans who showed support for same-sex marriage.
Ozanne said the results of the survey "[underlined] the urgent need for the Church of England hierarchy to bring forward proposals to accept and celebrate same-sex relationships."
Ozanne added that the group has "waited long enough" for "over five years" since they were "promised a 'new radical Christian inclusion' by Archbishop Justin [Welby]."
The Church of England declared on its website that "the law prevents ministers of the Church of England from carrying out same-sex marriages," the Christian Post reported. Critics and conservatives have expressed their opposition to idea of changing the church's stance on same-sex marriage.
University lecturer Sam Margrave took to Twitter to question, "What is the Biblical basis for such a change? The majority of the public also support abortion, sex before marriage and capital punishment. Do you also want to see the Church change its policies on those issues based on public opinion?"
