Anglican Church needs to adapt to gay marriage, archbishop says

‘I listened and I heard the roar of revolution,’ Justin Welby says

The Anglican Church needs to reconsider and adapt after the “crushing” defeat of marriage reform in Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury told a church conference, according to The Telegraph.

“I spoke against it and voted against it but I listened and I heard the roar of revolution,” Archbishop Justin Welby said in a speech.

The Anglican Church lobbied against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, legalizing gay marriage in England and Wales, which was signed into law on July 17.

“Those of us against the act were utterly crushed in the voting again, and again, and again,” Welby said. “Popular opinion is not a case for changing obedience to God but . . . an overwhelming change which affects the opinions of the majority of people, especially our young people, is a revolution we must pay attention to.”

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, told parishioners “the legislation does not, and cannot, change our understanding of marriage,” the BBC reports.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose