More Anglicans back same sex marriage than oppose it
By Ben Kelly
A YouGov poll has found that for the first time, more Anglicans support same sex marriage than oppose it.
Out of 1,500 Anglicans polled, 45% said same-sex marriage was right, and 37% thought it was wrong.
It’s a big change since the last, similar poll three years ago, which found only 38% of Anglicans in support and 47% believing it to be wrong.
The Church of England’s official stance is that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
There were clear generational differences in the poll’s results, with support highest among younger Anglicans: 72% of people age 25-34 said they were in favour. The lowest support rate was found in men over 55 – in effect, the group that dominates church leadership.
Looking more widely at the general population, 56% of the 6,276 British people surveyed backed same sex marriage, while 27% of people opposed it.
The survey was commissioned by Jayne Ozanne, a gay evangelical Anglican and a member of the Church of England’s General Synod. She said the results show that the Church is, “seriously out of step” with members, “and even more so with society at large.”
She added, “The data conclusively proves that the shift in attitude is towards acceptance, and whilst there is as we would anticipate generational differences – change is happening at a rapid rate amongst all age groups.”
A spokesman for the Church of England said: “The poll suggests an inconclusive breadth of view with less than half of Anglicans in England expressing support, a third opposed and a fifth uncertain.
“The process of shared conversations is continuing within the Church, with general synod expected to be part of the conversation process in the summer.”
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