The Baptist Union of Great Britain has decided to maintain its stance that accredited ministers are not allowed to be married to someone of the same sex.
Following a two-year process of “prayerful and careful listening”, the governing Council concluded that its rules concerning marriage and ministry “will remain unchanged”.
The denomination had come under pressure to change since 2022, when a letter was sent to the Council demanding that the definition of marriage as being “exclusively as between a man and a woman” be dropped from the rules governing ministers.
During the process, activists from pro-LGBT groups were invited to give presentations promoting ‘equal marriage’ and ‘inclusivity’ to Council members.
Nonetheless, in the vote last month, just 27 Council members voted in favour of change while 49 opposed it, leading to a reaffirmation that “an accredited minister should not themselves be in a same-sex marriage”.
At C4M we are glad to see a church group resisting the pressure to adopt fashionable views on marriage. It can serve as an example to other groups and denominations rocked by pressures to embrace same-sex marriage. However, the Baptist Union does not prevent individual churches from hosting same-sex weddings if they wish. To really take a stand for what’s best, it should reconsider that position.