The Sydney Anglican Church Is Preparing To Ban Same-Sex Weddings
They've also worried about "transgender ideology".
The Sydney Anglican diocese is set to introduce a policy that will ban same-sex weddings and the promotion of “transgender ideology” on church property.
According to internal documents seen by Fairfax Media, the church will debate a policy that would prohibit church-owned buildings, including schools, from hosting same-sex marriages or same-sex wedding receptions. The policy specifies that it would be inappropriate for church property to be used to advocate “transgender ideology (e.g gender-fluidity)” or “expressions of human sexuality contrary to our doctrine of marriage”.
The documents also reveal that the church sees the current debate around the right of religious schools to fire gay teachers as a “key threat”.
The proposal comes after the Anglican diocese of Sydney donated $1 million to the failed “No” campaign during last year’s marriage equality postal survey.
South Sydney bishop Michael Stead, who authored the proposal, told Fairfax that the move “doesn’t represent a change in our position”, but simply consolidates previous policies “into a single document”.
“Because the federal government has changed its definition of marriage, the policy makes clear the church’s doctrine of marriage has not changed and that property use scenarios relate only to man/woman marriage,” he said.
But news of the proposal has still sparked a backlash. Equal Voices, an LGBTIQ Christian group, warned that the policy would prohibit employees within the church from speaking out in favour of equal rights, and urged its followers to express their concerns.