A milestone poll today revealed huge support for gay marriage among Britons — including from people who describe themselves as religious.
Seven in 10 members of the public back the proposal, rising to 82 per cent of those under 50. Among people of faith, support ran at 58 per cent.
The figures, based on a YouGov poll of 2,000 people, were announced in the five-yearly survey of public.
attitudes towards gay and lesbian people published by gay rights group Stonewall.
It came out on the day that the Church of England launched a new attack on the Government’s proposal to give same-sex couples the same right to a civil marriage as straight people.
Bishops argued that the step would open the door to legal challenges to the church’s refusal to carry out such ceremonies, undermining the 500-year-old ties between church and state.
Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said today’s poll showed that the clerics who have compared “loving same-sex relationships to polygamy and bestiality” were out of touch.
However, he added: “The polling also shows the scale of the challenge we continue to face. Two-thirds of young people witnessed homophobic bullying in their own school.”
Prime Minister David Cameron is pushing gay marriage despite strong opposition from some Tory MPs.
The Bishop of Leicester, Tim Stevens, said the Government was pushing too fast. But he insisted on BBC radio that the church was not anti-gay.
He said: “I have many friends who are gay, we have absolutely first-class clergy who are gay. Some of them are in civil partnerships. I profoundly value their ministry and their friendship and I’m very fond of them.”
Justice minister Crispin Blunt said the proposals would specifically protect religious groups from being forced to carry out gay marriages.
