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| Archbishops’ Appointments Secretary Mr Stephen Knott and Major General Alastair Bruce outside St John’s Church Edinburgh. Source: The Edinburgh Reporter |
Quoting from The Independent, Church of England gay activist Jayne Ozanne claims that the majority of Anglicans believe same-sex marriage is right. Allegedly a survey commissioned by the Ozanne Foundation found that the level of overall support has risen in the past decade, from 38% believing in 2013 to 55% in 2022:
"The majority of Anglicans living in England support same-sex marriage, according to a survey. Some 55% of people said they believe in same-sex marriage, the poll found, while almost three quarters (72%) of those under 50 indicated their support. The level of overall support has risen in the past decade, from 38% believing it was right in 2013 to 48% in 2020 and 55% this year."
Not so says consultant statistician, the Rev Peter Ould. Writing in Premier Christianity he says: "The Ozanne Foundation has published a new piece of research, conducted by YouGov, that claims that support for same-sex marriage is increasing among Anglicans. But what does that actually mean, and are the Anglicans surveyed in any sense connected to the people actually worshipping in the pews of the Church of England?
"The survey claims that 55 per cent of Anglicans believe that same-sex marriage is “right” and The Times has a headline that the 'Majority of Church of England worshippers back gay marriage’. If you dig just a bit into the data however, you realise that the survey says nothing of the sort...
"This survey doesn’t tell us anything more than that non-Church attenders believe the same things as other non-Church attenders who are simply more honest about not believing what Christianity believes. The Church of England should be led by the Bible and God, not an opinion poll."
Read Peter Ould's analysis here.
Nevertheless Pink News claims that a majority of English Anglicans now back same-sex marriage, despite the Church of England’s refusal to perform or bless them while the Very Reverend Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury and chairman of the [Ozanne] foundation, said the results show the church is “manifestly out of step with what the majority” of people think.
Fake news, misrepresentation, half truths and appeals to public opinion form no basis for changing what the Church believes and has taught through the ages. That has wrecked much of Anglicanism and if left unchecked will bedevil the Catholic Church in the same way.
