Christians mixed over Tory leader’s pledge on marriage

-06/10/06

Christians have accus


Christians mixed over Tory leader’s pledge on marriage

-06/10/06

Christians have accused the Conservative party leader David Cameron of “selling marriage short”, whilst others are more optimistic after he made a general pledge to support all formalised relationships at the Conservative Party Conference.

In a speech to the Conservative Party conference, Mr Cameron called marriage “a great institution” which needed to be supported. However, to the dismay of some Christians, he also suggested that other types of relationship such as civil partnerships needed support and help.

Many evangelical Christians have contended that civil partnerships “undermine marriage”. Other Christians however have pointed out that Christian marriage is not dependent upon the law, and urged that the role of government not be to moralise but provide help and stability to all relationships wherever possible.

The Christian People’s Alliance (CPA) Party however were outraged as Cameron’s comments.

Commenting on the speech, President of the CPA Peter Flower, said: “David Cameron gave a disappointing and muted call to support marriage, with no specifics at all. It is now clear that by backing civil partnerships with equal legal status and promising homosexual couples equal financial rewards through the tax and benefits system, the Conservative Party views
gay partnerships and marriage as the same thing.

Peter Flower explained: “As a Christian Democratic party, the CPA believes marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock for raising children to grow into responsible adults. Homosexual couples cannot naturally have their own children or exercise the social responsibilities which go with that. Anything more for marriage is welcome, but the tragedy of relationship breakdown means greater urgency is needed to back the married family. If David Cameron rightly believes that family instability is the root of “almost every social problem”, then much more must be done to restore real choice to women and men about whether to stay in the workforce, or stay at home to raise and socialise children.”

Jonathan Bartley, from the thinktank Ekklesia however, who recently produced a paper on marriage reform, saw Cameron’s speech as a step in the right direction.

“Cameron’s comments mark a healthy departure from the moralising over marriage which has often characterised the Conservative party’s approach to family policy. His intent seems to be equality and justice in all relationships, as well as the promotion of commitment and he appears to be seeking to address the anomaly of a two tier system where heterosexual relationships are called one thing and same-sex relationships another.

“He has however ducked the issue of how support for one relationship such as marriage, disadvantages others such as lone parents who are struggling to make ends meet and need the most help. His approach still sounds paternalist, and it remains to be seen whether his proposals end in greater justice for the most vulnerable.”

You can read Ekklesia’s paper on marriage here

The full text of what David Cameron said about marriage:

“There’s something special about marriage. It’s not about religion. It’s not about morality. It’s about commitment.

“When you stand up there, in front of your friends and your family, in front of the world, whether it’s in a church or anywhere else, what you’re doing really means something. Pledging yourself to another means doing something brave and important. You are making a commitment. You are publicly saying: it’s not just about me, me me anymore. It is about we – together, the two of us, through thick and thin. That really matters.

“And by the way, it means something whether you’re a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and another man.

“That’s why we were right to support civil partnerships, and I’m proud of that. Of course not every marriage lasts, and many couples are much better off apart. Women must have an escape route from abusive relationships. Every married couple has rows and difficulties. But if you’ve made that public commitment, it just helps you try harder to work your problems through.

“We can argue for ever about whether favouring marriage means disadvantaging other arrangements. My approach is simple. If marriage rates went up, if divorce rates came down – if more couples stayed together for longer, would our society by better off? My answer is yes.

“But supporting marriage is not just about money, or tax breaks. It is insulting to the human spirit to believe that a relationship between two people is just about money, or even mainly about money. It isn’t.

So recognising marriage more directly in the tax system is not enough. Flexible working. Family centres. Relationship advice. All of these things matter. Let us as a society and as a culture value and recognise marriage more.


Christians mixed over Tory leader’s pledge on marriage

-06/10/06

Christians have accused the Conservative party leader David Cameron of “selling marriage short”, whilst others are more optimistic after he made a general pledge to support all formalised relationships at the Conservative Party Conference.

In a speech to the Conservative Party conference, Mr Cameron called marriage “a great institution” which needed to be supported. However, to the dismay of some Christians, he also suggested that other types of relationship such as civil partnerships needed support and help.

Many evangelical Christians have contended that civil partnerships “undermine marriage”. Other Christians however have pointed out that Christian marriage is not dependent upon the law, and urged that the role of government not be to moralise but provide help and stability to all relationships wherever possible.

The Christian People’s Alliance (CPA) Party however were outraged as Cameron’s comments.

Commenting on the speech, President of the CPA Peter Flower, said: “David Cameron gave a disappointing and muted call to support marriage, with no specifics at all. It is now clear that by backing civil partnerships with equal legal status and promising homosexual couples equal financial rewards through the tax and benefits system, the Conservative Party views
gay partnerships and marriage as the same thing.

Peter Flower explained: “As a Christian Democratic party, the CPA believes marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock for raising children to grow into responsible adults. Homosexual couples cannot naturally have their own children or exercise the social responsibilities which go with that. Anything more for marriage is welcome, but the tragedy of relationship breakdown means greater urgency is needed to back the married family. If David Cameron rightly believes that family instability is the root of “almost every social problem”, then much more must be done to restore real choice to women and men about whether to stay in the workforce, or stay at home to raise and socialise children.”

Jonathan Bartley, from the thinktank Ekklesia however, who recently produced a paper on marriage reform, saw Cameron’s speech as a step in the right direction.

“Cameron’s comments mark a healthy departure from the moralising over marriage which has often characterised the Conservative party’s approach to family policy. His intent seems to be equality and justice in all relationships, as well as the promotion of commitment and he appears to be seeking to address the anomaly of a two tier system where heterosexual relationships are called one thing and same-sex relationships another.

“He has however ducked the issue of how support for one relationship such as marriage, disadvantages others such as lone parents who are struggling to make ends meet and need the most help. His approach still sounds paternalist, and it remains to be seen whether his proposals end in greater justice for the most vulnerable.”

You can read Ekklesia’s paper on marriage here

The full text of what David Cameron said about marriage:

“There’s something special about marriage. It’s not about religion. It’s not about morality. It’s about commitment.

“When you stand up there, in front of your friends and your family, in front of the world, whether it’s in a church or anywhere else, what you’re doing really means something. Pledging yourself to another means doing something brave and important. You are making a commitment. You are publicly saying: it’s not just about me, me me anymore. It is about we – together, the two of us, through thick and thin. That really matters.

“And by the way, it means something whether you’re a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and another man.

“That’s why we were right to support civil partnerships, and I’m proud of that. Of course not every marriage lasts, and many couples are much better off apart. Women must have an escape route from abusive relationships. Every married couple has rows and difficulties. But if you’ve made that public commitment, it just helps you try harder to work your problems through.

“We can argue for ever about whether favouring marriage means disadvantaging other arrangements. My approach is simple. If marriage rates went up, if divorce rates came down – if more couples stayed together for longer, would our society by better off? My answer is yes.

“But supporting marriage is not just about money, or tax breaks. It is insulting to the human spirit to believe that a relationship between two people is just about money, or even mainly about money. It isn’t.

So recognising marriage more directly in the tax system is not enough. Flexible working. Family centres. Relationship advice. All of these things matter. Let us as a society and as a culture value and recognise marriage more.