Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
David Cameron has criticised the Church of England over its attitudes to homosexuality, calling for it to accept equal rights for gays.
In an interview with the gay magazine Attitude, Mr Cameron said that “our Lord Jesus” would back equality and gay rights if he were alive. He said that he did not want to get into a row with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, but the Church should recognise that equal rights for gays was “essential”.
Mr Cameron apologised last summer on behalf of his party for the Section 28 legislation banning promotion of homosexuality in schools.
The Tory leader said that it was “worth looking” at changing civil partnerships to marriage but at the moment he favoured staying in the current situation. where we are.
He said he believed that children did best when there were two parents to help to bring them up and that “the ideal adoption is finding a mum and dad, but there will be occasions when gay couples make very good adoptive parents. So I support gay adoption.”
Mr Cameron, who worships at a liberal High Anglican church in Kensington, was asked: “Do you think the right of gay children to have a safe education trumps the right of faith schools to teach that homosexuality is a sin?”He said: answered: “Basically yes — that’s the short answer to that, without getting into a long religious exegesis. I mean, I think, yes. I think . . . (long pause) . . . I don’t want to get into an enormous row with the Archbishop here. But I think the CChurch has to do some of the things that the Conservative Party has been through — sorting this issue out and recognising that full equality is a bottom line full essential.”
He agreed that faith-based organisations and charities should be encouraged to become a multifaith group, but should not be allowed to discriminate in services they provide.
“We shouldn’t force you to become a multi-faith group. You can be a single-faith group. But you must not discriminate in the provision of your services. It seems to me that is the key distinction that you have to make.”
Mr Cameron was asked if the Tory party still had a problem with homophobia. “Honestly, conservative parties do always include some people of very strong religious faith, and that is true in the Conservative Party. I think it’s also true in some parts of the Labour Party too, actually. It’s always been the case, but I think the idea now is there is a shared consensus bedrock view that this is a party for equal rights whether you are male, female, black, white, urban, rural, straight or gay.
“Actually I could find you quite a lot of relatively religious conservatives who totally agree that we must never go back. My Parliamentary Private Secretary Des Swayne is a good example, someone of deep religious faith, but who argues very passionately with people like him that they have just got it wrong. That if our Lord Jesus was around today he would very much be backing a strong agenda on equality and equal rights, and not judging people on their sexuality. I’m being as honest as can, that all conservative parties will often find this journey a bit harder than others.”
He said that the party had been through a change and that whatever happened at the election, there would be “quite an influx” of gay Tories such as Margot James. “The tide has fully tuned and nobody wants to go back to Section 28 ..."
ALAN FRANKLIN adds: This disgusting man, who has no idea what Scripture teaches, should keep his silly mouth shut when venturing into areas about which he knows nothing. Come to think of it, that would mean he would be mute....
