Bishop of Leicester Timothy Stevens underscored the church's official view that "marriage is a union between one man and one woman -- a social institution that predates both church and state and has been the glue that has bound countless successive societies together."
Anglicans are divided on the issue, however. Richard Harries, a former bishop of Oxford, told the House of Lords that "a good number of members of the Church of England warmly welcome the government's position."
"Privately a fair number of individual bishops in the Church of England also support it but are not able to say so publicly at the moment," he said.
The bill is likely to have enough support in Parliament to become law. Gay marriage is backed by Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and many of his Cabinet, as well as by most lawmakers from the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties.
But some traditionalist members of Cameron's Conservative Party remain strongly opposed.
"I would like to ask the Secretary of State and the government what right have they got, other than arrogance and intolerance, to stamp their legislative boot on religious faith?" said lawmaker Richard Drax.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Avon
Funny how Quakers are mentioned - a far smaller group than liberal Jews. Just goes to show that a small group, standing up faithfully for a long time for what it believes, can accomplish a lot.
Quakers also have different governance. A local congregation answers only to God. Thus, in many or most regions, no "majority rule" or authoritative "leaders" can override what a humble group of worshipers finds to be right. Some may never marry a same-sex couple, but others have been doing it for decades without regard for whether the resulting marriage is "legal." With the new law, all Quaker couples in England - as in nine US states - will now end up with not just a wedding but a fully equal marriage.
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