Seven out of 10 say beliefs should not be abandoned over gay rights

13 April 2012

Seven out of ten people believe people should not be forced to abandon their deepest beliefs for the sake of gay rights, a new poll has found.

It found deep-set public opposition to new laws that will compel businesses, charities and churches to give equal treatment to homosexuals.

Churches have launched a furious campaign to block the laws, saying they will force priests to bless same-sex couples; force schools and youth clubs to promote gay rights; and mean that Christians will have to accept moral rules handed down by the Government.

The opinon poll - taken before Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols accused ministers of acting like 'moral tutors - found a majority believe the Government should not make laws to promote one moral view over another.

And two thirds think that laws promoting gay rights should not discriminate against religious groups.

The laws which are meant to prevent discrimination against gays - for example when hoteliers refuse to allow homosexual couples to rent rooms - are set to come into force next April.

But churches have protested furiously that the Sexual Orientation Regulations will cut to the heart of Christian morality and practice.

The Church of England has warned that the laws could make it possible for vicars who refuse to bless same sex civil partnerships to be sued.

Roman Catholics say they will close adoption charities rather be compelled to place children with gay couple, and all churches worry that they will be forced to make facilities from parish halls to conference centres available to gay pressure groups.

The survey, carried out by CommunicateResearch for the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, found that 72 per cent of those polled agreed that the new law "should be applied selectively so as to ensure that people with strong religious beliefs are not forced to act against their conscience".

Fewer than one in five, 19 per cent, disagreed. Two thirds, 66 per cent, agreed that the law should not discriminate against religious groups in order to promote gay rights. Only 28 per cent disagreed.

Some 57 per cent thought the Government should do more to protect traditional family and marriage values and less to promote gay and lesbian lifestyles. The poll found 38 per cent disagreed.

Just over half, 56 per cent said the Government should not legislate to promote one moral view over another, against 38 per cent who disagreed.

Thomas Cordrey of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship said: "The proposed Sexual Orientation Regulations display a startling contradiction.

"They are introduced under the Equality Act and yet with the same sweep of the brush that creates a right to non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, they discriminate heavily against Christians by forcing them to promote and assist homosexual practice contrary to the clear teaching of the Bible."

He added: "It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Government believes the right to equality is somehow weaker for someone who holds a religious belief."

The new laws provoked a Cabinet row after Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, a staunch Roman Catholic who is in charge of pushing the regulations through parliament, delayed over implementing them. But Miss Kelly has now bowed to pressure from colleagues. She said this week that she was dedicated to equality over sexual orientation.

The CommunicateResearch poll was taken among 1,000 adults on 15 and 16 November.

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