The real reason Reverend Richard Coles left the church adds weight to I’m A Celeb comments

In a recent episode of I’m A Celeb, Reverend Richard Coles opened up about how his experiences as a gay priest in the Church of England, telling GK Barry that he didn’t find it difficult to strike a balance between two parts of his identity.

Reverend Richard Coles is but one of this year’s I’m A Celeb cast members battling it out for a chance at the jungle crown, and though he arrived late with Maura Higgins, he’s already gaining supporters on Twitter. In particular, people love his candid approach to talking about his sexuality and religion.

In Monday night’s episode, Reverend Richard Coles, 62, sat down with new bestie GK Barry to discuss the intersection of faith and sexuality.

“Did you find it quite difficult being gay and doing that job?” GK Barry questioned.

Though the church’s persecution of LGBTQ+ folks is nothing particularly new, or even over, the reverend said that he not once considered that God is against him being gay.

“No, not at all. I’ve never given it a moment’s twinge of anxiety over whether God thought it was alright or not. Whether other people thought it was alright or not, well I’m happy to have that argument…” he explained.

Though a gay priest might seem like an endangered species, the reverend paid tribute to the other queer religious figures that came before him.

“Also, I was not the first. Sometimes I look at documents from the early church, or the church of the middle ages and I just think – so gay,” he added.

The reason he left the church had everything to do with being gay

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After nearly 20 years in the Church of England, Reverend Richard Coles retired in 2022, citing differences of opinion about how gay couples “are not welcome” as one of the reasons.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, he noted that the only successful churches are those with “conservative, punchy and fundamentalist” ideals, something that he couldn’t abide by as a gay man as he could no longer “accept second-class citizenship in the household of God.”

“In the past few months, I have had a growing number of inquiries from same-sex couples dismayed to discover their relationships do not qualify for a blessing, or asking for reassurance that their kids in church schools will not be made to feel awkward for having two dads or two mums,” he explained. “The former I am not permitted to do [the Church of England does not recognise same-sex marriages]; the latter I am unable to, I am sorry to say. Things change, we are told; play the long game, and I have. But now I see change shifting more to exclusion than inclusion.”

He further noted that the church protests “that all are welcome” whilst also calling for people to “renounce the intimate life” that is a vital part of their personal identity.

“You’d think football would be very resistant, but it’s changing,” he later told the Radio Times, referencing the applause gay footballer Jake Daniels received. “And yet the Church of England – an organisation committed to celebrating love and decency and dignity – finds itself unable to do so when people are of the same sex. It’s depressing.”

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Featured Image credit: YouTube/ I’m A Celeb