Religion stands in the way of Gay Marriage Equality.

Recently the Home Office launched a 12-week public consultation on gay marriage. The proposed change to the law would allow gay partners to have a civil wedding and take the same vows and commitments as opposite sex couples.

However as might have been expected fierce opposition to this change has come from all major religious groups.

The Church of England remains "committed to the traditional understanding of the institution of marriage as being between one man and one woman". A standard unwavering response from the Church whose own senior Anglican Bishops publicly announced back in June 2007 that the severe flooding of northern parts of the country were due in part to God’s divine punishment for a society that was overly permissible to homosexuals.

The Muslim Council of Britain has called the move “unnecessary and unhelpful”. They believe that civil partnerships for gay couples are enough and stress that they give equal rights under the law.

Rabbi Schochet, a senior Jewish leader in the UK challenged the proposed reform as an assault on “traditional values”. Redefining marriage to accommodate same-sex couples would he said, “run counter to the fundamentals of our beliefs”.

Lord Singh, head of the Network of Sikh Organisations, who sits in the House of Lords said the proposed reforms represented "a sideways assault on religion" by a “vocal, secular minority”. He promised to vote against the reform bill.

However a recent ICM Research survey found that 45% of people are in favour of allowing same-sex marriage, with 36% against – the remainder said they did not know.

Perhaps most disturbing was the response given by The Catholic Church, an institution well known for its views on this issue, and many other matters on which it maintains it’s strong ‘moral’ voice.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols described gay couples as two people in a "profound friendship" and nothing more. Keith O’Brian, head of the Catholic Church in Scotland even went so far to call the idea of marriage equality “grotesque” and likened it to legalizing slavery and the abuse of children.

Considerable irony I hope you’ll notice, from the church responsible for the appalling abuse of tens of thousands of it’s own children (for which actions no official apology has yet been given).

So what do you think? I think it is time to find out where you stand!

I strongly believe homosexuality is not just a form of sex but a form of love. And it deserves our respect.

The religions of this land appear to want to have a debate on the ‘definition on marriage’ which has traditionally they point out been the union between a man and a woman. Changing that would they say, undermine social structures dating back thousands of years.

Well I disagree and say a reform in the law to make it inclusive to gay couples will instead enrich the institution of marriage, enhance social stability and expand the sum of human happiness.

Marriage should not be about outdated scriptural tradition or textbook biological reproduction but rather about recognising the love and respect between two people.

Do religions really think that gay couples don’t love each other as much as straight couples?

I think if you look at what truly lies beneath the religious arguments you’ll find a sinister vein of homophobia.

I’d urge you all to support the proposed reform on marriage equality. You can add your name to a petition here: www.equallove.org.uk, contact your MP to find out how he or she will vote and do your best to raise awareness!