Churches will be exempt from having to perform gay marriages

Churches will get a concrete exemption from having to perform same-sex weddings under new marriage equality laws, it emerged last night.

Churches will be exempt from having to perform gay marriages
Mr Cameron has promised to legislate to allow gay couples to marry in civil ceremonies, while not forcing the changes on the Church. Credit: Photo: ALAMY

Religious groups have voiced fears that they could face legal challenges forcing them to perform ceremonies for homosexual couples, despite assurances that they will not be bound by the new laws.

According The Times, there will be an even stronger “double lock" written into the legislation giving churches the right to refuse to host same-sex weddings.

Couples denied the right to marry in a church could potentially take their cases to the European Court of Human Rights but the Government believes its new protections will be robust.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg are planning to hold a vote on gay marriage in the new year, settling the issue long before the general election in 2015.

Downing Street said originally that same sex civil marriage would be introduced at some stage before the next General Election and there was no mention of the proposed legislation in the last Queen’s Speech.

Mr Cameron has promised to legislate to allow gay couples to marry in civil ceremonies, while not forcing the changes on the Church.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, this month said allowing marriage for homosexual couples is crucial to help the Conservatives stay in “in step with people and how they want to live their lives”.

His call came in an analysis of why Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney in the US presidential election, despite polls showing the Republican candidate was trusted more to turn the economy around.

Mr Osborne said that the Republicans had lost “swathes of voters” because of their traditionalist positions on social issues.

However, polls in the UK suggest the policy could damage the Conservatives’ core support.

A survey this week found that two thirds of voters believe the chief aim of the plan is to rebrand the Tory Party as “trendy and modern”.

The ComRes poll found 60 per cent of voters believe marriage should continue to be defined as “a lifelong exclusive commitment between a man and a woman”.

The Church of England and Roman Catholic bishops oppose the idea, while a number of Conservative MPs are also against it.

The move to hurry along the legislation is likely to worry the opponents of the plan, which is expected to be passed into law with the support of Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Justin Welby, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, has hinted at a softening of the Church’s stance on gay partnerships but says he supports the Church of England’s opposition to same-sex marriage