Justin Welby: ‘Gay sex is not sinful’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has shocked evangelicals in the Church of England by publicly abandoning the Church’s historic teaching on sexual ethics.

While the CofE officially maintains that sexual activity should only take place within marriage, and that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, Justin Welby has now said sexual activity is permissible within ‘committed relationships’, and that the ‘majority’ of bishops are in agreement.

The remark has deepened fractures in an already divided CofE, with some suggesting he is no longer fit to lead it if he is not prepared to uphold its doctrine.

‘Committed relationships’

During an interview with former MP Rory Stewart and Tony Blair’s former political spokesman Alistair Campbell for their podcast ‘The Rest is Politics: Leading’, Campbell asked Welby: “Is gay sex sinful?”

In response, Welby said: “What the Archbishop of York and I and the Bishops, by a majority, by no means unanimous, and the Church is deeply split over this — where we’ve come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, and whether it’s straight or gay.

“In other words, we are not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership, or whether marriage is civil or religious, and that, therefore, we have put forward a proposal that, where people have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage, equal marriage, under the 2014 Act, they should be able to come along to a church and have a service of prayer and blessing for them in their lives together.”

As a concession, he said that “because of conscience, no one, no priest or church should be compelled to have these services”, though he claimed such blessings and services are “a long way from church same-sex marriage”.

‘Clear departure’

Lambeth Palace said the Archbishop’s views are his own, and are not the official stance of the Church of England. A statement said: “He (Archbishop Justin) has been honest that his thinking has evolved over the years through much prayer and theological reflection – particularly through the Living in Love and Faith process – and he now holds this view sincerely.

a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England

The Church of England Evangelical Council said Welby’s statement indicated his view that: “Sexual intimacy is no longer limited to marriage”, “sexual intimacy in gay relationships is ok”, and that “the church should bless sexual relations outside of marriage”.

It called the statement “devastating”, saying it marked “a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and every other major Christian denomination across the world believe”.

‘Duty to resign’

Revd Dr Andrew Goddard, a member of the Council, said that “such significantly erroneous statements as these from no less than the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless swiftly followed by an apology and correction, can only add further to the widespread erosion of trust and growing sense of disbelief, betrayal, deception, anger and despair now felt across much of the Church of England”.

And Revd Matthew Roberts, former Moderator of Synod of the International Presbyterian Church and co-author of the Greater Love declaration, commented: “The Archbishop of Canterbury, having stated that he denies the doctrine of the Church of England, has a duty to resign.”