In a significant report, the Church of England stated that single people should be treated equally with couples and families and that it supports diversity in personal relationships.
According to The Guardian, the report published stated that because Jesus was a single man, the church should "not regard [singleness] as less than living in a couple relationship."
"We have an amazing opportunity to reimagine a diverse society in which all families and loving relationships are valued and strengthened, promoting the stability that enables us all to thrive in a variety of family constellations, including being single."
The 236-page report, Love Matters, published on Wednesday, was the result of a two-year commission examining relationships and families ordered by the archbishops of Canterbury and York.
It was the third in a trilogy of commissions; earlier subjects were housing and social care, as the news outlet further mentioned.
The Guardian report further mentioned that the church's call to "honour" singleness marks another departure from the church's traditional advocacy of lifelong heterosexual marriage, preferably with children. For more than 20 years, the C of E has allowed divorced people to remarry in church. This year, it also agreed to offer services of blessing to same-sex couples who have undergone civil marriages, while stopping short of allowing same-sex marriages in church.
In a report published today ("Love Matters"), the Archbishops' Commission on Families and Households makes a series of recommendations.
It says that we must:
- Value families in all their diversity, meeting their basic needs by putting their wellbeing at the heart of government policy-making and our community life, including religious communities.
- Support relationships throughout life, ensuring that everyone is able to develop and maintain loving and caring relationships, manage conflict well, and promote the flourishing of individuals and families.
- Honour singleness and single person households, recognising that loving relationships matter to everyone.
- Empower children and young people, developing their relational skills and knowledge, recognising their value and agency, protecting them from harm, and giving them the best start in life.
- Build a kinder, fairer, and more forgiving society, removing discrimination, division, and deep inequality for the sake of every family and household.
