Single people deserve the same respect as married people, says church of England
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London: The Church of England said that single people should be treated equally with couples and families. In a report, the church said that it supports diversity in personal relationships and Jesus himself was a single man.
The report titled "Love Matters" is 236 pages long and was published on Wednesday. A commission examined relationships and families for two years before submitting the report. It was ordered by the archbishops of Canterbury and York.
The Guardian published the report which said that 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 outlet acknowledged that the church's call to honour singleness is a departure from the church's traditional advocacy of lifelong heterosexual marriage and children.
The Church of England has only been accepting divorced people remarrying for a little over 20 years. In 2023, the institution also agreed to offer services of blessing to same-sex couples who have undergone civil marriages but haven't yet allowed them to get married in church.
The new report makes a series of recommendations including valuing families in all their diversity, supporting relationships throughout life, honouring singleness and single-person households, empowering children and young people, and building a kinder, fairer, and forgiving society.