The largest presbyterian group in the US has voted to recognize same-sex marriage, the latest sweeping move by the church to acknowledge it as Christian.
Presbyterian Church USA voted on Tuesday to amend its constitution to extend marriage rights from “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman”.
A majority of the church’s 171 governing bodies ruled in favor of the change, which will affect the church’s more than 1.7 million members, including those strongly opposed to marriage equality.
Individual pastors who oppose same-sex marriages can still opt out of performing same-sex marriage ceremonies or allowing them to be held in their church.
The group’s general assembly approved the constitutional amendment in 2014, but the “two people” measure needed to be ratified before the constitution could officially be changed. On Tuesday night, 87 had voted in favor, and 41 had voted against.
The church said the governing bodies reached their decisions after assessing the needs of their parishioners, the Bible and the church text, Book of Confessions.
In recent years, the church has adopted more inclusive policies: in 2011, it undid an anti-same-sex marriage amendment by allowing LGBT pastors in the church, and last year ministers began performing same-sex marriages in states where it is legal.
“These decisions have been welcomed by some and a disappointment to others,” Gradye Parsons, state clerk of the General Assembly, said in a statement.
Indeed, the ever-more-progressive policies have alienated parishioners who oppose marriage equality.
Paul Detterman, national director of the Fellowship Community, a conservative group that opposes the decision, told the New York Times he expects the decision to drive practitioners out of the church. He said, however, that the vote might also compel people to stay in order to defend their stance.
“Our objection to the passage of the marriage amendment is in no way, shape or form anti-gay,” Detterman said. “It is in no way intended as anything but concern that the church is capitulating to the culture and is misrepresenting the message of Scripture.”
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which pushes for LGBT inclusion in the church, praised the amendment. “We rejoice that all couples can now see those relationships solemnized before God and the Christian community in marriage, at the discretion of ministers and sessions,” the group said in a statement.
It also acknowledged that the decision could cause “a deep sense of pain” for people who oppose it.
The constitutional change takes effect on 21 June. The US supreme court is due to rule on the legality of same-sex marriage by the end of that month.
