Table Of ContentLaw, Religion and Homosexuality
Law, Religion and Homosexuality is the first book-length study of how religion
has shaped, and continues to shape, legislation that regulates the lives of gay men
and lesbians in the United Kingdom. Through a systematic examination of how
religious discourse influences the making of law in the UK Parliament – in the
form of official inter ventions made by faith communities and organisations, as well
as by expressions of faith by individual legislators – the authors argue that religion
continues to be central to both enabling and restricting the development of sexual
orientation equality. Whilst some claim that faith has been marginalised in the
legislative processes of contemporary Western societies, Johnson and Vanderbeck
show the significant impact of religion in a number of substantive legal areas
relating to sexual orientation, including: same-sex sexual relations, family life,
civil partnership and same-sex marriage, equality in employment and the provision
of goods and services, hate speech regulation, and education. Law, Religion and
Homosexuality demonstrates the dynamic interplay between law and religion in
respect of homosexuality and will be of considerable interest to a wide audience
of academics, policy makers and stakeholders.
Paul Johnson is Anniversary Reader in Sociology at the University of York.
Robert M. Vanderbeck is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the
University of Leeds.
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Law, Religion and
Homosexuality
Paul Johnson and
Robert M. Vanderbeck
First published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
a GlassHouse Book
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Paul Johnson and Robert M. Vanderbeck
The right of Paul Johnson and Robert M. Vanderbeck to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson, Paul (Paul James) author.
Law, religion and homosexuality/Paul Johnson, Robert M. Vanderbeck.
pages cm
‘A GlassHouse Book.’
1. Gays –Legal status, laws, etc. –Great Britain. 2. Homosexuality –
Law and legislation – Great Britain. 3. Homosexuality – Religious aspects –
Christianity. 4. Law – Great Britain – Christian influences. 5. Religion and
law – Great Britain. 6. Freedom of religion – Great Britain.
I. Vanderbeck, Robert M., author. II. Title.
KD4097.J64 2014
342.4108(cid:2)7 – dc23
2013042620
ISBN: 978-0-415-83268-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-42750-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Galliard and Gill Sans
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
For Susan and Robert S. Vanderbeck
and in memory of Doreen Bogdányi
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Contents
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
A study of religion and lawmaking 2
Why study parliamentary discourse? 4
Secularisation and the changing religious landscape 6
Law, morality and religion 15
Transformations in religious discourse in Parliament 18
The formal role of religion in Parliament 22
Overview of the book 25
1 Religion and the legal regulation of homosexual sex 29
Law, religion and homosexuality in England: the formation
of a relationship 29
From Roman canon law to statute law 30
The alignment between religion, statute law and (male)
homosexual acts 36
Religion and the partial decriminalisation of male homosexual
acts in England and Wales 40
Religion and homosexuality prior to the Wolfenden Report 40
The Wolfenden Report and the Church of England 44
Religion and the Sexual Offences Act 1967 47
The ‘age of consent’ debates 52
The assertion of Christian morality: the Sexual Offences
(Amendment) Bill 1977 52
‘Homophobia’ and ‘equality’: the Criminal Justice and Public
Order Act 1994 54
viii Contents
The triumph of equality over religion? The Sexual Offences
(Amendment) Act 2000 60
The disappearance of religion? The decriminalisation of male
homosexual acts 64
Conclusion 67
2 The boundaries of the family: religion and
same-sex parenting 69
The Ashbourne–Ryder amendment 71
The contested moralities of same-sex parenting: the
Adoption and Children Act 2002 72
Religion and child welfare 76
Religion and the ‘evidence’ of homosexual parenting 80
Religion and the symbolic politics of marriage 84
The marginalisation of religion? The Human Fertilisation
and Embryology Act 2008 88
Religious opposition to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Act 2008 90
The symbolism of fatherhood and the ‘truth’ of genetic heritage 93
Equalities and the morality of conception by assisted means 95
Conclusion 97
3 Religious exceptions from sexual orientation
equality 99
Employment equality and religious exceptions 99
The Church of England and the sexual orientation exception 102
Parliamentary acceptance of the employment exception 105
Goods, services, facilities, premises and religious exceptions 107
Religious opposition to harassment protection for sexual
minorities: the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation)
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 110
The threat to religious liberty: the Equality Act (Sexual
Orientation) Regulations 2007 114
Resisting greater equality and defending exceptions: religious
opposition to the Equality Act 2010 118
Retaining religious employment exceptions 119
Attempts to widen goods, services, facilities and premises
exceptions 121
Contents ix
Further religious opposition to protection from harassment
on the grounds of sexual orientation 122
Conclusion 123
4 The secular and the sacred: civil partnership and
same-sex marriage 124
Avoiding a clash: civil partnerships as secular relationships 126
Appeasing religious opposition through secularism 129
The geography of separation: places of worship and
religious freedom 132
Reaffirming separatism: same-sex marriage and religious
rites 135
The ‘quadruple lock’ and the Church of England 136
Marriage ‘locks’ and the litigious homosexual 140
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2013 amendments 142
Distancing homophobia: a transformation in rhetoric 147
‘Equality’ not ‘sameness’ 148
Conclusion 151
5 Homophobic hate speech and freedom of religious
expression 153
‘Hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation’ and the
‘freedom of expression’ saving provision 154
The logics of equalities 157
The special status of religious speech 161
Policing and the ‘climate of fear’ for people of faith 164
The persecution of people of faith? 169
The Pauline Howe case 170
Conclusion 172
6 Religion, homosexuality and state education 174
Religion and Section 28 175
The role of religion in the enactment of Section 28 176
Religion, sex education and the repeal of Section 28 181
Homosexuality and faith in the English school system 186
Maintained schools 186
Academies and free schools 187
