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We all know that there is a wide range of potential adoptive parents out there, including lesbians and gay men who can provide a loving home for children – Ruth Kelly |
In Britain we have an established church. In the USA there is a constitution that formally separates church and state. And yet, until recently, religion hardly played a part in British politics, whilst in America, ‘values issues’ increasingly make the difference between winning and losing elections.
Not so long ago, we had the issue of faith schools. On that occasion the Catholic church was felt to have ‘won’ the day. Now we have the issue of adoption agencies. It would appear that this time around enough members of the cabinet (not the PM) are determined that the government does not ‘lose’ to the Bishops again.
On Radio 4 this morning, David Cameron signalled that he would be supporting the government’s position. Interestingly, the Conservative Party has made the vote on this issue free, as it is views it as a question of conscience. David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, indicated on yesterday’s Sunday AM programme that he would be voting against the legislation. So it would appear that both major political parties have differences of opinion over this issue.
Instinctively, I would side with the government’s position on this issue. I am not a social conservative and would be happier if church and state were formally separated in this country. What amazes me, however, is that it is upon this issue that the Labour government has chosen to pick a fight with the bishops. Most of us would agree (I hope) that finding stable homes for disadvantaged children is of paramount importance. I am not aware that there were thousands of gay couples contacting Catholic adoption agencies offering their stable homes for placement. So why create the confrontation? Why has a compromise not been agreed?
Great strides have been made in the last two decades over the issue of gay rights, and rightly so. By pressing this issue now, the Labour government is in danger of pushing the train off the rails. I am not so sure that the majority of Britons are ready “to go into bat” for gay rights over this issue. I have no doubt that, with time, society (and indeed, most faiths) would accept the legitimacy of gay parentage. To push this issue too hard now could potentially undo the good work that has been undertaken to put gay relationships on an equal footing with heterosexual couples.
Over time, the Catholic Church is going to have accept the law of the land. Discrimination laws will never work if religious and other organisations are allowed to pick and choose what they will accept. A more reasonable solution would have been to have given the Catholic Church time (perhaps a decade) to contemplate, and if, as has been indicated elsewhere, they are still unable to accept the law, go ahead and close the agencies. The sad reality is that if the government had been stronger over faith schools a few months ago, I suspect they would not feel such a need to be so dogmatic over adoption agencies now. Politics can be about idealism. Occasionally, it should also be about pragmatism and compromise. Good politicians should know this.
