Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Protestant church supports same-sex marriage

Two wedding rings on rainbow coulour sheet
Switzerland's Protestant Churches are seen as more progressive than the Catholic counterpart on issues like gay marriage. Keystone/Ralf Hirschberger

Switzerland’s Protestant Churches have come out in favour of a proposal to give a legal basis to same-sex marriages.

A clear majority of delegates approved a recommendation by the Protestant church leadership during a nationwide assembly on Tuesday.

However, the delegates decided to leave it up to pastors of the member churches whether they want to allow gay marriages based on church law.

The move followed controversial debates about the position of the Protestant Churches, amid opposition by more conservative groups.

“The assembly of delegates has made a point to stress that different notions of marriage remain possible in the Protestant Church,” a statementExternal link says.

The Protestant Churches have a federalist structure and are one of the leading churches in Switzerland.

The other main religious denomination in Switzerland, the Roman Catholic Church, has so far refused to take a clear stance on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Moves are underway in parliament to give legal basis to same-sex marriage. The House of Representatives is due to discuss a bill next year.

Most political parties have come out in favour, except for the right-wing Swiss People’s Party and the centrist Protestant Party.

The bill does not include the issue of adoption or reproductive medicine.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR