Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) changes its constitution to include same-sex marriage

Church window.
(Image credit: iStock)

On Tuesday, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to change the definition of marriage in the church's constitution to include same-sex marriage.

The constitution will change the definition of marriage from being between "a man and a woman" to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman," The New York Times reports. The modified language was approved by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, and finalizes a change that the church's General Assembly recommended in 2014. "Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gay and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community," Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, told The Times. "There is still disagreement, and I don't mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.