South African court rules Dutch Reformed Church’s gay marriage ban is unconstitutional
A court in South Africa ruled Friday that the Dutch Reformed Church’s rules against same-sex marriage are “unlawful and invalid.”
The decision comes from the bench of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria led by Judge Joseph Raulinga, which reversed a decision to not recognize same-sex marriage in the church that was made by the denomination’s general synod in November 2016.
The general synod’s 2016 decision came after the Dutch Reformed Church moved in 2015 to allow individual church councils to recognize same-sex marriages. The decision was reversed a year later after immense pressure from church members.
Along with not allowing same-sex marriage, the church required lesbian and gay people to remain celibate if they choose to serve as clergy.
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