Civil partnerships have transformed the lives of thousands of lesbian and gay couples in Britain. But how are they viewed in the eyes of the Church and other religious groups? The Times Religion Correspondent, Ruth Gledhill, spells it out

Civil partnerships, or CPs as they are known among those who've had one registered, give gay and lesbian couples the same tax, property, inheritance and other legal rights as marriage. CPs refer to their partners as 'spouse' and the media refer freely to 'gay marriage'. But they are not the same.

In a marriage ceremony, the marriage is legal once the vows have been exchanged, be it in a religious or civil setting. The signing of the register is merely a formality creating a legal record of the event. In a CP, although promises can and mostly are made, the partnership is not legal until the register is signed. And by law, CPs cannot take place in a religious building, or have any religious element to them.

And it is because of this that lesbian and gay people are reminded most of all how - in the eyes of God, and according to His ordained representatives on Earth - some are definitely more equal than others.

What the religions say?
The whole area of homosexuality is fraught with tension when it comes to the religious arena. The Anglican Communion is split, with modern liberals battling against evangelicals who have a more orthodox approach to the Bible.

Quakers have been officially blessing same-sex relationships since 1987, but Liberal Judaism is the only movement so far to have issued an authorised religious service for same-sex marriage. In Islam, however, any imams tempted towards a liberal approach have been quickly persuaded to change their minds.

Religious and gay, what are the options?
Despite traditional 'marriage blessings' being out of bounds to CPs, many get round it by using alternative blessings to cement their partnership in the eyes of God.

Many blessing services are performed covertly, especially when one of the 'spouses' is a clergyman or woman of the Church of England. These clergy, while allowed in law to enter into a CP, have to promise their bishop that their relationship is celibate as it is the physical act of homosexuality that is disallowed under the Church, not necessarily the emotional union.

At the same time, Anglican clergy cannot enquire of their congregation (who have entered into a CP) what the sexual nature of their gay relationship is. Although clergy are permitted to pray with gay couples after their CP ceremony, they cannot use any formal service of blessing.

Why Europe is in a pickle
In the rest of Europe, gay marriages are legal in a variety of forms. In 1989, Denmark was the first country to enact civil partnership laws, but this excluded the right to marry in church or adopt children.

Since then, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, France and Germany are among the countries that introduced some form of gay marriage or civil union law. The religious response in all these countries has been mixed.

The problems lie in global law - two countries can impose varying degrees of liberalism or orthodoxy surrounding their laws on same-sex marriage. Some might say it is these conflicting laws that cause friction within the same religious groups practising the 'same theory' in the two different countries.

To give just one example: in 2005, the Lutheran Church of Sweden decided to authorise blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. This has had quite dramatic implications for the strife-torn Anglicans (who have no such authorised blessings). Along with the other Irish and British Anglican churches, the Church of England, through the 1992 Porvoo Agreement, is in full communion with the Lutheran Church of Sweden, or at least was.

Society is taking a stand
It was the Church of England's strong lobbying against CPs being equal to marriage in this country that helped maintain the distinction between the two. But it is a distinction that seems to be fading fast in the public mind. Where it matters most to many (in other words, around issues of money and property) marriage and CPs are the same in all but name. Civil partners can even get divorced.

'My son calls it marriage,' says Martin Reynolds, an Anglican priest in Wales and spokesman for the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, who recently had a CP ceremony. 'It is terribly difficult to say we are now "civilly partnered". My partner prefers to say, "This is my CP". I don't hear people using the words "husband" or "wife", but I do hear the word "spouse", which is the word we suggested to the government during the consultation process. I think the matter has been led by the media. Newspapers need brief headlines. They are not going to say "Elton John civil partners" when "weds" will do.'

He adds that some religious denominations are embracing CPs. 'The United Reformed Church in Cardiff is making a huge business out of it; Anglican clergy I know who've had a full blessing service have all gone there. Some Methodist churches are comfortable with it. Some Anglican churches are as well, although in those it is usually described as "a service of private prayer" to fit in with the bishops' rules. We also have Roman Catholic priests on our books who are prepared to do these services, but they tend to be extremely discreet. They will do them in church buildings, but not with 100 people present.'

One of the first to register her partnership was Debbie Gaston, a lesbian minister at the Metropolitan Community Church, with a congregation mainly of gay and lesbian people in Brighton. She wed her long-time girlfriend, Elaine Cook. They had been Baptists originally.

One of the latest to date was Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, who is the Church's most senior openly gay priest. His appointment to be Bishop of Reading was blocked after evangelicals campaigned against him. In August he tied the knot with the Rev Grant Holmes, another Anglican priest. They have also been together for many years.

The opposition to gay marriage and homosexual practice from all the Churches' orthodox wings is unlikely to abate. But neither is the demand for gay blessings, nor the supply of clergy prepared to carry them out.

Ruth Gledhill is Religion Correspondent of The Times. Read her online blog, Articles of Faith here