• Public Opinion and Same-Sex Marriage – John Curtice

    A while ago we had a real treat at St Mary’s. Prof John Curtice gave a talk about public opinion and same-sex marriage. It was one of those forums which was very special for those who were there. There simply isn’t anyone who knows how to read and interpret public opinion as John can and it was great to see him in action.

    It was also one of the first forum meetings which I videoed. Unfortunately, the talk that John gave was fantastic but the audio on the video was terrible. Lots of people tried to listen but some were quite disappointed. For that reason, I was delighted that John agreed to give a similar, though slightly updated, talk to the diocesan synod that we held here in the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway on 1 March 2014. Once again, John was gracious enough to allow it to be videoed and this time the audio is tip-top, thanks to Kennedy Fraser’s work on the sound-desk.

    This can be posted freely. I suspect that it may help far more people in the church get their heads around where public opinion lies on this question than were at the synod the other week. Do share and use on other blogs and diocesan websites. And take a look – it is well worth putting aside half an hour to watch.

    Now the question for the day, is – in what ways does public opinion matter when the churches make their minds up about same-sex marriage?

3 responses to “St Andrews Debates”

  1. Allan Ronald Avatar
    Allan Ronald

    Delighted to learn that so much progress has been made at our Alma Mater (I graduated MA in 1971). Gaudeamus igitur, indeed.

  2. Zebabee Avatar
    Zebabee

    There were signs of change in 1999 when I departed from St Marys. Delighted that the progress has gathered pace over the years and is now so much improved.

  3. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    When I was there (I left in 75), it was understood that nobody in Gaysoc spoke about who else they had seen at a meeting – it was still not safe to be ‘out’ in public. That was at a liberal-minded University. Of course there were people who were out, some notably gifted. Indeed, thank God for it.

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