I find it sad that, of all the ills in the world, the Church of England, Catholic and other churches choose to unite and speak out against gay marriage.

Not only are their arguments incoherent – marriage should be for the procreation of children, they claim, but happily marry the infertile or those who choose not to have children – they are simply naked prejudice robed in transcendental or scriptural authority.

We would not stand for churches refusing mixed-race marriages because of their faith, nor should we accept their stance on gay marriages.

Gay marriage pales into insignificance when you compare it to the misery and suffering inflicted by poverty, homelessness, disease, drugs and alcohol or any other number of ills.

Yet the Church and some 'Christians' reserve their most vociferous objections, devote their time, money and power to preventing something that is the logical outcome, if they chose, for any two people who love each other.

Once again, secular society leads the way and leaves the churches floundering. In my 50 years, I've watched organised religion scream in protest against almost every measure that has made our world more humane, compassionate and civilised.

Thankfully decent people in Britain are increasingly less inclined to listen to blinkered bigotry dressed up as debate.

They are no longer willing to form their moral codes from ancient texts and wild-eyed zealots, but form their observation of the wonderful diversity of humanity, from their rational intelligence and from their instinctively loving hearts.

And if religion is no longer able to provide us with guidelines that resonate with that, what in God's name is the point of it?

The only harm done by gay marriage will be in the heads of those who oppose it.