What would Jesus do if he were navigating today's high-tech dating world? He wouldn't necessarily swipe right on anyone, and that's OK, per the Church of England, which is now using the world's most well-known bachelor to assure singles in the UK that they're fine not being coupled, too. "Single people must be valued at the heart of our society," reads "Love Matters," a report on families and households released Wednesday by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, per the New York Times. "Jesus' own singleness should ensure that the Church of England celebrates singleness."
The archibishops—Canterbury's Justin Welby and York's Stephen Cottrell—commissioned the report two years ago to peer deeper into household dynamics, recognizing that "family life in the 21st century is fluid and diverse." One of the report's five goals for the church is for it to "honor and celebrate singleness, whether through choice or circumstance, and recognize the full place of single people within the Church and society." The Guardian notes the stark contrast of that stance with its long-held one that people should have a heteronormative marriage as their mission, with children as the preferred outcome of that union.
The report—the third in a trilogy, with the previous two commissions focusing on social care and housing—says we should recognize that having a significant other just might not happen for some, and that a single person has as much value as individuals who are married or otherwise in relationships. "Singleness can be a deliberate choice—sometimes the right partner has not been found, and sometimes separation, divorce, or death has resulted in the loss of a partner," it notes. It also points out that you can still be technically single but ... with benefits. "Inevitably, singleness does not necessarily imply celibacy, although this is the choice some single people in faith communities make," it states. (More Church of England stories.)
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