In the latest challenge to what many see as unfair marriage laws, a straight couple are attempting to register for a civil partnership. They say that a choice of marriage or civil partnership should be open to all couples, regardless of sexuality.

The religion and society think-tank Ekklesia is proposing a new legal framework which can accommodate same-sex marriage ceremonies carried out by religious bodies.

The Quakers have become the first major denomination in Britain to endorse same-sex marriage, putting themselves in conflict with the law. Their example is an inspiration to people in other denominations struggling for equality.

Emotions ran high in York this morning as Quakers agreed to carry out same-sex marriages on the same basis as marriages for opposite-sex couples. The decision came after an intense week of debate and reflection at British Quakers' Yearly Meeting.

Britain's Quakers appear to be on the brink of a decision to put same-sex and heterosexual marriage on an equal footing. This morning will see the final stage of their discussions on the issue at their Yearly Meeting in York.

Keen to combat the overall decline both in church weddings and its own cultural influence as an institution, the Church of England is re-emphasising its more relaxed wedding guidelines.

Some hardline pressure groups within the church are sucking mar­riage into a narrow religious ghetto, associating it with suburban 1950s curtain-twitching, thus making it even less popular than it is now, says Giles Fraser.

In a historic and controversial move, the Episcopal Church in the USA, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, has voted to remove the bar on priests in monogamous same-sex relationships from becoming bishops.