It’s OK to Be Single, the Church of England Says: So Was Jesus.

Single individuals needs to be valued as a lot as married {couples} and other people in relationships, in keeping with a new report launched by the Church of England on Wednesday that laid out suggestions to help a various, evolving society.

In the report, “Love Matters,” the archbishops of Canterbury and York stated that “single people must be valued at the heart of our society” and famous that Jesus was single.

“Jesus’ own singleness should ensure that the Church of England celebrates singleness,” the report famous, reaffirming a conventional understanding that Jesus by no means married.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York — the Most Rev. Justin Welby and the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell — established a fee in March 2021 to look at relationships and household, after recognizing that “family life in the 21st century is fluid and diverse.” The fee’s report laid out 5 priorities for supporting households and households.

The report beneficial that the church not regard singleness “as lesser than living in a couple relationship, reflecting an evolving stance from the church, which has long emphasized the importance of heteronormative marriages and voted to allow divorced people to remarry only two decades ago.

It was the third report in a trilogy, after the church examined housing and social care, and comes not long after the church announced that it was considering using gender-neutral language to refer to God and apologized for its past treatment of L.G.B.T.Q. people, but maintained it would still not allow same-sex marriages in church after years of debate.

The Church of England is the original church in the global Anglican Communion, a gathering of churches that claims tens of millions of members in more than 160 countries.

Among the top five ambitions the report outlined, it included a recommendation that the church should “honor and celebrate singleness, whether through choice or circumstance, and recognize the full place of single people within the Church and society.”

“We have an amazing opportunity to reimagine a diverse society in which all families and loving relationships are valued and strengthened,” the report stated, “promoting the stability that enables us all to thrive in a variety of family constellations, including being single.”

The archbishops cited a number of causes for staying single, together with that “sometimes the right partner has not been found, and sometimes separation, divorce or death has resulted in the loss of a partner.”

The report additionally acknowledged the rising variety of single individuals, as younger persons are establishing careers and pursuing different pursuits earlier than getting married.

People are more and more dwelling alone, information exhibits. Britain noticed a greater than 8 p.c soar in individuals dwelling alone from 2011 to 2021, in keeping with the Office for National Statistics. In the United States, about 29 p.c of all households in 2022 had been single-person households, in keeping with census information.

The report stated “living alone does not make someone lonely or isolated, especially if people are well supported and connected,” and it touched on the isolating impression of the coronavirus pandemic and referred to as for extra “suitable social housing” to be made accessible for single individuals who want a spot to reside after separation, divorce or serving a jail sentence.

The archbishops additionally referred to as for the church to “value families in all their diversity” and “empower children and young people” as high priorities.

Archbishops Welby and Cottrell, in a foreword, stated the “cost-of-living crisis” was creating “a perpetual struggle for survival.” The report additionally included findings of the elevated sense of loneliness and stigma that L.G.B.T.Q. individuals, together with youngsters, really feel from the church.