A religious denomination has reignited debate on same-sex unions after agreeing to perform marriage ceremonies for gay couples.
The Quaker church, also known as the Religious Society of Friends, already offers religious blessings to couples in civil partnerships.
At its yearly meeting, held at the University of York, the church opted to extend this to same-sex weddings.
Quakers will ask the Government to change the law, which does not recognise gay marriage, to allow Quaker registering officers to register same-sex partnerships in the same way as marriages.
Michael Hutchinson, of Quakers in Britain, said: "Many of our meetings have told us that there are homosexual couples who consider themselves to be married and believe this is as much a testimony of divine grace as a heterosexual marriage. They miss the public recognition of this in a religious ceremony."
During this week's meeting, Quakers spoke about their personal experiences of committed relationships, agreeing that "whereas there was a clear, visible path to celebration and recognition for opposite sex couples" the same was not always true for those in same-sex relationships, a minute released by the church said.
It said: "This open sharing of personal experience has moved us and added to our clear sense that, 22 years after the prospect was first raised... we are being led to treat same-sex committed relationships in the same way as opposite-sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord's work and we are but witnesses. The question of legal recognition by the state is secondary."
All those present at the meeting, numbering around 1200, agreed to take steps to revise relevant parts of Quaker faith and practice in order to treat same-sex marriages in the same way as more traditional unions.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell welcomed the announcement as a "trail-blazing" choice that highlighted issues within other religious organisations.
He said: "The Quakers' decision to open up marriage to same-sex couples, on exactly the same basis as heterosexual couples, is an honourable, courageous, trail-blazing decision. It exposes the homophobia of other faiths that refuse to recognise love and commitment between couples of the same sex, and it specifically exposes their denial of religious marriage to same-sex couples."
