US Catholic and Evangelical leaders are to publish a statement about the “threat” of same-sex marriage.

“The Two Shall Become One Flesh”, credited to Evangelicals and Catholics Together, is apparently the culmination of three years work. It will be published in religious journal First Things.

Timothy George, Dean of Beeson divinity school said: “Catholics and evangelicals continue to disagree on lots and lots of issues. And the people who drafted this statement are well aware of those differences. We have not smudged them or pushed them under the rug.

“We felt we had to speak out on this issue.”

Part of the statement says: “We must say as clearly as possible, that same-sex unions, even when sanctioned by the state, are not marriages. Christians who wish to remain faithful to the Scriptures and Christian tradition cannot embrace this falsification of reality, irrespective of its status in law.”

“The revolution in our marriage and family law, already well advanced, marches under the banners of freedom and equality. But these noble ideals are here gravely misapplied.

“When society systematically denies the difference between male and female in law and custom, our fundamental dignity is diminished, the image of God within us is obscured, unreality becomes legally established, and those who refuse to conform are regarded as irrational bigots.

“We owe our fellow citizens a socially engaged witness to the truth about marriage, which, with the family, is the unalterable foundation of a healthy, humane society.”