(Photo: Tristan Billet)

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Christian Post Reporter

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Northern Ireland, sparking concern among religious and conservative leaders in the Christian-majority country.

As of Jan. 13, same-sex couples are able to register to marry in the country, and those who are already married will have their union recognized by law, according to the BBC. 

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Last week, The Christian Institute expressed concern that the new law “could get in the way of free speech and debate about gay marriage.”

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Several churches in Northern Ireland had previously insisted they would only conduct marriages between a man and a woman despite the legal change.

“The Church of Ireland affirms, according to our Lord's teaching, that marriage is in its purpose a union permanent and lifelong, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side," a spokesperson for the Church of Ireland told the Belfast Telegraph.

The Rev. Jim Stothers, deputy clerk of the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly, explained that the church body was committed to maintaining "the scriptural basis of marriage."