Elton John: Jesus Would Support Same-Sex Marriage

Sir Elton John said he believes if Jesus were alive today he would support equal rights for LGBT people in a new interview with Sky News.

"If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was, and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen," he said. "He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about."

The iconic singer also opened up about his opinion on the resistance of the Catholic Church to same-sex marriage and the Church of England's uproar over gay clergy marrying as well as the requirement that Catholic priests remain celibate.

"These are old and stupid things," he said, noting that he sees "signs of hope" in the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Pope Francis.

While John says he's happy to be making plans to wed his longtime partner David Furnish - with whom he entered into a civil union in 2005 - sometime next year and he's "living a life of luxury" in his home country with his "human rights intact," he is gravely concerned about the receding rights of LGBT people in other areas of the world such as Russia.

"Globally, we seem to have gone backwards over the last 18 months, in certain areas," he said, adding he plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin on his next visit to the country and discuss Russia's current antigay banning so-called LGBT propaganda.

"I'm going to Russia in November, and I will try and meet Putin and I will try to talk to him. I don't know what good it will do. But unless you build a bridge - it's no good putting up a wall and saying I'm not talking to these people. The only thing that gets solved is by talking to people."