Controversy continues to rage in the largely conservative South Africa three days after the country became the first in Africa and fifth in the world to legalise same-sex marriages.

South Africa's National Assembly voted 230 to 41 in favour of the Civil Union Bill which gives homosexual couples the right to register their unions - giving their unions the same recognition as those of heterosexual couples.

The decision has sparked fierce opposition from religious groups among others who prior to the vote demonstrated and launched petitions in a bid to prevent the bill from going through.

The African Christian Democratic Party was one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill. Its leader, the Rev Kenneth Meshoe, said, "Parliament has gone too far and is testing God's patience."

Jo-Ann Downs, the party's deputy president, said: "South Africa is out of step with the world!" She further criticised the approval to accord the status of "marriage" to a union between two people of the same sex in a country where religious marriages are still not recognised in law, reports IRIN News.