Andrea Leadsom told ITV news she struggled with the law change, but has stressed that she believes the love of same sex couples is "every bit as valuable" as that of heterosexual couples, and claimed "civil partnerships are called marriage as well".
Ms Leadsom abstained from the vote regarding same-sex marriage in 2013, saying she did not want the Anglican Church to be "forced" to accept it.
In the interview with ITV, she said: "I made very clear at the time I believed that the love of same sex couples is every bit as valuable as that of opposite sex couples, absolutely committed to that.
"But nevertheless my own view actually is that marriage in the Biblical sense is very clearly, for the many, many Christians who wrote to me on this subject, in their opinion can only be between a man and a woman.
"I don't actually agree with them, I don't agree with them to be specific.
"But what I do think is I would have preferred for civil partnerships to be available to heterosexual and gay couples and for marriage to have remained as a Christian service that was for men and women who wanted to commit in the eyes of God."
Andrea Leadsom has previously spoken openly about her faith stating "I always try to ensure that I'm doing what I think God would want me to do".
