Chelmsford MP Simon Burns says he was supporting the views of "hundreds" of constituents when he voted against same sex marriage.
On Tuesday night, MPs at the House of Commons voted in favour of the bill to legalise gay weddings with 400 agreeing and 175 against.
However, Mr Burns was one of 139 Conservative MPs who rebelled against Prime Minister David Cameron and voted no to the bill.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, the minister of state for transport explained why he voted no.
Mr Burns said: "I voted against the Government’s proposals on same-sex marriage at Second Reading for a number of reasons.
"Firstly, I believe far more needs to be done to educate public attitudes towards the subject.
"Secondly, I listened to the views of my church, and finally, I have received literally hundreds of communications from constituents urging me to vote against the proposals, compared to a few who urged me to support it, and I listened to their views."
The bill will now be sent to the House of Lords where it will be looked at again.
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