The UK is one of the last western democracies with a state religion: the Church of England.
The Church's entanglement with the state is bad for both.
Join our campaign to disestablish the Church.
CAMPAIGN ALERT: Support the disestablishment bill
In November 2023, a private member's bill to disestablish the Church of England was selected in the ballot.
Please write to your MP and urge them to support this bill, to make the UK are more equitable and democratic country for people of all religions and beliefs.
Since our founding in 1866, one of our primary objectives has been disestablishment of the Church of England: its formal separation from the state.
More than 150 years later, census figures show most people in England and Wales are not Christian. Surveys consistently reveal a similar picture in Scotland. The case for disestablishment has never been stronger.
Disestablishment means the Church would no longer have privileged input into government - but also that government could not involve itself in the running of the Church. Both sides would gain autonomy. This is why support for Church-state separation can be found within the CofE itself.
There have been many proponents, religious and non-religious, for church-state separation, and there are a wide variety of motivations for supporting this reform.
The existence of a legally-enshrined national religion privileges one part of the population, one institution and one set of beliefs. Removing all symbolic and institutional ties between government and religion is the only way to ensure equal treatment to citizens of all religions and none.
The Church of England has enjoyed significant privileges relating its established status for many centuries. These privileges have remained largely unchanged despite the massive and continuing reduction in support for the Church in the UK. It is highly likely that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, making the Church of England's continuation as the established church unsustainable.
- Christians are a minority in Britain. In Wales and Scotland the majority have no religion.
- Just 1% of 18-24 year olds say they belong to the Church of England.
- Less than 1% of the population regularly attend Church of England church services.
The Church of England is also out of step with the UK public on several key issues: it remains opposed to same-sex relationships and allows parishes to reject women as bishops and priests. These discriminatory positions cannot be reconciled with the Church's status as part of the UK state.
And no institution with the shameful historical record of the Church of England safeguarding and abuse should retain its privileged role in the British establishment.
The existence of a legally enshrined national religion privileges one part of the population, one institution and one set of beliefs. Removing all symbolic and institutional ties between government and religion is the only way to ensure equal treatment of citizens of all religions and none.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Ask your MP to support the separation of church and state
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Welby’s political interventions seen as inappropriate, poll finds
Posted: Wed, 2 Jan 2019 15:21
A plurality of the public thinks it is inappropriate for the archbishop of Canterbury to express opinions on political issues, a poll has found.
According to a YouGov survey reported by The Times, 44% of British people think it is "not appropriate" for the archbishop to "express opinions on political issues". Thirty-five per cent think doing so is appropriate, while 21% do not know.
The current archbishop, Justin Welby, made a series of political pronouncements during 2018 on subjects including welfare policy, the tax system, insecurity for workers and inequality caused by a "broken" economic model.
In a letter to The Times National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said the poll results "should come as no surprise".
"Justin Welby is entitled to his views, but it is the privileged platform to promote them that most people will object to.
"Keeping religion and politics separate has promoted greater freedom and fairness for citizens wherever secularist principles have been put into practice. Religion should be free to compete in the marketplace of ideas but should be kept well away from the business of legislating."
The NSS campaigns for the separation of religion and politics, including through the disestablishment of the Church of England. The NSS also calls for the removal of the automatic right to sit in the House of Lords afforded to 26 C of E bishops.
In September Welby faced accusations of hypocrisy over his criticism of the tech giant Amazon, as it emerged that the Church of England held shares in the firm and had not attended its AGMs. It was also revealed that the church used zero hours contracts, which Welby described as "the reincarnation of an ancient evil".
The public largely agreed with Welby's sentiments on these subjects but still objected to his interventions. Fifty-three per cent agreed with him that universal credit left "too many people worse off".
Sixty-six per cent agreed that the current economic model was "broken" and had left "a widening gulf between rich and poor". Fifty-nine per cent agreed with his criticism of the tax system for allowing online companies to pay "almost nothing".
Thirty-nine per cent agreed with his criticism of zero-hours contracts, with 31% disagreeing.
Mr Evans said these figures were "a reminder that many people objected to the mix of religion and politics on principle, rather than because they dislike religious leaders' particular messages".
In response to the poll findings Lambeth Palace, the church's headquarters, told The Times: "The archbishop has been asked by some to stay out of politics. His response is that is not what Jesus did."
On New Year's Day the BBC broadcast a new year's message from Welby on BBC One.
MP calls for mandatory reporting of child abuse during PMQs
Posted: Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:55
The National Secular Society has welcomed an MP's call for a law to require the reporting of suspected child abuse, including in the Church of England, at prime minister's questions.
Tracy Brabin, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, raised the subject in the House of Commons on Wednesday. She asked whether Theresa May would "commit to protect children and introduce mandatory reporting across all institutions, including the Church of England".
She highlighted the case of her constituent Matthew Ineson, who has waived his anonymity to highlight the abuse he suffered. She said mandatory reporting could have prevented abuse which has recently been scrutinised at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
She also said international evidence shows that mandatory reporting "doubles the number of children placed in safety".
In response the prime minister said there was "mixed evidence on the impact of mandatory reporting". She added that "we are doing our best to repair… by giving some sense of justice to the people who suffered at the hands of too many institutions, including institutions of the state, for too long".
NSS vice-president Richard Scorer welcomed Brabin's intervention.
"Tracy Brabin is right to highlight the need for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, including in the Church of England.
"The evidence which has emerged from recent hearings at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has been a damning reminder of the long history of excuses and cover-ups of child abuse in religious institutions. A mandatory reporting law would have helped to tackle this.
"The government must put child protection before deference to religious groups."
The NSS campaigns for effective measures to bring perpetrators of clerical child abuse to secular justice.
In recent months the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has heard damning evidence of the cover-up of child sexual abuse in the C of E. Mr Scorer has been closely involved in the inquiry's hearings in his role as a lawyer representing some of the victims.
And earlier this year a BBC report revealed that the church had engaged in a huge cover-up of sexual abuse by drastically reducing the number of cases it deemed to require formal action.
On Wednesday Ineson welcomed Brabin's intervention and called mandatory reporting a "hugely important" issue. But he described May's response as "somewhat weak and evasive" and offered to meet her to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile this week three survivors of abuse within the Church of England told the NSS they knew of 18 bishops who failed to act in response to their abuse alone.
One of the survivors, Gilo, said this reflected "the reality that the C of E dare not face squarely".
"The C of E leadership is failing to take any ownership of all this denial and pretending that everyone will look away. It's an 'emperor's new clothes' situation. Eventually the hierarchy will look more and more ridiculous, and all this pretence and denial will no longer be sustainable."
Image: Tracy Brabin MP, © Chris McAndrew [CC BY 3.0]
