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
NSS dismisses ‘regressive’ proposal to extend religious representation in Lords
Posted: Fri, 14 Sep 2018 08:47
The National Secular Society has dismissed a call from the government's 'faith minister' for seats as of right in the House of Lords to extended to other 'faith leaders'.
Speaking to The Times, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, the Conservative minister for faith, said seats reserved for Church of England bishops in the House of Lords should be extended to include leaders of other religions – claiming it would lead to "broader representation" of society in the chamber.
At present, there are 26 Church of England bishops (known as 'lords spiritual') with the automatic right to sit in Britain's Parliament with full voting rights, giving them a significant platform within the legislative process.
Britain is the only sovereign democratic country to have automatic religious representation in its legislature. Iran is the only other country to reserve places in its parliament for unelected religious leaders.
Stephen Evans, CEO of the NSS, said: "The whole practice of giving clerics seats as of right in our legislature is anachronistic, and should be abolished as soon as possible.
"Extending automatic representation to other faith leaders would be unworkable, unpopular and divisive – running the risk of creating sectarian tensions.
"Advocating for political representation around religious identities is such a divisive and deeply flawed idea. A regressive multi-faith approach to religious privilege would further erode the franchise of the increasing proportion of non-religious people, and indeed of the many liberal religious people whose leaders, those most likely to be gifted a seat in the House of Lords, tend to hold considerably more orthodox and conservative views shared by very few in the country.
"The presence of religious leaders also amounts to double representation as many temporal peers already represent religious interests and a number of retired religious leaders have already been appointed as peers.
"The unjustifiable prioritising of religious interests in this way highlights the reason why the role of 'minister for faith' should be abolished. Promoting faith should not be the business of government."
A majority of British people believe that religion should play a less prominent role in parliament. A YouGov survey for The Times in 2007 found 62% of British people think that no religious clerics should have an automatic right to seats in the House of Lords. Only 8% of people said the bishops should retain their seats.
The National Secular Society campaigns for the separation of religion and state and for the removal of the bishops' bench from Parliament.
Affiliation to C of E has halved since 2002, major survey shows
Posted: Fri, 7 Sep 2018 06:28
The National Secular Society has called the Church of England's established status "unsustainable" after new figures revealed a sharp decline in affiliation.
The proportion of Brits who described themselves as 'belonging to the Church of England' fell to a record low in 2017, according to the most recent British Social Attitudes survey.
The survey, conducted by NatCen Social Research, shows affiliation to the C of E more than halved in 15 years, falling from 31% in 2002 to 14% in 2017.
Fifty-two per cent of people now say they have no religion, including seven out of 10 of those aged 18-24. This is the second year in a row that the survey has found a non-religious majority in Britain.
Just two per cent of young adults identified with the Church of England. The sharpest decline in C of E affiliation happened among 45 to 54 year olds (35% in 2002 vs 11% in 2017).
The proportion of over-65s affiliating to the C of E has fallen from 52% in 2002 to 30% in 2017. In the same time period the proportion of over-65s with no religion has increased from 18% to 34%.
The proportions of people who describe themselves as Roman Catholic (eight per cent), belonging to 'other Christian affiliations' (10%) and 'of non-Christian faiths' (eight per cent) have remained fairly stable.
The findings also showed that 78% of those who follow the C of E and 58% of Catholics attend church less than once per month.
Commenting on the findings, National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said the Church of England's position as the established church was "unsustainable".
"These figures are part of a long-term pattern. The Church of England's teachings and attitudes have been diverging from the interests and values of ordinary people in Britain for many decades now.
"This again calls into question the UK's constitutional settlement which remains mired in religious privilege – embarrassingly out of step with the nation's secular outlook.
"Politicians should rethink religion's public role and the Church of England's relationship with the state. In particular, they should call time on the seats given as of right to 26 Anglican clergy in the legislature and roll back religious groups' considerable influence over publicly funded schools.
"Britain should become a modern secular state where every citizen can be treated fairly and valued equally, irrespective of their religious beliefs."
In Scotland 56% of people now say they have no religion, including 73% of those aged 18-34. The number of Scots who say they belong to the Church of Scotland has fallen from 31% in 2002 to 18% in 2017. Just four per cent of those aged 18-34, 13% of those aged 35-54 and 32% of those aged 55 and over now follow the Church of Scotland. All these figures have fallen significantly since 2002.
Only 25% of those affiliated to the Church of Scotland attended at least once per month in 2017, a drop from 33% in 2002.
Roger Harding, head of public attitudes at the National Centre for Social Research, said: "Our figures show an unrelenting decline in Church of England and Church of Scotland numbers. This is especially true for young people where less than one in 20 now belong to their established church.
"While the figures are starkest among younger people, in every age group the biggest single group are those identifying with no religion."
The NSS has set out its policy proposals for the reform of religion's role in public life in its manifesto for change.
