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
Dilute Anglican presence in next coronation, says UCL report
Posted: Wed, 23 May 2018 13:28
Religious oaths should be revised or scrapped from the UK's next coronation service and a civil ceremony should be held alongside the traditional Anglican one, a major think tank has said.
Two reports by University College London (UCL)'s Constitution Unit say Prince Charles should make secular declarations in place of three traditional oaths to uphold Christianity when he becomes king.
The first report, Swearing in the New King, recommends a "radical reformulation" of the oaths. The new oaths would focus on the United Kingdom, the constitution and its laws and the monarch's duty to the people.
The monarch is currently required to swear the Scottish oath, to uphold the Presbyterian Church of Scotland; the accession declaration oath, to be a true and faithful Protestant; and the coronation oath, which includes promising to uphold the C of E's privileges.
The report says these oaths, which originally date from 1688 to 1707, "reflect a period of history that is now over".
The second report, Inaugurating a New Reign, suggests adding a civil ceremony in Westminster Hall and involving other denominations and faiths in the traditional Anglican ceremony. It adds that there is "a case" for having the civil ceremony before the Anglican one, to "stress the inclusiveness of the UK state".
It highlights the significant decline in support for the Church of England and states that "however welcoming to other faiths, a wholly Anglican coronation service is no longer capable of reflecting or responding to modern British society".
"A secular ceremony could celebrate the nation's diversity in ways that an Anglican service cannot."
In December the National Secular Society said Charles's accession would be a "particularly opportune moment" to press the benefits of disestablishing the Church of England in its Separating Church and State report.
In response to the UCL reports NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said a change in the head of state would represent "an ideal opportunity" to begin severing the ties between religion and the state.
"One of the most significant changes Britain has seen since the last coronation is its shift away from Christianity. Today the UK is characterised by its religious diversity and has, for the first time, a non-religious majority.
"The monarch's coronation reinforces the privileged position of the Church of England, and this should now be called into question. The UK's next head of state should not promote an official religious preference, far less be under a formal obligation to sustain one.
"The time is right to cut the ties between religion and state, and the next coronation will provide the ideal opportunity to begin that process."
Swearing in the King stresses the changes in religious belief in the UK since 1953, when the current queen was sworn in.
"The nature of religious belief in the UK has greatly changed. Since the last coronation, processes of secularisation and pluralisation of belief have occurred with the result that surveys show that in Great Britain half the population now has no religious affiliation whilst the number belonging to non-Christian religions has grown to six per cent."
Dr Bob Morris, one of the reports' authors, said: "In 1953 the UK was then the head of a global colonial empire, with armed forces five times their present size, capable of mounting a procession of over 40,000 troops with attendant military bands.
"The UK now is a much more diverse, pluralist and secular society. The coronation needs to reflect that greater diversity: it will define not just the monarchy, but the whole nation whom the monarch is to represent."
In 2015 Charles said he would retain the monarch's traditional title as 'defender of the faith' as king, whilst "ensuring that other people's faiths can also be practised".
Image: © Dan Marsh, via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 2.0]
See also: Will Anglicanism reign supreme at the next coronation?
Welby: disestablishment “a decision for parliament and people”
Posted: Fri, 18 May 2018 15:12
The National Secular Society has reiterated its call for the separation of church and state after the archbishop of Canterbury suggested he would not stand in its way.
In an interview with The Guardian, Justin Welby said disestablishing the Church of England would not be a "disaster" and the removal of its privileges should be "a decision for parliament and people".
"Would it be a disaster?" Welby said. "No. Nothing is a disaster with God." He added that disestablishment would be "a complicated process".
He also said local church communities acting at the grassroots level are more important than the national institution.
In response NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "Welby is right to say the removal of C of E's privileges is decision for parliament and people.
"It is a decision the people of Britain should make to create a fairer, more egalitarian society. Religion of course has a place in our society for those who want it, but on terms of equality, not privilege."
The NSS has been making the case for disestablishment since its founding in 1866.
Only 22% of countries have an official state religion. The UK is one of only two countries in the world that reserve seats in their legislature for clerics, the other being Iran.
In December the NSS highlighted the benefits of disestablishment for both the church and the state in its report Separating Church and State: The Case for Disestablishment. The report called the arguments for disestablishment "compelling".
"Establishment, by definition, grants undue privileges to one particular religion, to one particular section of the population and to one particular institution."
It said the long-term prospects of separation between church and state were "positive". It added that "potential flashpoints", which would open opportunities for disestablishment, would emerge with "considerable frequency". It cited the "significant values gap between the hierarchy of the church and mainstream British public opinion".
In particular it highlighted the church's "regressive stance" on issues such as the ordination of female bishops, same-sex marriage and the decriminalisation of assisted suicide.
Welby's interview was conducted shortly before the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which he will preside over. His comments echo those made by his predecessor Rowan Williams last year that disestablishment would be "by no means the end of the world".
Welby also said he is "conscious of the possibility" that the Church of England's reputation could be damaged further by the revelations arising from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse.
