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
Restrictions on religion higher in countries with official religions - report
Posted: Thu, 5 Oct 2017 15:06
Countries with an official or preferred religion are "more likely to place a high level of government restrictions on other religious groups," according to independent research.
A new Pew Research Center analysis investigated the impact of religion in 199 countries and territories around the world, and on the relationship between religion and government in particular.
The research found that the majority (53%) of countries have no official or preferred religion. Only 22% do have an official state religion. The United Kingdom is within this minority. Twenty per cent of countries have a 'preferred/favoured' religion, while 5% are actively hostile to religious institutions.
The most common government-endorsed faith is Islam, with 27 countries enshrining Islam as their state religion. While only 13 countries designate Christianity as a state religion, the analysis found that "Christian churches receive preferential treatment in more countries – 28 – than any other unofficial but favoured faith".
The report also discovered that countries that have an official state religion "are more likely to place a high level of government restrictions on other religious groups". This was true even when controlling for the countries' population size, level of democracy and level of social hostilities involving religion.
In addition to being more likely to ban certain religious groups, countries with a state religion or preferred religion are also more prone to interfere with worship or other religious practices. Seventy-eight per cent of these countries interfered with the worship of religious groups in 2015, compared to only 46% of countries with neither an official or preferred religion.
The report also said countries with a state religion are significantly more likely to confer "privileged status" on its official religion: 98% of these countries provide funding or resources for educational resources, religious property or other religious activities.
In 86% of these countries, the funding or resources specifically for religious education programmes or religious schools "disproportionately benefits" the official religion. This includes the UK, where the Church of England benefits in the fields of religious education and religious property.
The report included a survey of 18 countries in Central and Eastern Europe on their attitudes to politics and religion, which found that 59% of people are in favour of separation of church and state. This includes 68% of people in countries with no official or preferred religion, and 50% in countries that do have an official or preferred religion.
Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns director, said: "This report serves to highlight that the separation of religion from state is in no way inimical to religion or the rights of religious believers. Indeed, secularism protects citizens from the dominant religion.
"Here in Britain the privileging of religion is a significant cause of inequality and unfairness. Removing religious privilege is a key part of ensuring equality for all. This is particularly pertinent in the UK where religious demographics are rapidly changing."
City of London asks for secular message at official dinner
Posted: Thu, 5 Oct 2017 10:25
The City of London has asked the Lord Mayor's chaplain to give a religiously-neutral message, rather than a Christian grace, at an official dinner.
The City told the chaplain, Rev Canon Roger Royle, to give the message at a black tie event for the charitable Dragon Awards last week. The awards, which are held at the Mansion House, recognise corporate community involvement.
"[We] respect people of all religious beliefs and those who have none," said the City of London Corporation. "The note of thanks felt most appropriate for our audience as a celebration of London's diversity."
The National Secular Society welcomed the decision. "There is no justification for holding communal prayers at a non-religious public event," said communications officer Chris Sloggett.
At the dinner the toastmaster mistakenly said Rev Royle would give a grace. The priest then explained his instructions and read out some lines from the awards website.
Rev Royle told the Sunday Times that he disagreed with the decision. "I don't see why we didn't have a proper grace because the atmosphere of the evening was perfectly Christian," he said. "In the City… you've got to make sure God does get a look in". George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said the chaplain should either have resigned or defied instructions and said grace.
Mr Sloggett said the Church's reaction to the decision had "shown, perhaps inadvertently, what the next logical step should be".
"It is indeed incongruous for Church officials to be delivering secular messages at public events. They have no qualifications for the job, and on the evidence of this dinner they throw an immature strop when they are asked to do it. But the answer to that should not be to reinstate religious messages – it should be to take the Church out of our public ceremonies altogether."
The event is the latest to spark debate on communal religious observance. Last week the NSS wrote to the Justice Secretary to ask him to scrap Judges' Services, where judges attend an Anglican service and pray for guidance fully robed, in their official capacity and during working hours. And last month Belfast's new Lord Mayor, Nuala McAllister, bucked a trend by not inviting anyone to say grace before her installation dinner. The NSS commended her decision.
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