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
Another church backtracks over chancel repair liability
Posted: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 16:32
A church in East Yorkshire has become the latest to back down after facing opposition to its plans to use an ancient land law to make residents pay for church repairs.
Residents in Humbelton received a letter last October informing them that the local Parochial Church Council (PCC) had registered claims against their properties, making them liable to contribute to future repair bills at the local church.
Following a wave of negative publicity in the local media, church leaders have now decided to revoke the chancel repair liability "for the goodwill of residents of the parish".
Cindy Parsonage, a shelf stacker from Humbelton, was reported to have been so anxious about a potential claim, she started having panic attacks. She told the Hull Daily Mail that it had been a "horrible" experience.
"It's not just having had that hanging over us, it has been the dread of getting something through the door", said Ms Parsonage.
Another resident affected by chancel repair liability, Mick Wood, told the local press that he was "hugely relieved".
Mr Wood, who owns Humbleton Hall Farm, said: "This has been hanging over us for six months and, at last, common sense has prevailed.
"It has been very difficult and very time-consuming. We have had to do a lot of research to get the knowledge we needed, it's a very difficult topic."
A spokesperson for the Diocese of York said: "In October last year, the PCC of Humbleton with Elstronwick registered the properties in the parish, which were legally responsible for chancel repair liability (CRL) and informed the Land Registry.
"This was in response to a deadline set by the Government, which encouraged all church councils to register their CRL before October 13, last year.
"The decision to do this was made because the PCC are trustees of the church with a responsibility to care for it for generations to come, and they felt it was important to register their assets and keep their options open.
"However, on March 31, this year, the PCC unanimously resolved to revoke the registration of CRL on land in the parish.
"This decision was made for pastoral reasons and for the goodwill of the residents of the parish."
The move follows similar U-turns in Broadway and Stottesdon where chancel repair liability registrations were withdrawn following a backlash from local communities.
A petition urging the Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling to abolish chancel repair liability can be signed at Change.org.
You can join the Facebook group set up to campaign against chancel repair liability here.
Local campaign forces church U-turn over Chancel Repair Liability
Posted: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 16:59
A parochial church council (PCC) that used an ancient law to make homeowners financially liable for repairs to their local church has withdrawn its claim.
Villagers in Stottesdon, near Kidderminster, reacted with dismay when they received notices from the Land Registry informing them claims against their properties had been made by their local church.
The PCC has now backtracked following a local campaign which threatened to boycott the Church. A statement issued by the Diocese of Hereford, stated:
"This PCC has listened to the concerns of parishioners and discussed at length the issue of Chancel Repair Liability. Following careful review and consideration of all material facts the PCC now wishes to withdraw the unilateral notices and the cautions against first registrations lodged with The Land Registry."
Commenting on the decision to withdraw the claims, Colin Resch, the vicar of St Mary's Church, said: "The consequences of Chancel Repair Liability in our parish have made it very difficult for us to carry out our prime objective of sharing God's love within our community."
The diocesan press statement, entitled, "Church decision brings hope to divided village", omitted to mention that it was the actions of the PCC that caused the resentment in the first place.
The removal of the registrations means that when houses are sold on the repair liability will not transfer with the ownership, and new householders will not have to pay it. Until that time, the properties are still potentially subject to CLR.
Elaine Hesssion, who set up the local campaign with her partner Jonathan Hill, welcomed the U-turn. She said: "The decision to withdraw Chancel Repair Liability Notices registered against properties in Stottesdon was the morally right one and very good news to the community. Whilst this is certainly a step in the right direction the legal position is that the current PCC or a future PCC can re-register these Notices at any time and then we are back to square one. Those property owners affected would like a deed of relinquishment from the PCC stating that they will never pursue us for chancel repair liability and hopefully this will restore the value to our properties. Maybe then we can all put this behind us and unite once more as a community."
Ms Hession Facebook campaign group is now assisting homeowners in other areas affected by chancel repair liability.
The withdrawal of the registrations was also welcomed by the National Secular Society (NSS), which is campaigning for Chancel Repair Liability to be abolished.
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the NSS, said. "We acknowledge the contribution to our heritage of ancient churches, but it is completely unfair that money for repairing them can be demanded from property owners simply because of what the Law Commission describes as "anomalous, uncertain and obscure" law.
"Chancel Repair Liabilities have caused a substantial reduction in value and even saleability of the properties registered. Until the law is abolished the Church needs to try much harder to permit property owners to buy out their liabilities at affordable rates."
The law of Chancel Repair Liability dates back to the time of Henry VIII but had been little exercised for centuries until, in 2009, Adrian and Gail Wallbank were forced to sell their home after losing a protracted legal battle over a demand for almost £100,000 to fund repairs of their local medieval church at Aston Cantlow in Warwickshire.
Following the Wallbanks' case, the Government introduced a registration procedure enabling CRL to be shown on Land Registry documents. Around 12,000 registrations have been made by 250 parishes. Another 5,000 parishes that are eligible to do so, have not registered any claims. Further properties are potentially subject to CRL, despite being not being registered.
Since the Wallbanks' case, many vendors have taken out insurance against purchasers' future liability. The option of relatively inexpensive insurance is not open to owners of properties that have been registered – many of which were purchased before the Wallbank case, without CLR appearing on the deeds.
A petition urging the Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling to abolish chancel repair liability can be signed at Change.org.
The campaign group set up my Elaine Hession can be contacted via Facebook.
