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
Church wants another tax privilege
Posted: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:28
The Church of England is up in arms that the Government has removed zero-rated VAT status from the cost of alterations to listed buildings – without giving the Church an exemption.
In a letter to George Osborne last week, Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, said that the removal of zero-rated status for such works would "be a blow to huge numbers of volunteers who are working to open up their churches to wider community use".
Chartres called for an exemption for places of worship, or if that was not possible, additional funds for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which he said "to some extent offsets the VAT payable on repairs on listed buildings", which are not currently zero-rated. The grant scheme – introduced by Gordon Brown when he was told by Europe that he could not vary the VAT rate to the Church's advantage - was previously given the go-ahead until 2014. In his Budget announcement Osborne advised that this would be extended, however no additional funds were announced for this purpose.
Chartres said in his letter that "some £22m in VAT liability was incurred by parochial church councils on works undertaken in the community interest last year and they have therefore already had to bear the lion's share".
The Church of England is responsible for 45 per cent of all Grade 1 buildings in the country, with 12,500 of its 16,000 buildings listed. Many of these are undergoing alterations to make them more accessible, such as providing toilet and kitchen facilities or disabled access, and prior to the Budget, these works had been exempt from the standard rate of VAT.
A further letter supporting the Church's demands was sent by Tony Baldry MP, the Second Church Estates Commissioner. He questioned whether the inclusion of places of worship in the measure was "deliberate or an oversight" and added that "for a significant number of MPs, their greatest contact with churches in their constituencies is as a consequence of churches looking for help and support in parishes and communities having to fundraise to maintain and restore church buildings".
Baldry called for a meeting between Chartres, Osborne and himself to discuss the issue.
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: "Many churches have architectural and historical significance that is worthy of state support, but so are many secular buildings that are also not exempt from this tax responsibility. They, too, are struggling, and some important buildings are falling into disrepair because the owners cannot afford to maintain them. Is the National Trust or English Heritage to receive the same perks?
"The Church's self-interest seems to know no bounds. Not satisfied with the VAT subsidy on repairs to listed buildings but ring-fenced to places of worship, it wants yet more preferential treatment. Much of this privileged tax funding is for the benefit of parishioners rather than as a part of the nation's heritage preservation.
"If we value our heritage, we should value all of it, not just churches. If churches are to receive grants from the Government to cover VAT on heritage building alterations, then grants should be made to all heritage buildings on the same basis."
Lords Reform Committee to recommend retention of the bishops' bench
Posted: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:40
According to a BBC report, recommendations from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform due to be published in May will include keeping the Bishops Bench but reducing the number from 26 to 12.
Ministers have made clear that they intend to accept this proposal and it will almost certainly be included in the Queen's Speech in May.
The National Secular Society has long campaigned for the removal of the bishops from the House of Lords, arguing that they are an anachronism in a modern democracy.
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: "Britain remains the only country in the world that still gives religious representatives the right to sit in its legislature. A 21st century reform that retains the bishops is a betrayal of democracy and political cowardice of historic proportions.
"These reforms are likely to increase the power of the bishops. Even if their number is reduced to 12 from 26 this means they will form a higher proportion of the second chamber than they do now. What's more, the 12 are likely to become professional lobbyists rather than diocesan bishops attending on a rota.
"The bishops simply duplicate religious representation already provided by the mix of members in the Lords. They cannot make any real claim to be representative either: the bishops are all middle class men from England alone and only one in 50 of the population attends their churches on a normal Sunday."
Mr Wood said that retention of the bishops was a betrayal of Britain's diverse population. "Claims by the bishops that they speak for all religions are patronising and dishonest. In many instances they have conspired to use their privileged position in parliament to protect the interests of their own Church."
You can read our evidence to the House of Lords Reform Draft Bill Committee here.
The complete list of written evidence can be read here. (Ours appears on page 506)
