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
CofE’s handling of abuse claims hampered by “culture of deference”
Posted: Thu, 6 Oct 2022 17:28
A "culture of deference" contributed to the mishandling of Church of England abuse claims, a review has found.
A three-year review of abuse allegations in the CofE found 383 new cases, with priests the most common perpetrators and children the main victims, according to a report published yesterday.
Most cases date back only to the 2000s and 2010s.
The review, which aimed to identify institutional failings in safeguarding and handling of abuse allegations, was the second carried out by the CofE, after the first in 2007 was found inadequate.
It found the CofE suffered a "culture of deference" towards bishops and other senior members and a "longstanding ethos where individuals felt unable to challenge back over safeguarding concerns".
It gave examples of a culture of protectionism which "allows alleged and convicted perpetrators to work and worship unchecked, failure to listen and act, disbelief and in some cases diverting blame on to the victim of abuse".
The review found allegations "were often dealt with informally, without appropriate investigations or records", and there were incidences where "belief in forgiveness and the right to worship outweighed safeguarding considerations".
It said there were instances of bias, including "misogyny, sexism and attitudes relating to women in the church, especially as ordained priests", in addition to same-sex relationships.
The CofE was also criticised for its stance on gay people this week by Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who said the Church is "actively pursuing a campaign of discrimination" against lesbian and gay people, and questioned whether the "unique privileges" enjoyed by the Church are sustainable.
His criticism follows the Church barring the late archbishop Desmond Tutu's daughter, an ordained Anglican priest, from officiating at her godfather's funeral last month because she is in a same-sex marriage.
The NSS launched a campaign in August encouraging the public to write to their MPs and call for disestablishment in the wake of archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby affirming same-sex relationships are sinful at an international Anglican conference this year.
NSS: "Disestablishment can't come soon enough"
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "These appalling findings reveal the extent to which prioritising religious agendas and hierarchies has led to the mishandling of hundreds of cases of alleged child abuse in the Church of England.
"Disturbingly, most of these new cases were relatively recent. The Church evidently cannot be trusted to mark its own homework, making the case for mandatory reporting laws ever stronger.
"But there need to be broader questions regarding the Church's established status. Its atrocious record on abuse and its institutional homophobia, both of which are connected to its religiosity, make a mockery of any claims to special spiritual or moral insight. Disestablishment can't come soon enough."
Abolish bishops’ bench, NSS urges commission reviewing HoL
Posted: Mon, 3 Oct 2022 15:44
The National Secular Society has told a commission on political reform that bishops should no longer have automatic seats in parliament.
The Commission on Political Power, which was established to examine potential legislative and structural reform of the UK political system, is consulting on reforming the House of Lords.
In its submission, the NSS said if any reform of the House of Lords is to be initiated, "the bishops' bench is an obvious place to start".
The NSS said it was wrong for any religion to have a privileged position in the upper chamber, and that it was long overdue for the bishops' bench to be removed.
It said there is "no reasonable justification for allowing Church of England bishops to act as ex-officio legislators" and that the bishops' bench is "an anomaly in a modern, liberal democracy".
Currently two Church of England archbishops and 24 bishops are given seats in the upper house and are able to vote on legislation.
Their position grants them other privileges, and they are given deferential treatment by other members.
The current settlement is "both divisive and unrepresentative", and on some issues the bishops do not even represent the views of their own laity, the NSS said, citing marriage equality as an example.
Just last month, the archbishop of Canterbury (pictured), a sitting Lord Spiritual, re-affirmed the Anglican Church's 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin and gay marriage is illegitimate.
It was "indefensible" to maintain the status quo, the NSS said, with 2021 YouGov polling showing only 16% of the public believe bishops should be given seats automatically.
The NSS also stressed its opposition to replacing or supplementing bishops with leaders from other faiths. Such a move "would further erode the franchise of the increasing numbers of non-religious people, and indeed of the many liberal religious people," it said.
The Electoral Reform Society has also criticised the current role of the Church of England in the House of Lords.
NSS: 'The existence of the bishop's bench is an anachronism'
NSS campaigns officer Alejandro Sanchez said: "The church is, of course, welcome to implement its political agenda through the democratic channels that everyone else in this country is subject to. But the UK is both more irreligious and religiously diverse than ever before. Less than 1% of Britons regularly attend Anglican services.
"In a country that claims to uphold the equal treatment of all its citizens, the existence of the bishop's bench is an anachronism. It is high time it was consigned to the annals of history."
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