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 received £750m of public money in last five years
Posted: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 13:25
Over 750 million pounds of public money has been given to the Church of England over the past five years despite its own investments topping £10bn, new figures reveal.
More than £750 million was received across the Church in the form of grants and tax rebates, despite it holding investments and cash of more than £10 billion.
The figures were released by Second Church Estates Commissioner Andrew Selous in response to a series of written parliamentary questions from Labour MP Kerry McCarthy.
In September Selous, who as the second estates commissioner speaks for the CoE in the House of Commons, called for even greater government financial support for repairs across its 16,000 parish churches.
But these most recent answers have forced the CofE to acknowledge for the first time the sum of money already being provided and how.
Over the last five years the CofE received £468m in Gift Aid, £118m in Listed Place of Worship grants, £102m in National Lottery Heritage funding and more than £50m in Culture Recovery Grants. In total these sums already exceed the amount Selous states is being spent on necessary building repairs.
Alongside the figures for public support, the CofE also for the first time detailed the amount of investments and cash retained by the Church Commissioners, dioceses and cathedrals. Cathedrals held cash and investments of £574m, the dioceses £1.8 billion and the Church Commissioners £7.6 billion.
The Church Commissioners for England is a registered charity which has the fifth largest income of all religious charities, and the largest income of all charities with exclusively religious charitable objects, in England and Wales.
While there is a "significant and growing maintenance deficit" across its parish churches, the CofE is directing significant sums into evangelism. Figures presented to the CofE's General Synod in September revealed £248 million was given out between 2017 and 2020 as part of the church's "renewal and reform" programme to attract new worshippers and found new congregations – something which has "not so far" succeeded, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The NSS has said any further state handouts must be carefully scrutinised and fully justified to the taxpayer.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said:
"Taxpayers shouldn't be further burdened with propping up an ailing yet wealthy religious institution.
"Whilst the state can play a funding role in the conservation of heritage buildings, any such support should be based on need, especially in times of financial stringency.
"Significant sums of public money have been paid to a privileged institution that pleads poverty while spending millions on unsuccessful projects to recruit more members and evangelise to disinterested young people. State support is therefore indirectly subsidising Anglican evangelism.
"No other religious institution is in such a privileged position to demand public support for its infrastructure. Any further state handouts must be carefully scrutinised and fully justified to the taxpayer."
Notes on recent evangelism projects:
The 2020 financial report said it awarded £24.4 million to "strategic development funding" projects targeting "younger generations" and "deprived communities". This included:
- £4.6m to "develop mission to the 'missing generation of 11–29-year-olds" in Liverpool by creating a network to "undertake evangelistic activities in schools and city universities" and "investing in a School of Discipleship to form young leaders".
- £3m to "renew mission" in Newham which has "very low church attendance levels".
- £2m to deliver "church planting and revitalisation" in areas where "church attendance is low" and "develop fresh expressions of church" in Oxford.
- £1.4m to "make new disciples and create new worshipping communities" in York by training parishes and lay people to "become effective in community evangelism and to equip lay pioneers to plant new worshipping communities".
- £1.06m to establish two new church planting churches to "grow and nurture new disciples especially among younger families, children, youth and younger adults" in Newark.
Fifteen dioceses have been awarded £3.8m "capacity funding" which largely supports the employment of project staff to oversee "strategic development funding" projects.
The Commissioners have also given £5.7m "strategic transformation funding" to Sheffield Diocese to support the diocese's plans including "significantly increased engagement with young people".
Additionally, an undisclosed sum was provided to refurbish bishops' housing in Hereford and Chester.
Image: Peter-Lomas, Pixabay
Bishops’ bench rallies against Assisted Dying Bill
Posted: Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:41
Anglican bishops in the House of Lords have united to oppose a bill to allow the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill people.
During the second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill on Friday, archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured) said there was "unanimity" on the bishops' bench that the law on assisted dying "does not need to be changed".
The bishops' bench consists of 26 Church of England bishops, or 'Lords Spiritual', who are automatically appointed to the House of Lords.
The bill would legalise assisted dying as a choice for terminally ill, mentally competent adults in their final months of life.
The bill passed unopposed following the debate in the House of Lords but is unlikely to progress further without government support.
Religious opposition
Other members of the bishop's bench who voiced their opposition in the debate included Martin Warner, Paul Butler and James Newcome.
Warner, who is the bishop of Chichester, said "God does not inflict evil on people".
Robert Winston said the influence of bishops on the "moral compass" of the assisted dying debate is "extremely important".
Religious objections to the bill were also made by Michael Farmer, who called it "an atheists' Bill, denying God and denying eternity", and Patrick Cormack, who said the bill "does not really acknowledge the fact that many of us believe in the afterlife".
Ranbir Singh Suri equated assisted dying with suicide which he called "a crime against our maker, almighty God, and nature".
Citing Sikh religious texts, Suri said: "We have to accept the will of almighty God".
Support for the bill
Molly Meacher, who tabled the bill, said it was "overwhelmingly popular" in society and supported by 84% of the population, including 80% of people who declare themselves religious. She said this was "not surprising" because "the sole aim of this Bill is to reduce unnecessary and unbearable suffering."
Supporters also included former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who said: "I may be out of step with the House of Bishops, but I think it is out of step with the vast majority of our nation, including many of its own membership."
Other supporters who proclaimed Christian faith in the debate included Ruth Davidson, Sal Brinton, Nigel Vinson and Gus O'Donnell.
Several other supporters stressed the bill would not compel those with religious or other objections to assisted dying to take any part in the process.
Ann Mallalieu said: "However strong your personal view, whether based on religious belief, personal experience or strong convictions about the sanctity of human life, is it right for you as an individual to insist that your view prevails when it will prolong intolerable suffering for someone else who happens to hold a different view?"
NSS comment
National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said: "This debate has again highlighted the role of religion in restricting people's freedom and choices when it comes to end-of-life decisions.
"Opposition to assisted dying is often rooted in conservative religious views. Those views should not be given undue weight in parliament. Yet this is precisely what having religious appointees in our legislature does.
"On this issue, the bishops' bench is not only out of step with the views of the general population – it is even out of step with most of its own congregation.
"It's time to end the pretence that senior Anglican clerics have some kind of special moral authority that justifies their privileged place in parliament. All the bishops' bench does is undermine democracy by promoting the narrow interests of religious elites. This debate is a good example of why scrapping the bishops' bench is long overdue."
Notes
- The United Kingdom is unique among Western democracies in giving representatives of religious groups automatic seats in its legislature. The only other country that does this is Iran.
- In September the British Medical Association, which represents about 150,000 medics, voted to adopt a position of neutrality on physician-assisted dying at its annual representative meeting.
