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
End bishops’ automatic right to sit in Lords, says peer
Posted: Fri, 25 Jun 2021 08:36
The practice of reserving seats for 26 Church of England bishops in the House of Lords is an "absurd constitutional anomaly" which should end, a peer has argued.
Liberal Democrat peer Dick Taverne made the call in the Westminster publication The House, alongside a piece making the contrary argument from the bishop of Durham.
Taverne argued that the position of Anglican bishops "sets a bad example for democracy" and "increases the influence of the Church of England on our public affairs to a degree which is generally underestimated".
He noted that the bishops receive "special treatment" in the Lords, as they are "entitled to precedence" when they rise to speak and because every sitting is preceded by prayers.
He also said the bishops were "often out of touch with public opinion" on "important moral issues".
He cited the bishops' opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying, which polls suggest is widely supported among the British public, and support for faith schools as examples.
Bill to end bishops' right to sit in Lords
Last year Taverne introduced a bill to parliament which would end the bishops' automatic right to sit in the Lords, and which the National Secular Society helped to draft.
He also explained his case in an episode of the NSS's podcast.
NSS comment
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans welcomed Taverne's intervention.
"The anachronistic bishops' bench grants the Church of England a privileged position to advance its own interests in parliament. It's absurd that any clerics are given a lawmaking role solely by virtue of their position in the hierarchy of one particular church.
"This archaic arrangement enables a church that has seen unrelenting decline in affiliation for decades to maintain undue influence over our national affairs.
"Ending the bishops' automatic right to sit in parliament would be a welcome step for equality, fairness and democracy."
Polls suggest public support for change
In March 53% of respondents to a YouGov poll said the Lords should not continue to have places for C of E bishops, while just 16% said it should.
In response to another YouGov poll for The Times in 2017, 62% said no religious clerics should have "an automatic right to seats". Only 8% said the bishops should retain their seats.
Dick Taverne and the bishop of Durham's articles are available on The House section of the PoliticsHome website.
Most Brits don’t think being Christian is important to being British
Posted: Tue, 25 May 2021 09:00
A majority of Britons think being a Christian is "not at all important" for national identity, with just one in five regarding it as important, a survey has found.
Data from a Gallup survey, highlighted by the Pew Research Center, has shown that nine per cent of Britons think being a Christian is "very important for being truly British". Eleven per cent consider it "somewhat important".
Fifty-two per cent said it was not at all important in this regard, with a further 27% saying it was not very important.
The proportion of people who consider it important has almost halved in five years, falling from 37% to 20% since spring 2016.
According to the new figures, fewer people considered Christianity to be important than being born in Britain (31%), "sharing British customs and traditions" (70%) and the ability to speak English (87%).
NSS comment
National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said the figures were "a reminder of the disconnect between religion's constitutional position and the attitudes of people in Britain".
"These figures show that it's high time for a rethink of the relationship between religion and state in the UK.
"The Church of England's established status looks increasingly absurd. It's unjustifiable that 26 places in the legislature are reserved as of right for C of E bishops; that Anglican prayers are said during parliamentary proceedings; and that Christian worship is required in schools.
"In all these regards the UK would be best served by embracing secular democratic principles, so its citizens are equally valued and their rights equally guaranteed, regardless of their personal beliefs."
Survey details
The data came as part of a study of views on national identity in the US, the UK, Germany and France.
The survey also found that:
- Seventy-seven per cent of people in the UK perceived there was a lot or some discrimination against Muslims in Britain; 58% thought the same was true of Jews; and 31% of Christians.
- Fifty-three per cent said "people today are too easily offended by what others say", with 44% saying people should "be careful what they say to avoid offending others".
In the UK, interviews were conducted with 1,003 adults aged 18 and over by Gallup in November and December 2020.
Hat-tip: Clive Field, Counting Religion in Britain, May 2021.
Image: hobbit/Shutterstock.com.
