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
NSS criticises council for giving church £40k amid local opposition
Posted: Fri, 20 Sep 2019 15:39
The National Secular Society has questioned why a town council in Dorset is expecting taxpayers to fund repairs of an Anglican church despite the Church of England's significant wealth.
Lyme Regis Town Council voted in July to give £40,000 to St Michael's Parish Church to fund repairs, despite some councillors questioning the decision's legality and local residents reacting negatively.
St Michael's requires approximately £150,000 to refurbish the church. It initially raised £76,260 through special events, grants and from its reserves, but required 80% of the total cost before work could begin.
At a meeting in July the council's strategy and finance committee agreed to make a £25,000 donation. A full council meeting raised the amount to £40,000 later in the month.
In response several local residents on social media argued that the Church of England should pay for the repairs.
Church Commissioners for England, which manages the C of E's property assets, is one of the richest charities in England and Wales, worth £6.33bn in 2017. In its 2017 annual report it said it spent £56.6m on "mission activities".
Some councillors also raised concerns over the legality of the decision at the initial committee meeting. The Local Government Act of 1894 states that local councils' powers, duties and liabilities do not include the affairs and property of the Church of England.
The National Association of Local Councils advised the council to act "prudently", the council's solicitor advised members to act "cautiously" and the local town clerk warned that the decision carried risks.
Other residents also challenged the legality of the grant or raised concerns that councillors with close ties to the church should have declared an interest.
A councillor who is also a governor at a local C of E school proposed a £50,000 grant at the strategy and finance committee meeting in July.
Some local residents also argued the money could have been better spent, noting that food banks were opening and pre-schools closing in the area.
NSS campaigns officer Megan Manson said: "It is important to protect cultural heritage, and religious buildings of historical or architectural significance are no exception.
"But it is concerning that the council has chosen to spend tens of thousands of pounds when there are clear and reasonable objections from locals, many of whom want their council tax spent on other amenities.
"The Church of England is spending a great deal of its resources on evangelism work while putting the burden of looking after its buildings on taxpayers. We must question why councils are enabling the church, with its immense wealth and privilege, to shirk its responsibility to look after its churches.
"Local authorities should take a firm stance and refuse to use public funds on expenses on churches that the Church of England can easily pay for itself."
It is expected that Lyme Regis Town Council will need to cut its budget in future as it will no longer receive grants from Dorset Council.
Notes
- Last year the NSS met government representatives and urged them to take the C of E's vast wealth into account before handing out grants to assist it with building repairs.
- The NSS highlighted the extent of the C of E's wealth in the blog For richer or poorer: where is the Church of England?, by treasurer Ed Moore, in 2016.
Image: Lyme Regis – parish church of St. Michael the Archangel [CC BY-SA 2.0], © Chris Downer, via Geograph
Just 12% of Brits are affiliated to C of E, major survey reveals
Posted: Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:01
The National Secular Society has called for a "serious rethink" of religion's public role after major research revealed that just 12% of Britons are affiliated to the Church of England.
The British Social Attitudes Survey, by the research institute NatCen, has revealed that affiliation to the C of E almost halved between 2008, when it stood at 22%, and 2018. In 1983 the figure was 40%.
The survey reveals that the British population is becoming increasingly irreligious and religiously diverse. Fifty-two per cent of people say they do not belong to a religion and the number of open atheists has doubled in 20 years, to 26%.
There have been slight rises among some non-Christian religions but affiliation has fallen among most Christian denominations.
Just 11% of respondents expressed "complete confidence" or "a great deal" of confidence in churches and religious organisations, with another 35% expressing "some" confidence.
Those figures were significantly worse than comparable figures for the education system, courts and business and only marginally better than confidence in parliament. More people (21%) said they had "no confidence at all" in religious organisations than in parliament (16%).
National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said the figures showed "the need for a serious rethink of the privileges granted to religion in Britain".
"As Christianity declines and Britain becomes both more irreligious and more religiously diverse, the UK needs an equitable and sustainable settlement fit for the 21st century.
"In particular there should be a rethink of the established status of the Church of England, the automatic places granted to 26 Anglican bishops in the House of Lords and the state funding granted to religious groups to run schools. And the fact that trust in churches and other religious organisations is far lower than trust in most secular institutions makes these changes more urgent.
"Britain's constitutional settlement and public policies should catch up with the opinions of its population."
The report also noted that declining religious affiliation was accompanied by increasing tolerance towards those from other religious backgrounds. Eighty-two per cent of people would now "definitely" or "probably" accept someone from a different religion marrying in to their family. Increasing proportions of people now have positive or neutral views of people from various religious or non-religious groups.
Just one per cent of 18-24 year olds said they belonged to the C of E. Thirty-five per cent of people said religious organisations had too much power, an increase from 30% in 2008. Seventy-six per cent said religious officials should not try to influence elections, with just nine per cent saying they should.
Sixty-three per cent said religion brought more conflict than peace around the world.
The survey's findings are consistent with a trend of declining religiosity in recent years. Last year the survey found that affiliation to the C of E had fallen to 14%.
The survey has now found a non-religious majority for three years running. The proportion of non-religious Britons has risen from 31% since 1983.
Image: All Saints Church near South Wingfield in Derbyshire, via Flickr, © Eamon Curry [CC BY 2.0] (taken April 2017)
