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 faith school to insist parents attend church for two years
Posted: Tue, 8 Nov 2016 13:17
A Church of England faith school in Heysham is considering changing its admissions policy to require parents to attend church for a much longer period to help secure a school place for their child.
St Peter's CofE Primary School currently requires proof of church attendance for six months, but proposals for new admissions arrangements will require "a minimum of monthly attendance at church at public worship for at least 24 months".
The proposed change at St Peter's school has come about after allegations that parents were having to fake faith to secure a school place.
Rather than abolishing selection on religious grounds as some Anglican schools have done, the school is instead tightening its religious requirements in response and insisting on two years of church attendance to meet the criteria for preferential treatment on the grounds of faith.
The required period of church attendance will increase under the new policy incrementally to eight months, then to one year and finally to the full two year period.
The school's headteacher, Nicola Gomersall, said that the "changes would mean that anyone joining the school in September 2020 would need to have demonstrated their faith at least once a month for the previous 24 months."
When deciding on how to allocate places, "parental worshipping" is considered more important in St Peter's admissions policy than children who have a sibling who attends the school.
NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans said: "It's utterly farcical that parents in modern Britain have to feign faith or prove their piety in order to get their children into local schools.
"Alarmingly, instead of tackling this inequality of access to publicly funded education, the Government is proposing to create yet more religiously selective faith schools, which will only increase levels of religious discrimination in state education.
"The time has come to end the discrimination and resulting segregation by moving towards an inclusive, secular and fairer education system that leaves the religious upbringing of children to their parents."
The Church of England claims its schools "are established primarily for the communities they are located in" and that they are "inclusive and serve equally those who are of the Christian faith, those of other faiths and those with no faith."
In response to recent Government proposals to allow more religious discrimination in new faith school admissions, the Church said "Our schools are not faith schools for the faithful, they are Church schools for the community."
Mr Evans added that "the admissions policies of many church schools across the country, including St Peter's, point to the falsity of that statement."
Church of England to consider cutting requirement for regular services
Posted: Tue, 18 Oct 2016 09:58
The Church of England is considering steps to abandon its current national obligations by lifting the requirement to hold regular services.
A paper published by the Church is proposing "to relax the requirements for regular worship in parish churches in sparsely-populated benefices".
If the reform goes ahead the requirement under canon law for each parish to conduct communion, morning and evening prayers every Sunday and on other special days would be lifted.
The Archbishops' Council has already approved the proposal, one of a raft of reforms set out by the Church's 'Simplification Task Group'.
The task group aims to make the Church "more fit for purpose for worship, ministry and mission" and Christian Today has described the group's purpose as "stopping the 'terrifying' decline" of the Church.
Keith Porteous Wood, the NSS's executive director, commented "The Church's own justification for the huge privilege of Establishment rests in part on its presence in parishes throughout England. If these obligations are removed, it further weakens the case for the continuance of Establishment, as does the reason behind the proposed change – the paucity of congregants. It is not unknown for there to be no one at all attending a service."
The move comes amid sustained decline in church attendance – something the Church of England is trying to compensate for through its faith schools.
The number of people attending Church of England services every week recently fell below 1 million for the first time. Less than 2% of the population regularly attend Anglican services and the Church expects this figure to decline in the next 30 years.
The chair of the task group, Bishop Pete Broadbent, said: "In rural parishes, no vicar can actually get around all their parishes so technically, they're breaking the law. All we're doing is putting the law in line with what already happens."
The Church of England advertises itself as "A Christian presence in every community" which plays "a vital role in the life of the nation, proclaiming the Christian gospel in words and actions and providing services of Christian worship and praise" with its "network of parishes cover the country".
