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 urges schools commissioner to reject church plan to control community schools
Posted: Tue, 5 Apr 2016 16:25
The National Secular Society has called on the Regional Schools Commissioner for the North of England to oppose plans for a Church of England takeover of four Newcastle schools.
The Commissioner, Janet Renou, is currently considering a proposal to form a multi-academy trust (MAT) which would include one Church of England school and four non-religiously designated schools.
According to one city councillor, the Church would have three out of five seats on the trust's board, despite just one of the five schools currently having a religious ethos.
In a letter to the Schools Commissioner, Stephen Evans, NSS Campaigns Director, urged Ms Renou to preserve local provision of secular education and protect children's rights to religious freedom by blocking the proposal.
Despite MATs being under a contractual obligation to protect schools' individual character the NSS says it has "little confidence" that in reality the ethos of the community schools will be protected through the funding agreement with the Secretary of State.
The letter invites the Commissioner to "consider how non-religious schools can realistically be protected from an encroaching religious ethos if the most senior people in the trust are all advancing the interests of the Church."
The Newcastle Diocesan Education Board claims that the ethos of the individual schools will be protected – despite representatives of the Church controlling the trust's board.
Newcastle City Council is seeking assurances that the schools will continue to adopt a "fair approach to school admissions."
In the letter to Ms Renou the National Secular Society also noted its broader concerns about forced academisation potentially resulting in even more schools falling under the control of religious groups.
Mr Evans added: "In the long-term, there is nothing to prevent non-religious schools in [faith-based] multi-academy chains from taking on a religious designation provided they gain the approval of the Secretary of State.
"At the National Secular Society we are frequently contacted by parents, teachers and governors concerned about Church of England controlled schools seeking to assert an overbearing religious ethos in its schools."
The NSS has repeatedly raised concerns with the Department for Education about religious organisations using academisation to further their own interests by gaining greater control of publicly funded education, including non-religious schools.
NSS urges Government to fix the date for Easter now, not wait indefinitely for religious consensus
Posted: Wed, 23 Mar 2016 08:50
The National Secular Society has urged the Government to fix the date for the Easter public holiday without waiting for religious agreement on the issue – warning that such compromise is likely to take decades and may even be impossible.
In a letter to Business Secretary Sajid Javid, Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "Schools, parents and businesses are all inconvenienced by the fluctuating date of Easter. Action can be taken by the Government to fix this.
"While it is welcome that religious leaders from different Christian denominations have attempted to find a common date, this process, if it is ever complete, could take decades.
"In the meantime the moving date causes significant disruption."
Currently the date for the Easter public holiday can vary by more than a month. The earliest Easter can be is 22 March, with the latest possible date being 25 April – though these are extremes, the regular fluctuations are significant.
This results in schools having their terms interrupted and being forced to use disruptive, irregular term-lengths, and it inconveniences businesses, particularly the leisure industry where Easter is traditionally the start of the holiday season.
The Local Government Association and the Family and Childcare Trust have both expressed support for a fixed Easter school holiday to allow parents to arrange childcare in advance.
Before the 2015 General Election the NSS asked the Prime Minister to encourage consensus between religious leaders.
Since then Pope Francis has said Christian leaders "have to come to an agreement" about changing the date. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby suggested that Easter could be set for the second or third Sunday of April, but said that it would take up to a decade for the matter to be resolved – a prediction the NSS has said could be "optimistic."
Crucially, however, the Eastern Orthodox Church has indicated that it will not join discussions on finding a common date for Easter – something welcomed by Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The schism between Christianity in the east and west on the issue is very complex and it is thought to be extremely unlikely that an agreed date could be found between western Christianity and the Orthodox churches, even if the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church could agree a date between themselves.
Given this, the Society has suggested the Government move ahead "if necessary" without a consensus which may be impossible to achieve.
Keith Porteous Wood, NSS executive director commented:
"The Government should press the consenting churches to fix a date for Easter public holiday, if necessary moving ahead without a complete consensus from church leaders – given the needlessly adverse consequences of a changeable date, particularly on commerce and education.
"This process should not be delayed indefinitely in anticipation of one of the longest running disagreements in Christendom being resolved. The Eastern and Western Christian churches already celebrate Easter on different dates so having a fixed 'western' Easter wouldn't introduce any further diversity in Easter dates."
The Easter Act 1928 enables a fixed Easter on "the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April" but states that the change can only be made after approval by both Houses of Parliament and that "regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian body".
