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
Government praises “spiritual insight” of bishops in response to petition calling for their removal from the Lords
Posted: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 11:55
The Government has said that changes to the Lords are "important" but that the position of the bishops in the Upper House is not a "priority", in response to a petition calling for the removal of 26 bishops from the House of Lords.
After the censure of the US Episcopalian Church by the Anglican Communion over same-sex marriage, a petition was launched calling on the Government to reform the House of Lords by removing Anglican bishops from the Upper House.
The petition read: "With the publication of the Church of England's intention to sanction the US Episcopal Church over the latter's sympathetic stance towards equal marriage, the C of E is quite out of step with UK Law and indeed common humanity. Thus we feel strongly these bishops have no place in our government."
It quickly achieved over 10,000 signatures, prompting a Government response that called for "constitutional changes" while defending the role bishops currently play in the House of Lords, citing their "important independent voice and spiritual insight".
"Changes to the composition of the House of Lords, including Church of England Bishops, are important but, given the very full programme of other constitutional changes, are not a priority at present," a statement from the Cabinet Office said.
Despite touting their constitutional reform agenda, the Government stated that it has "no plans to remove the Church of England Bishops from the House of Lords."
The response argued that the establishment of the Church of England and the "relationship between the Church and the State" is an "important part of the constitutional framework" of the UK.
"As senior members of the established Church of England, 26 bishops are appointed to the House of Lords. Bishops provide an important independent voice and spiritual insight into the work of the Upper House and while they make no claims to direct representation, they seek to be a voice for all people of faiths. The House of Lords also contains a number of other senior faith representatives."
National Secular Society campaigns manager, Stephen Evans, said that the Government was "out-of-touch" to defend the current role of the established church.
"Most people in the UK do not look to religious figures for moral leadership. On issues such as marriage equality and assisted dying Anglican bishops don't even represent the people in their pews, let alone 'all people of faiths'. Rather than seeking to influence society from a uniquely privileged position, the Church should pursue its political ambitions in the same way any other special interest group is expected to. The 'spiritual insight' of Anglican bishops is simply not needed in policy-making and the bench of bishops is an anomaly in a modern, liberal democracy.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby recently told the Primates' Meeting of the Lords Spirituals' influence, praising them as the most "orthodox" bench of bishops since the Second World War.
"We are still a major part of the glue that holds society together. A recent attempt to introduce assisted suicide was crushingly defeated in Parliament. We are exempted from the same sex marriage act, showing that our voice is still heard against the prevailing wind of our society, and at much cost to ourselves, by the way."
In 2013 nine bishops voted for a "wrecking amendment" to block same-sex marriage. Five abstained. None supported it.
The petition can be signed here. If it reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
Petition to remove bishops from the House of Lords gains over 10,000 signatures
Posted: Fri, 22 Jan 2016 22:19
A petition to remove Church of England bishops from the House of Lords has gained over 10,000 signatures in the space of a week – meaning it will now receive a response from the government.
The petition was launched in response to the Anglican Communion's censure of the Episcopal Church for the US group's support for equal marriage.
The petition says: "With the publication of the Church of England's intention to sanction the US Episcopal Church over the latter's sympathetic stance towards equal marriage, the C of E is quite out of step with UK Law and indeed common humanity. Thus we feel strongly these bishops have no place in our government."
The National Secular Society campaigns for the disestablishment of the Church of England and its separation from the state, including an end to the privileged positions bishops hold with reserved seats in the House of Lords.
Currently 26 bishops, including two archbishops, have seats in the House of Lords.
Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, recently boasted of the bishops' influence, describing the bishops' bench as the "most orthodox since WWII".
He said the Church was "still a major part of the glue that holds society together. A recent attempt to introduce assisted suicide was crushingly defeated in Parliament. We are exempted from the same sex marriage act, showing that our vioice is still heard against the prevailing wind of our society, and at much cost to ourselves, by the way. The Church of England is still a primary source of leadership for communities, to the dismay of the secularists. It is a struggle, but we are not losing."
NSS campaigns manager, Stephen Evans, commented: "It's quite clear that the Church of England will not voluntarily give up the political power and prestige that reserved seats in the House of Lords gives it.
"The changes must be forced through politically and hopefully this petition will demonstrate to MPs that such changes would welcomed my many British citizens who recognise that an unelected Bishops' Bench is archaic, unfair and undemocratic. British society no longer looks to the Church for moral leadership; its institutional privileges are unjustifiable.
"Most Western democracies have long abandoned all links between Church and State, with no discernible adverse consequences. It's time we did the same."
The petition can be signed here. Petitions attracting 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate in Parliament.
