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
BBC's Rip Off Britain takes on chancel repair liability
Posted: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:28
Rip Off Britain, the BBC consumer rights program which investigates viewers' stories of being ripped-off, this week covered chancel repair liability (CRL) – an ancient law which can make homeowners liable for the upkeep of the chancel (the part including the altar) of their local Anglican church
The 8 minute segment focused on the village of Edingale, in Staffordshire, and the story of NSS member Helen Bailey, who lives in a barn she converted with her husband Chris in 1999 to help care for his elderly mother.
In October 2013 Helen received a notice from the Land Registry informing her that her local church, which she had never set foot in, had registered its right to make them contribute to the cost of repairs.
Ms Bailey told Rip Off Britain: "It is quite bizarre that the law can ask us to pay for a church that we don't even attend, and have no connection with."
Homeowners have raised concerns that registration reduces the value of properties and impairs their saleability.
In the BBC show, Paul Hajek, a solicitor from Clatton Cox, estimates that for 99% of property owners affected, the liability doesn't show up on their deeds, but can now be registered, so the first they hear of it is often a letter from the Land Registry, as happened in Helen Bailey's case.
Rectors were responsible for CRL under ancient common law by virtue of ownership of particular land. While this land passed into lay hands with the dissolution of the monasteries, the liability has remained.
As long ago as 1985, the Law Commission recommended abolition, and the Law Society later recommended phasing out, as the Church of England had in 1982.
More recently, though, the Church has been encouraging parishes to pursue the liability to help repair their churches and several hundred have done so. This has caused considerable resentment among the thousands of property owners affected.
Helen Bailey led a local campaign which has resulted in her and her neighbours being able to buy out their liability from the Church at an advantageous price. Few have been so fortunate. Relatively cheap CRL insurance is available, but not for those whose properties have been registered.
In July 2014 Liberal Democrat peer and NSS honorary associate Lord Avebury introduced the Chancel Repair Bill, to abolish the liability, with assistance from the National Secular Society. Its second reading debate is expected in the autumn.
Viewers in the UK can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer until 30 September. The CRL segment starts at 33:44.
Luxembourg considers new church tax in debate over future of state support
Posted: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 08:51
Luxembourg is considering a church tax as part of a range of possible measures to replace direct state funding for religious organisations.
The Vice-Prime Minister of the majority Catholic country, Etienne Schneider, said the Government is pushing ahead with the separation of church and state. But that the Government wants the church to be able to be financially independent while still being able to pay the wages of priests and other staff. Non-profit organisations run by the church will continue to benefit from state support to deliver welfare services.
Following his deputy's comments, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told the Luxemburger Wort that talks with the Catholic diocese and other faith groups were ongoing and that nothing had been decided.
Mr Bettel expressed his belief that, "Religion is something personal and should not be financed by the state" and confirmed that he would seek approval for constitutional changes on the relationship between church and state.
According to the Luxemburger Wort, the main opposition party the Catholic-oriented CSV (Christian Social People's Party) criticised the Vice-PM saying that his comments could leave church workers worried about their livelihoods.
Luxembourg is in theory a secular state, based on the French principle of laïcité. However, over the last 200 years the country's separation of church and state has been gradually transformed. The Grand Duchy's royal family are Catholic and Luxembourg retained the principles of the Concordat of 1801, granting privileged status to the Roman Catholic Church, when it separated from France in 1815.
Since then Luxembourg has officially recognised a number of other religions, starting with the Protestant Church of Luxembourg in 1894. In return for influence over religious administration and the appointment of clergy, the State pays certain running costs and wages.
Alongside a tax imposed on registered members of the church (which some commentators predict may lead to an exodus), other proposed ideas include a membership fee charged to active members, or that members celebrating special events at the church – such as their first holy communion or wedding – will have to financially contribute.
A 1979 law forbids the Government from collecting statistics on religious beliefs or practices. But, in 2011 the Centre for the Study of Population, Poverty and Socio-Economic Policy reported that the country's population was: 68.7% Catholic, 1.8% Protestant, 1.9% other Christian religion, 2.6% other non-Christian religion and 24.9% non-religious.
