Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.
We campaign for marriage to be equally open to all, regardless of religion or belief.
Time for one wedding law for all.
In England and Wales, different laws apply depending on whether a wedding is Anglican, Jewish, Quaker, another religion or not religious at all (a civil wedding or partnership).
This is unfair, confusing and absurd.
Most religious weddings must be held in a registered place of worship, while civil weddings and partnerships must take place in approved premises. Jewish and Quaker weddings can take place anywhere.
This system leads to inequality. Members of religions which don't have fixed places of worship, or don't use their places of worship for weddings, are disadvantaged. And members of nonreligious communities such as Humanism have no way of getting legally married according to their philosophical beliefs.
The process for a place of worship to register itself for marriage is much cheaper than for approved premises for civil ceremonies. This in turn contributes to the cost of civil marriages and partnerships.
Over 80% of opposite-sex marriages in England and Wales in 2022 were civil marriages. But only 16% of recognised wedding venues in England and Wales can hold civil marriages. The remaining 84% are religious venues.
While approved premises for civil weddings and partnerships must by law hold ceremonies for same-sex couples, this is not the case for places of worship. In 2022, only 2% of places of worship were registered for same-sex weddings. This considerably reduces the options for same-sex couples. Whereas opposite-sex weddings are in slow decline, same-sex weddings are increasing.
UPDATE: The Law Commission has now made its final recommendations on reforming wedding law on England and Wales. Please write to your MP in support of the recommendations...
Unregistered religion-only 'marriages'
The complexity of marriage law may contribute to the rise in couples who have religious 'wedding' ceremonies that are not legally-binding.
A signification proportion of Muslim couples are in an Islamic 'nikah' union lacking the full legal rights and protections of a recognised marriage.
Unregistered marriages can undermine women's rights in particular. If a woman in a nikah is 'divorced' suddenly, or against her wishes, she can be left homeless and without any money or assets.
The situation is made worse by sharia councils or 'courts' which dispense religious rulings on Islamic marriage, child custody and divorce. These are not courts of law but there are concerns some Muslim women, especially those not born in the UK or unable to speak English, perceive them as having real legal authority.
Sharia councils leave children vulnerable and discriminate openly against women. To seek a religious divorce a woman must gain permission from these almost entirely male councils, and there are reports of women being denied this request even in cases where they have faced abuse.
Reforming wedding laws will not solve these problems completely. But making wedding laws simpler and fairer can encourage couples to gain the legal protections of a registered marriage.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Tell your MP to support the Law Commission's recommendations for wedding reform.
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
Scottish Anglicans move towards religious same-sex marriage
Posted: Wed, 15 Jun 2016 10:05
The Scottish Episcopal Church has paved the way towards allowing gay marriage, raising the prospect of a clash with the Church of England.
The Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC), in effect the autonomous Scottish arm of the Anglican church, voted in its synod on 10 June to put on the agenda of its synod next year a vote to change its canon 'law' to permit same sex religious marriage.
Around 70% of bishops and clergy and 80% of laity voted in favour, well beyond the two thirds' thresholds needed to make the formal change. Conscience clauses would protect clergy from officiating against their will.
Same-sex marriages in Scotland and England and Wales have been on the statute book since 2014, but no institutional church in the UK, apart from the Quakers and Unitarians, has yet opted to permit same-sex religious marriages that would contemporaneously be civil marriages. The SEC, which has been liberal on matters of sexuality for at least ten years, looks set to become the first to opt in.
The SEC is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, an overwhelming proportion of whose members, especially in Africa, reject any doctrinal liberalisation on homosexuality, far less same-sex religious marriage. At the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the American Episcopal Church is limiting its participation in the global organisation of the Communion for the next three years as a consequence of permitting same-sex marriage. He has reportedly stated that the Scottish Episcopalians can expect similar consequences, which a senior Episcopalian bishop described as being taken to make "it possible for [the Archbishop's] leadership to hold the Anglican Communion together".
Keith Porteous Wood, the NSS Executive Director commented: "Given the strength of the vote taken in full knowledge of the disapproval it would cause, ratification next year seems all-but certain. This will put pressure on other denominations to follow suit, particularly those where a majority of laity favour same sex religious marriage. Ironically, this includes the Archbishop's own church, the Church of England."
Government announces plans to allow same-sex marriages on MoD sites
Posted: Wed, 11 May 2016 14:10
The Government has announced plans to register Ministry of Defence sites for civil marriages, after religious groups blocked same-sex ceremonies from taking place in military chapels.
The Armed Forces minister Penny Mordaunt has set out plans to resolve the impasse between the Government and religious organisations to allow the use of military sites for same-sex marriages, without compelling religious organisations to perform the ceremonies.
Responding to a question from Labour MP Madeleine Moon, the minister said that the Government is to explore registering Ministry of Defence sites for marriages and civil partnerships.
She described the plan as a "pilot project" to ensure that gay service personnel can get married on military bases and she said that the project will "run for a number of months."
The National Secular Society welcomed news that same-sex weddings will soon take place on British military bases but was critical of the Government for allowing 'Sending Churches' to deny religious same-sex couples the opportunity to marry in military chapels.
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the NSS, commented: "Many people will be astonished that same-sex couples in the armed forces are denied the religious freedom to have a religious marriage in any military chapel, all of which are paid for from public funds.
"The law should be amended to prevent such marriages carried out by liberal religious organisations from being vetoed by other religious denominations sharing the premises.
"Similarly, places of worship should have the legal freedom to conduct such marriages, under the principle of subsidiarity, as many wish to.
"The law should not be used to enforce unpopular denominational religious discipline."
Services which take place in military chapels are conducted by clergy from recognised 'Sending Churches', including the Church of England, the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland.
Under MoD rules same-sex marriages are currently permitted in chapels, but none of the Sending Churches that use military chapels will allow same-sex marriages to actually take place.
The new scheme will mean that gay personnel can marry on military sites, where there are suitable facilities that can be registered.
Ms Mordaunt was very clear in her answer that "no religious organisation or representative will be forced to conduct or participate in same sex marriages."
