Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.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
Poll shows we’d ask ‘deceased loved ones’ for advice before we’d ask a clergyperson
Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:37
A Yougov poll commissioned for this week's Westminster Faith Debate has revealed the lack of extent to which people turn to religious leaders for "moral guidance". It also exposes the majority of religious leaders to be entirely at odds with the British public on same-sex marriage.
When asked: "Which, if any of the following, do you rely on MOST for guidance as you make your life decisions?" only 0.5% of the 4,447 people questioned plumped for "religious leaders" or "religious groups".
41% said they relied on their "own reason"; 22% said their "own intuition"; 13% said family; 6% said God; 3% said friends; 2% said "religious teachings"; and 1% went for "deceased loved ones".
The findings on same-sex marriage also shows that most people in this country – including those who declare themselves to be religious – favour the legalisation of marriage for same-sex couples.
The survey found that the section of religious people most opposed to same-sex marriage is made up of those who both believe in God with certainty and make decisions primarily on the basis of explicit religious sources – God, scriptures, teachings and religious leaders.
This so called 'moral minority' of strict believers' amounts to almost 9% of the population, and is spread across religious traditions, with a greater concentration among Baptists and Muslims.
The survey also asked: "Do you believe in God or 'a higher power'?"
26% thought there was "definitely" a God; 23% thought there was "probably" a God; 16% thought there "probably was not" a God; 19% thought there was "definitely not" a God and 17% didn't know.
Malta seeks to revise Vatican concordat on divorce
Posted: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:18
Malta is in negotiations with the Vatican about ending the Catholic Church's influence over divorce on the island.
The Maltese Government legalised divorce in 2011, but under a concordat with the Vatican, Ecclesiastical Tribunals can veto the dissolution of Catholic marriages even if such dissolutions have been agreed with the civil authorities.
Now the Maltese government has sent a note verbale to the Holy See's nuncio, initiating negotiations with Vatican on revising the 1992 Church-State agreement.
Under the agreement, the civil courts had to stay any proceedings for the annulment of marriages contracted in the Catholic Church if one of the spouses initiated separate proceedings for an annulment from the Roman Curia. The ecclesiastical tribunal's decision would then have to be considered final by the civil courts.
The concordat was sealed by prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami and foreign minister Guido de Marco back in 1993, a year after the treaty, but since his election, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he would revise the agreement.
Muscat has already had talks with Archbishop Paul Cremona and Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna. "The Maltese government believes the civil courts must be the supreme entity in marriages so that there can be a separation of church and state. There is a similar will to have a satisfactory agreement between the government and the church," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
