Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.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
Wedding invitation company cites religious beliefs for refusing services to gay couple
Posted: Wed, 4 Jun 2014 15:54
The National Secular Society has said that legal action under equality legislation should be taken against a wedding stationer for refusing to serve a gay couple on religious grounds.
Jill Wilson, who runs Just For You Invitations, based in Lancashire, refused because of her religious beliefs to offer her services to Gary O'Reilly and his fiancé.
In an email to the couple Ms Wilson wrote: "So sorry to let you both down but I am a Jehovah's Witness and therefore can't make your invitations."
Under the Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation when providing goods, facilities and services.
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said the business should not be permitted to flout the law, as it appears to have done.
"Being denied goods and services like this is humiliating and renders gay people second class citizens.
"This is tantamount to a business advertising that they are 'open to everyone except homosexuals', similar to the "no dogs, Irish or blacks" so prevalent fifty years ago - but now consigned to history, thanks to our equality laws.
"Everyone has a right to exercise their conscientious objection in their private life, but not in the provision of services or employment where discrimination has been outlawed by Parliament."
A spokesperson from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told PinkNews: "If anyone thinks that they have been discriminated against unlawfully because of sexual orientation in respect of provision of services they can take steps to enforce their rights.
"A first step would be to make contact with someone who can give them advice in an individual case, such as the Equality and Advisory Support Service, and that's what our advice would be to anyone who thinks they have been discriminated against."
Last year the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the owners of a guest house after they had been found guilty of discrimination against a gay couple who wanted to stay in a double room.
Same-Sex Marriage legalised in England and Wales
Posted: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 13:08
The Same-Sex Marriage Bill has been given royal assent and is now law. However, the first marriage is unlikely to take place before next summer as the Government has promised an inquiry into pension inequality and other matters, including whether humanist marriage ceremonies should be legally recognised.
Catholic bishops have expressed anger at the passing of the legislation, saying that the Church could not accept it and that it compromised "religious freedom".
The Act, which applies to England and Wales, will enable same sex couples to marry in civil ceremonies. It will ensure that those religious organisations wishing to do so can opt in to marry same sex couples according to their rites.
It provides strong protection for religious organisations and their representatives from successful legal challenge if they do not wish to marry same sex couples. It will enable civil partners to convert their partnership to a marriage, if they wish. It will also enable individuals to change their legal gender without having to end their marriage.
There will be a review (including full public consultation) on whether to enable celebrant-based authorisation of marriages by belief organisations, to be published before 1 January 2015. There will also be a review (including full public consultation) of the operation and future of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in England and Wales, to start as soon as practicable, and with a report on the outcome to be published.
Another review will examine current survivor benefits of occupational pension schemes (including consultation) with a report on the outcome to be published before 1 July 2014.
Non-Government amendments introduced by peers in the House of Lords aimed at diluting or damaging the bill or introducing even more religious opt-outs and privileges, were defeated. Demands that marriage registrars should be able to "opt-out" were thrown out as were those regarding how "faith schools" should approach teaching in sex education concerning the importance of marriage.
Meanwhile, a Yougov poll for Centre Ground on same-sex marriage among 1932 adults found that 54% of respondents supported the new law to make marriage available to gay people with only 36% opposed.
The same poll asked "Do you regard yourself as belonging to any particular religion?" A massive 42% said they did not regard themselves as belonging to any particular religion. This increased to 63% among the 18-24 year age group.
33% said they were CofE and 10% Catholic; 2% said they were Islamic with 1% each saying they were Sikh, Hindu or Jewish.
