Twenty-six Anglican bishops are given seats as of right in the House of Lords.
This is unfair, undemocratic and undesirable. It's time to abolish the bishops' bench.
Two archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England currently have automatic seats in the House of Lords. They are sometimes known as 'the lords spiritual'.
We campaign for a secular upper house with no specific religious representation, whether of Christian denominations or any other faiths. In a secular state no religion or its leaders should have a privileged role in the legislature.
Only one other sovereign country reserves seats in its legislature for clerics: the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Any serious proposals to reform the House of Lords must address the unjustified privilege of the bishops' bench.
62% of Brits think no religious clerics should have an automatic right to seats in the House of Lords.
After over a century of decline in religious attendance in Britain, the claim that bishops — or any other religious representatives — speak for any significant constituency is not warranted. Less than 2% of the British population now attend Anglican services on the average Sunday.
In addition, the presence of religious leaders amounts to double representation of religious interests as many peers already identify themselves as being religiously motivated. Retired religious leaders are often appointed as peers.
Bishops do not have any "special moral insight" unavailable to everybody else. The idea that bishops or any other 'religious leaders' have any monopoly on issues of morality is offensive to many non-religious citizens. Those who profess no religion are no less capable of making moral and ethical judgements.
In an increasingly secular society the role of religious representatives in our legislature has become irrelevant, and has stood in the way of progressive legislation.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Ask your MP to help end the archaic, unfair and undemocratic bishops’ bench in the House of Lords.
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
NSS debates the role of bishops in Government at Durham Union Society
Posted: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 22:04
NSS President Terry Sanderson, and Executive Director Keith Porteous Wood, both argued the case that 'This House believes bishops have no place in Government' in a formal debate at Durham Union Society.
Terry Sanderson described as "self-serving tosh" the claim that bishops are in close touch with their communities:
"If you asked a representative sample of people throughout this nation to name their bishop, I predict that about 99% of them would have no idea. Most of them would probably not even know that they had a bishop let alone that they regarded him as playing any part in their lives whatsoever."
He pointed to the wider implications of having religious people in seats of power:
"The Bishops' Bench in the House of Lords represents an age of clerical power that has long past. It makes our parliament look quaint rather than modern. But in an age of increasing religious tension, it is important that our nation is seen to be fair to all and not to favour any particular religion or denomination."
And finished by saying:
"The bishops have no business in parliament and - one day, hopefully before too long - a forward-thinking government will be elected that will have the backbone to put the matter right."
Keith addressed some of the more practical problems associated with bishops having a place in Government. He described an early encounter with "episcopal power in the House of Lords in the late 90s with the passage of the Human Rights Bill, as it then was. I was shocked at the weeks and months of pressure the Church was applying to get itself completely exempted."
This was soon followed by, "one of the worst examples of Parliamentary abuse I have seen: pro-religious discriminatory provisions being inserted by the bishops into the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. By the time the bishops had finished...it had become a bigots' charter, allowing lesser skilled teachers to be selected over more able colleagues, simply on the basis of what they believed, or at least said they believed. The churches were given power to dismiss teachers against the will of the local education authority who were bearing all the salaries."
All of this legislation then put the UK in direct conflict with the European Union's efforts to eliminate discrimination at work. With the backing of Tony Blair, the Archbishops' Council wielded their power to secure significant exemptions for the Church, even though, "the European Commission – who we lodged a complaint with - itself concluded in a Reasoned Opinion (a formal warning) that the passages inserted by the Archbishops' Council were in breach of the Directive."
Keith continued:
"So do not tell me that the bishops do not have power; power they used on this occasion which brought shame on the Houses of Parliament. Such was their bigotry - and worse, their blatant disregard of our treaty obligations to the European Union."
Increased religious representation in the House of Lords would be a disaster
Posted: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:20
The suggestion from the House of Lords Reform Committee that representatives from "all major faiths" should be appointed to a reformed second chamber will not create the intended diversity but risks turning the Upper House into a religious battleground, says the National Secular Society.
The report also recommends that the Bench of Bishops remains, albeit reduced from 26 to 12.
Terry Sanderson, the President of the National Secular Society, said:
"Appointing "faith leaders" simply because they are faith leaders and not because they have any particularly useful or relevant skills is plain wrong. The idea that they are representative of any significant number of people is also a fallacy. They are all men, they are generally highly conservative in their approach to social morality and are completely out of step with society as a whole. Why on earth are they being invited to participate in our lawmaking?"
He added: "It is tragic that these proposed reforms are so lacking in courage. Instead of having the guts to make the radical changes that are necessary to bring Britain into the 21st century, the Committee simply undermines the democratic intent by leaving 20% of places for appointees. This surely completely defeats the purpose."
Mr Sanderson said although the number of bishops is being reduced, in actual fact the proportion of seats they occupy in the Lords will increase as the overall number of seats is cut. "Their continued presence in the Lords appears to be simply because the Church of England wants it. Many others spoke out against their retention during the Committee's inquiry, but the Government says it wants the Bishops to remain 'given where we start from'. It also wants representatives of other religions because – well, other religions want representatives."
"The potential for conflict when only 'major religions' are invited to sit in the House of Lords while smaller, but no less assertive, faiths are left out will lead to resentment. We see from what is happening in society as a whole how easily religions come into conflict with each other. Do we really want to invite this into parliament?"
Mr Sanderson said: "The time has surely come for Britain, with its huge diversity of religions, to have the courage to become a secular state, one where everyone can be included regardless of their religion – or, increasingly, lack of it. The Committee's proposals will favour some above others and bring into our legislation religious demands that are out of step with the nation.
"We now hope that these reforms will be put on hold until such time as the Government has the courage to embrace genuine democracy and not this compromised nonsense."
Read about our House of Lords reform campaign and submission to the consultation.
Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill - First Report
