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
Abolish bishops’ bench, NSS urges commission reviewing HoL
Posted: Mon, 3 Oct 2022 15:44
The National Secular Society has told a commission on political reform that bishops should no longer have automatic seats in parliament.
The Commission on Political Power, which was established to examine potential legislative and structural reform of the UK political system, is consulting on reforming the House of Lords.
In its submission, the NSS said if any reform of the House of Lords is to be initiated, "the bishops' bench is an obvious place to start".
The NSS said it was wrong for any religion to have a privileged position in the upper chamber, and that it was long overdue for the bishops' bench to be removed.
It said there is "no reasonable justification for allowing Church of England bishops to act as ex-officio legislators" and that the bishops' bench is "an anomaly in a modern, liberal democracy".
Currently two Church of England archbishops and 24 bishops are given seats in the upper house and are able to vote on legislation.
Their position grants them other privileges, and they are given deferential treatment by other members.
The current settlement is "both divisive and unrepresentative", and on some issues the bishops do not even represent the views of their own laity, the NSS said, citing marriage equality as an example.
Just last month, the archbishop of Canterbury (pictured), a sitting Lord Spiritual, re-affirmed the Anglican Church's 1998 declaration that gay sex is a sin and gay marriage is illegitimate.
It was "indefensible" to maintain the status quo, the NSS said, with 2021 YouGov polling showing only 16% of the public believe bishops should be given seats automatically.
The NSS also stressed its opposition to replacing or supplementing bishops with leaders from other faiths. Such a move "would further erode the franchise of the increasing numbers of non-religious people, and indeed of the many liberal religious people," it said.
The Electoral Reform Society has also criticised the current role of the Church of England in the House of Lords.
NSS: 'The existence of the bishop's bench is an anachronism'
NSS campaigns officer Alejandro Sanchez said: "The church is, of course, welcome to implement its political agenda through the democratic channels that everyone else in this country is subject to. But the UK is both more irreligious and religiously diverse than ever before. Less than 1% of Britons regularly attend Anglican services.
"In a country that claims to uphold the equal treatment of all its citizens, the existence of the bishop's bench is an anachronism. It is high time it was consigned to the annals of history."
Over 60% Brits think bishops have no place in parliament
Posted: Tue, 7 Jun 2022 11:48
Most Brits think bishops should not have automatic seats in parliament, new figures confirm.
A survey of 1,631 UK adults in April found 62% disagreed with the statement: "Do you think that Bishops should still have a place in Parliament in a modern democracy?"
The survey by Techne UK found only 19% agreed with the statement, while the remaining 19% answered "Don't know".
Younger people were even more likely to oppose bishops in the House of Lords, with 70% of 18-34 year olds and 71% of 35-44 year olds responding that bishops should have no place in parliament.
The results are consistent with previous surveys on the subject. In a YouGov survey last year, over 50% said the Lords should cease to reserve places for C of E bishops.
Campaign to scrap the bishops' bench
Twenty-six places in the Lords are reserved for C of E bishops and archbishops as of right. The National Secular Society argues for the end of the 'bishops' bench' as part of its campaigning to separate church and state.
The bishops in parliament, known as 'Lords Spiritual', are able to debate and vote on all legislation. They regularly oppose policies which they believe contravene Anglican doctrine, including reforming the law on assisted dying and easier access to abortion medication.
The UK is unique among Western democracies in giving representatives of religious groups automatic seats in its legislature.
In 2020 the NSS helped to draft a bill to end C of E bishops' automatic right to sit in the Lords.
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said: "Polling consistently shows the bishops' bench is very unpopular with the public, who rightly want to see a more democratic House of Lords with no special privileges granted to religious leaders.
"This latest poll confirms it is high time we abolished this anachronism.
"Scrapping the bishops' bench is right in principle. Granting seats in our upper house to clerics on the basis of their religious membership is unfair, undemocratic and unequal.
"It's also a symptom of the underlying issue: the lack of church-state separation in our constitution. Disestablishing the Church of England is the only way to guarantee true equality for all UK citizens, whatever their religion or belief."
With special thanks to Clive D. Field's blog for the information.
Image: Copyright House of Lords 2021 / Photography by Roger Harris
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