Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.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 2019 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
NSS renews call for marriage reform after civil partnerships ruling
Posted: Thu, 28 Jun 2018 17:12
The National Secular Society has renewed its call for reform of England and Wales's marriage laws after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of opposite-sex civil partnerships.
On Wednesday a heterosexual couple, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, won the right to have a civil partnership instead of a marriage.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Civil Partnership Act 2004, which applies only to same-sex couples, was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling increases the pressure on the government to reform the law around civil partnerships but does not oblige it to act. The NSS urged the government to take the opportunity to look at the issue of legal partnerships in full.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "This week's decision on civil partnerships should prompt a wide-ranging review of the marriage laws in England and Wales, which are archaic and far too complex.
"The legal institution of marriage should be regulated on a purely civil basis and marriages should be registered by state-regulated registrars.
"A genuinely secular marriage system would help to deal with the concerns which couples such as Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan have over marriage as an institution. It would also give couples greater freedom over both the contents of their weddings and where they take place."
Earlier this month the NSS revealed that it is significantly harder for those seeking same-sex or non-religious weddings to get married than those seeking religious ceremonies in England and Wales. In response the society wrote to the government calling for legislative reform to separate the legal act of marriage from religion.
Couples who enter civil partnerships are entitled to the same legal treatment in terms of inheritance, tax, pensions and next-of-kin arrangements as those who marry.
Steinfeld and Keidan have said they do not want a marriage because of its "legacy" of treating "women as property for centuries".
"We want to raise our children as equal partners and feel that a civil partnership – a modern, symmetrical institution – sets the best example for them."
A move to reform the law could mean the scrapping of civil partnerships – though this would mean defying the Church of England. Last month it was revealed that the C of E was lobbying ministers to keep civil partnerships to help it deal with its internal disputes over same-sex marriage.
Mr Evans said the government "must not let the C of E dictate its policy".
"The law on marriage and civil partnerships should be crafted to reflect the interests of couples who enter them and society as a whole. It's not the law's job to act as a sticking plaster covering the established church's internal embarrassments."
Meanwhile the NSS is continuing to call for marriage equality in Northern Ireland, where same-sex marriage is not legally recognised.
Thousands march for marriage equality in NI
Posted: Mon, 4 Jun 2018 15:46
Thousands of people attended marches in Belfast and Londonderry to call for marriage equality for same-sex couples in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
Police said 5,000 people attended the Belfast march, which was led by the city's lord mayor Nuala McAllister and organised by the Love Equality campaign. Labour MP Conor McGinn, who spoke at the event, said 20,000 people had attended across the two venues.
The protesters demanded legislation from the UK parliament to ensure same-sex couples could get married in Northern Ireland.
McAllister said marriage equality was "just one step towards total equality for the LGBT community here".
"This will not harm anyone. This will not harm your marriage, nor anyone else's. This is about celebrating love between two people. There is nothing to be afraid of."
Last month McGinn, who was born in Northern Ireland, introduced a bill at Westminster to bring same-sex marriage to NI. The bill was prevented from getting to the next stage. The pressure for change comes amid an ongoing deadlock over power-sharing in Northern Ireland, which has not had an executive since January 2017.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage is now illegal. On Monday BBC News NI reported that dozens of same-sex couples from Northern Ireland had married elsewhere in the UK or Ireland. On returning to NI their marriages are only recognised as civil partnerships.
Last year the High Court ruled that same-sex marriages entered into in London did not need to be recognised in NI.
In 2015 the devolved Northern Ireland assembly voted for legalisation by a thin majority. But the DUP blocked the motion using a petition of concern, a measure introduced under the Belfast Agreement of 1998 which was designed to protect the rights of minority groups.
There is gathering evidence that the Northern Irish public backs the legalisation of same-sex marriage. In April a poll for Sky Data found 76% of people in NI were in favour, with just 18% against.
DUP leader Arlene Foster has made clear that religion is an important reason for her party's intransigence on the issue.
At Saturday's rally McAllister said she was "disappointed that we cannot legislate for marriage equality locally", citing "too many people in the assembly who abuse power with the petition of concern".
McGinn said "a huge majority in the House of Commons" wanted the legislation changed.
"Westminster has a duty to legislate for equal rights in Northern Ireland. These rights are enjoyed by people right across the UK and the rest of the island of Ireland. With no functioning assembly, Theresa May must act.
"We can't have inequality and discrimination for LGBT people here - we don't have it anywhere else."
In preparation for the march Patrick Corrigan of the Love Equality campaign said it was "nonsensical that the government is denying the people of Northern Ireland the same rights as everyone else in the UK".
"Human rights should not rely on postcodes. There can be no second-class citizens in the UK."
Stephen Evans, the National Secular Society's chief executive, commented: "Same-sex couples should enjoy the same marriage rights as opposite-sex ones across the UK. That principle mustn't be restricted because of the theocratic views of a rapidly shrinking minority of people in Northern Ireland.
"Those with the power to change the law in Northern Ireland should realise that the legalisation of same-sex marriage would harm nobody. Whether in London or Belfast, they should get on with making it a reality and putting an end the ongoing discrimination against LGBT people."
Image: © Love Equality NI, via Twitter
