Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.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. Only a tiny percentage 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 significat 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
Muslim women fight to change misogynistic Islamic divorce law in India
Posted: Wed, 13 Apr 2016 12:13
Muslim women in India are campaigning to ban 'triple talak', the legally-recognised way in which a Muslim man can unilaterally divorce his wife, and they have taken their case to India's Supreme Court.
India recognises 'Muslim Personal Law' for its 170 million Muslim citizens, effectively putting into legal force elements of sharia. However many of the 'laws' which govern this area of life are uncodified, leading to widespread abuse. This includes the instant verbal divorce in which a man can immediately divorce his wife simply by saying "talaq" (divorce) three times which campaigners claim has no basis in the Quran.
One woman, Shayara Banu, faced domestic abuse from her husband, and was made to go through six abortions during their marriage. Finally her husband divorced her, with a letter stating "talaq" three times, bringing their fifteen year marriage to an end. But Banu said that ever since she received the letter she has not been allowed to see her children.
Banu took her case to the Indian Supreme Court so that it would consider whether the practice is unconstitutional.
The Indian Express reports that in response the court "has forced the government to dust off a year-old comprehensive report by a high-level expert committee, whose recommendation to ban triple talaq and polygamy has not been acted upon so far."
Banu's complaint went far beyond her own experience as a victim of triple talaq, and she also campaigns for a ban on polygamy and the custom by which a woman cannot return to her former husband unless she first consummates another marriage with another man.
Zakia Soman, co-founder of the Indian Muslim Women's Movement, said that "Ordinary Muslim women have suffered for too long and they demand immediate stopping of this practice. They are knocking at the doors of the courts seeking help in making this long overdue correction."
She added that the "practice is not legal in Muslim countries worldwide."
An academic study of triple talaq which collected experiences from women affected noted the "startling" ease with which men could divorce their wives, including by text.
"In many cases," the study said, "the woman is informed of being divorced while she is outside her home, she is thus unable to go back to her husband's home to retrieve her belongings, in effect leaving her destitute. The situation is further aggravated if she has no maternal family to help her."
Call for Muslim women to be better informed about legal rights relating to marriage and divorce
Posted: Fri, 26 Feb 2016 12:25
A report from the Muslim Women's Network (MWNUK) has called for greater efforts to promote women's legal rights, warning that some Muslim men are using marriage and divorce as a "psychological tool against women".
In a document offering information and guidance on Islamic marriages and divorce in the UK, the charity speaks out against parallel legal systems and warns that Muslim women were facing discrimination and psychological abuse.
The report makes a series of recommendations, including reform of marriage law and making civil marriages compulsory prior to any religious marriages.
According to MWNUK, "confusion arises from the fact that British courts can generally recognise Muslim marriages and divorces that were registered abroad. However, Muslim marriages and divorces conducted in Britain are not recognised under English, Welsh, Scottish law or Northern Irish law. This is because we cannot have parallel legal systems and British Muslims are expected to utilise the legal mechanisms available in this country. In reality this means that those in legally recognised marriages have recourse to UK laws while those in unrecognised marriages do not."
The group warn that Muslim women face "multiple barriers" when trying to leave an unhappy marriage. "Pressure from family and community to remain within abusive marriages and to suffer in silence is common because of the perceived stigma of divorce and it being regarded as shameful. Others do not understand the legal status of their marriage and therefore their rights pertaining to divorce."
Even if women do have a civil marriage from which they can obtain a divorce, "Muslim women may also want the reassurance of an Islamically pronounced divorce." But this leaves them at the mercy of religious 'authorities', the campaigners warned, who charge a fee for their services. Many women are prevented from getting this religious sanction depending on the "school of thought, religious sect and personal prejudices of the individuals who deal with their cases."
Some Muslim men refuse to grant a divorce to their original wife despite remarrying, and others threaten women with "an instant verbal Islamic divorce". Some men are "threatening to marry again and commit polygamy."
The report calls on the Charity Commission to ensure Sharia Councils and mosques which are registered as charities and are delivering religious divorce services are complying with the Equality Act 2010
The group has cited several personal testimonies from women affected by the lack of legal protection to women who only have unregistered religious 'marriages'. One woman came to the UK on a spousal visa but was divorced after her husband made her sign divorce documents that she couldn't read or understand. Neither she nor her children receive any financial support from her ex-husband.
One woman, Farmida, became the victim of what she called "a completely sexist procedure and one that is completely biased towards men. Despite providing statements, witnesses and evidence that my ex-husband was violent, abusive, shirked all marital responsibilities, whose behaviour was damaging to my children, I was repeatedly asked to reconcile."
She described being "interrogated" by men at the Sharia Council and was only able to get an Islamic divorce when she received a Decree Absolute. "I felt the Islamic procedure had been pointless as all I needed to do was just obtain an English civil divorce and show them the paperwork and they had to listen. How about the women who have only had the Islamic marriage in the UK? It is not recognised by English law so they cannot use an English divorce to apply pressure."
The report raised a range of other issues related to Islamic 'marriages', including polygamy and the ban on Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men.
MWNUK argue that one possible solution "to combat polygyny and also ensure women are financially protected in the event of divorce could be to require [that] all Islamic (and other religious marriages) are not conducted unless a civil marriage has taken place … Punishment for conducting such ceremonies without seeing evidence of a civil marriage could include fines."
Addressing the absolute prohibition on Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men upheld by "all major Islamic schools of thought" that state that "Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslim men under any circumstances", MWNUK pointed out that some Muslim women were now beginning to challenge the tradition as just "another way of restricting women's freedom."
The author of the report, Shaista Gohir, recently wrote to Birmingham Central Mosque after the mosque's chairman, Muhammad Afzal, claimed that "forced marriage was no longer a problem".
