Wedding law in England and Wales is badly out of date.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
Only one in five marriages in England & Wales was religious in 2018
Posted: Thu, 12 Aug 2021 13:53
Religious weddings hit a record low in England and Wales in 2018 as just one in five marriages were conducted as religious ceremonies, new figures have shown.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that just over 20% of marriages – 21.1% of opposite sex marriages and 0.9% of same-sex marriages – were religious that year.
The proportion represents a further decline from 2017, when 22% of all marriages were religious – itself a historic low. Religious ceremonies made up almost 85% of all marriages in 1900 and more than 50% in 1980.
The National Secular Society has said the figures show the need for legal reform.
Current law
Currently, couples in England and Wales must get married in a registered building, with the exception of Jewish and Quaker weddings.
Recent proposals for the reform of wedding law from the Law Commission would introduce an officiant-based system which would give couples more freedom over where they choose to marry.
The NSS, which argues for reform of the marriage laws to separate its religious and civic aspects, has expressed support for this proposal.
Inequality between religious and civil venues
Recent NSS research has found that more than 39,000 places of worship are registered to conduct marriages, as opposed to just over 7,500 civil premises.
The NSS has also found that it is harder and more expensive for civil premises to register than religious ones, and that just 0.7% of religious premises are registered to hold same-sex weddings.
NSS comment
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said the data showed that "the law has failed to keep pace with social change".
"Currently marriage law in England and Wales is too complex, creating unjustifiable inequalities and impositions on couples' freedom to marry in ways that are meaningful to them.
"These figures should prompt further consideration of the proposals recently put forward by the Law Commission, which would ensure greater equality and fairness in marriage and make marriage law more suitable for the 21st century."
Notes
- The Law Commission reviews the law in England and Wales and recommends reform where it judges it is needed.
- There were 234,795 marriages in 2018, with marriage rates for opposite-sex couples the lowest on record.
- Same-sex marriages accounted for around one in 35 marriages.
- The ONS's figures don't cover the period since early 2020, when weddings have been severely affected by the Covid pandemic.
Read more: Just how equal is marriage now?, by Megan Manson for the NSS (published in 2018).
Improve RSE in faith schools to curb forced marriage, campaigners say
Posted: Fri, 19 Feb 2021 11:54
Secondary school pupils should be taught that they can choose "who to marry, when to marry and whether to marry at all", including in independent faith schools, campaigners have said.
Jewish counter-extremism group Nahamu (logo pictured) highlighted how a lack of relationships and sex education (RSE) contributes to forced marriage in Charedi Jewish communities in a position paper published this month.
The paper argues some Charedi arranged marriages fall within the definition of forced marriage under UK law, and calls for government action to protect young people in Charedi (ultra-Orthodox) communities.
The National Secular Society has previously highlighted the failures of many Charedi schools to deliver adequate education in RSE.
RSE in Charedi Jewish communities
The paper says the education of young people in Charedi communities can be "severely limited" because Charedi schools may redact material that is "not consistent with a specific world view".
It adds that:
- The lack of RSE in Charedi schools means engaged couples "may not be prepared for sexual relations" and are "unlikely to have any meaningful awareness of what it means to consent".
- People in Charedi communities may not "understand or recognise abusive behaviours", including sexual abuse, marital rape or domestic abuse.
- There is a "total exclusion" of any reference to LGBT+ people in "both educational and social contexts". This means LGBT+ people in Charedi communities face "additional challenges" and "very serious issues of consent" when presented with a universal expectation of early, heterosexual marriage.
The paper identifies other factors leading to forced marriage in Charedi communities, including rushed engagements with very little contact between the marrying couple; community-enforced penalties for breaking engagements; and difficulties in obtaining a divorce.
It says "improved education, particularly in schools" in Charedi communities is the best way to improve compliance with laws prohibiting forced marriage.
It recommends that the Department for Education should ensure education around forced marriage is included in mandatory RSE, including in maintained and independent Charedi schools, with support from school watchdog Ofsted.
Comment
An NSS spokesperson called the paper a "wake-up call" to the problem of forced marriage in conservative religious communities.
He said: "The paper's recommendations once again emphasise the need for all schools, including independent faith schools, to teach age-appropriate, LGBT-inclusive RSE to all pupils.
"A considerable number of state-funded and independent Jewish schools refuse to do this on religious grounds. This paper has highlighted some of the significant dangers of this.
"Children in insular religious communities are most in need of education about relationships and sex. Turning a blind eye will leave more young people at risk of forced marriage and abuse."
Jewish schools' opposition to RSE: some recent examples
- In 2020, 17 rabbis said Charedi Jewish schools would refuse to compromise with requirements to teach about the existence of same-sex couples in RSE.
- In 2019 a BBC expose revealed that two state-funded Jewish schools in north London had encouraged parents to opt children out of RSE. The NSS then revealed that the government had dismissed concerns about community pressures at one of the schools.
- In 2019 the NSS also revealed that ultra-orthodox Jewish schools were planning to refuse to teach aspects of RSE by exploiting loopholes in government regulations.
Nahamu logo via Twitter.
