Tags: Church & State
End bishops’ automatic right to sit in Lords, says peer
Posted: Fri, 25 Jun 2021
The practice of reserving seats for 26 C of E bishops in the House of Lords is an "absurd constitutional anomaly", a peer has argued. Read More »
Most Brits don’t think being Christian is important to being British
Posted: Tue, 25 May 2021
A majority of Britons think being a Christian is "not at all important" for national identity, a survey has found. Read More »
Majority of public opposes places for bishops in Lords, poll finds
Posted: Tue, 23 Mar 2021
A majority of the British public thinks the House of Lords should stop reserving places for C of E bishops, a YouGov poll has found. Read More »
Geoffrey Robertson calls for CoE’s disestablishment in NSS lecture
Posted: Thu, 19 Nov 2020
Leading human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson has called for the C of E's disestablishment in the NSS's 2020 Bradlaugh Lecture. Read More »
Regular C of E worshippers form less than 2% of England’s population
Posted: Mon, 12 Oct 2020
Fewer than 2% of people in England regularly worshipped at CoE churches in 2019, even though many children attended services for schools. Read More »
End C of E bishops’ entitlement to sit in Lords, says report
Posted: Tue, 25 Feb 2020
The automatic right granted to 26 C of E bishops to sit in the House of Lords should be repealed, according to a new report. Read More »
Bill to end bishops’ automatic right to sit in Lords introduced
Posted: Wed, 29 Jan 2020
A bill to end bishops' automatic right to sit in the House of Lords, which the NSS helped to draft, has been introduced to parliament. Read More »
Peer proposes bill to abolish bishops’ bench in House of Lords
Posted: Fri, 20 Dec 2019
The NSS is backing a private member's bill which would end the automatic right of Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords. Read More »
New archbishop blocked attempt to let CoE accept same-sex marriage
Posted: Wed, 18 Dec 2019
The NSS has said the appointment of the new archbishop of York has highlighted the case for disestablishing the Church of England. Read More »
NSS urges lord chancellor to scrap Anglican judges’ service
Posted: Tue, 01 Oct 2019
The NSS has urged the lord chancellor to scrap the annual Anglican services which mark the start of the legal year. Read More »
Just 12% of Brits are affiliated to C of E, major survey reveals
Posted: Thu, 11 Jul 2019
The NSS has called for a "serious rethink" of religion's public role amid a significant decline in affiliation to the Church of England. Read More »
Britain’s non-religious population growing rapidly, figures show
Posted: Fri, 12 Apr 2019
The number of people who say they are non-religious in Great Britain has risen by 46% in seven years, according to official figures. Read More »
Bishop helps scupper amendment to let CoE allow same-sex marriage
Posted: Thu, 07 Feb 2019
An amendment that would make it easier for the C of E to allow same-sex marriage has been withdrawn amid opposition from a bishop. Read More »
Prayers shouldn’t be part of parliamentary business, say MPs
Posted: Mon, 14 Jan 2019
MPs have called for an end to the practice of holding prayers in parliament in an early day motion backed by the NSS. Read More »
Just a third of public supports royal ties with CoE, NSS poll finds
Posted: Fri, 04 Jan 2019
Only a third of the UK public thinks the monarchy's ties to the C of E should remain intact, according to a poll conducted for the NSS. Read More »
Welby’s political interventions seen as inappropriate, poll finds
Posted: Wed, 02 Jan 2019
A plurality of the public thinks it is inappropriate for the archbishop of Canterbury to express political opinions, a poll has found. Read More »
Labour peer raises case for disestablishment in Lords
Posted: Wed, 28 Nov 2018
The NSS has reiterated its call for the disestablishment of the Church of England after a peer raised the subject in the House of Lords. Read More »
CoE spent £40m of public money without proper scrutiny, NSS reveals
Posted: Thu, 22 Nov 2018
The government let the C of E spend £40m of taxpayers' money on cathedral repairs without proper scrutiny, NSS research has revealed. Read More »
Bishops’ place in Lords must be reviewed, say MPs
Posted: Mon, 19 Nov 2018
A committee of MPs has said the number of bishops in the House of Lords should be reviewed as part of proposals for Lords reform. Read More »
Greece takes major step towards disestablishment of Orthodox Church
Posted: Fri, 09 Nov 2018
Clerics in Greece's Orthodox Church will stop being civil servants, the country's government has announced. Read More »
