Over 100 Church of England clergy within the diocese of London have written a letter calling for the Church of England’s legislative assembly, the General Synod, to allow individual priests to make the decision whether to hold civil partnerships on their premises, according to newspaper reports today.
An amendment in the 2010 Equality Act changed the law and removed the prohibition on civil partnerships from being place in places of worship. This reform is explicitly permissive: no church or religious group is required to hold civil partnerships ceremonies if they do not wish to.
However, the Archbishop of Canterbury has previously expressed his opposition to civil partnerships being held in Church of England premises, and no priest is permitted to register their church for civil partnership ceremonies without approval of the General Synod, which is due to meet next week to discuss the issue.
Commenting on the reports, BHA Head of Public Affairs Pavan Dhaliwal said: ‘We are pleased that gay Quakers, Unitarians and Liberal Jews will soon be able to celebrate legal partnerships in their own places of worship, and we hope that members of the Church of England will soon be able to do the same if they wish.
‘However, while these incremental changes are to be welcomed, we believe that marriage law requires much deeper reform, and discrimination against same-sex and heterosexual humanist couples persists.’
Ms Dhaliwal continued, ‘Despite their popularity in Scotland, humanist weddings have no legal status in the England and Wales, and the reforms of civil partnerships have not been extended to humanists. We will continue to advocate reform that encompasses both heterosexual and same-sex marriage, allowing all couples the choice of a civil, religious or humanist marriage, on a truly equal basis.’
Notes
For further information or comment, please contact Pavan at pavan@humanists.uk or 020 7079 3585
Times article (paywall)
Humanist weddings in Scotland were granted legal status in 2005, and are now the third most popular ceremony, and ahead of the number of Catholic weddings
Read the BHA’s briefing on marriage law and civil partnerships
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.