The Government has set out plans to legally recognise humanist marriages as it released its long-awaited consultation on marriage reform. Humanists UK welcomes the commitment to legally recognise humanist marriages, but urges that humanist couples should not be made to wait any longer for change that is long overdue, and calls on the Government to use its existing powers to act, even in the interim, as it carries out wider marriage reform.
Humanists UK has campaigned for legal recognition of humanist marriages for many decades. In 2020, it supported six humanist couples to legally challenge the Government. The High Court ruled that the failure to legally recognise humanist marriages gives rise to discrimination. In October last year, the Government announced it would at last legislate to legally recognise humanist marriages, but only as part of wholesale marriage reform, including a consultation and the introduction of legislation ‘when parliamentary time allows’.
The Government already has the power to legally recognise humanist marriages by Order under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The Act will mark its 13th anniversary since gaining Royal Assent tomorrow (17 July), and Humanists UK says humanist couples have already waited too long to get legally wed in line with their beliefs. Humanists UK says using the Order-making power would be a simple, proportionate, and fair way to end the continuing discrimination faced by couples in England and Wales, without waiting years for broader legislation.
Nicole Shasha and Rory Booth, an engaged humanist couple, commented:
‘We’re engaged and have been holding off planning our wedding day for over two years because we want to have a legally binding humanist ceremony in line with our beliefs as this is meaningful to us as a couple.
‘It is hugely frustrating that humanist couples will still have to wait years to get married, especially after the High Court ruled the law is discriminatory. If the Government plans to legally recognise humanist marriages, then I ask: “Why wait?”’
Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented:
‘This consultation is further confirmation that legal recognition of humanist marriages is finally on the horizon. But humanist couples in England and Wales have already waited far too long.
‘Humanist marriages have been subject to review after review, and the Government has had it within its gift to grant legal recognition for more than a decade. The moral and legal case for recognition is overwhelming. Humanist couples simply want the same right to marry in a way that reflects their deepest beliefs and values, in a ceremony conducted by someone who shares them as their religious counterparts.
‘The Government should now act with urgency. It can fast-track legal recognition by Order while wider marriage law reform continues. There is no good reason to make couples wait any longer.’
Notes
For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Head of Press and Campaign Communications Nathan Stilwell at press@humanists.uk or phone 0203 675 0959 (media only).
Legal recognition of humanist marriages in local jurisdictions
Humanist marriages gained legal recognition in Scotland in 2005, where since 2022 more humanist weddings have been conducted each year than religious marriages of all kinds combined. They also gained legal recognition in the Republic of Ireland in 2012; in Northern Ireland in 2018, following a Court of Appeal ruling that concluded that a failure to do so would be a breach of human rights and now make up 1 in 7 marriages there; in Jersey in 2019; and in Guernsey in 2021.
In England and Wales, however, humanist couples must have an unwanted additional civil ceremony for their marriage to be legally recognised. A change in law has been under constant Government review since 2013. The Marriage Act gave the Government the power to enact legal recognition of humanist marriages by Order – which would take as little time as 90 minutes in each the House of Commons and House of Lords. But in the years since, the Government has not done this. Instead the matter has been reviewed three times, most recently by the Law Commission, which published its report in July 2022. The previous Government did not issue its response before the General Election was called.
Labour supported legal recognition of humanist marriages by Order since 2014 while in opposition. But now in power, the new government said it needed more time to set out a position while it considered the Law Commission’s proposals. It has now responded and said it will consult on its proposals in 2026 before introducing legislation to reform marriage law when parliamentary time allows. It has now launched that consultation.
Read the Law Commission’s review on Marriage Law and the Government’s response to it and the consultation announcement today.
Read more about our work on humanist marriages.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.