We have long campaigned for a reform of marriage laws – in order to gain legal recognition for both same-sex and humanist marriage ceremonies. Same-sex marriages are now legal throughout the UK and Crown Dependencies.
Humanist celebrants in the UK have performed same-sex wedding ceremonies for decades, ever since the invention of humanist ceremonies and long before they came with any legal recognition. We were therefore delighted to play a strong part in the campaign to legalise first same-sex civil partnerships and then same-sex marriages.
In depth
In relation to same-sex couples, we supported marriage law being reformed so that two men or two women enjoy the same access to marriage as a man and a woman. Throughout the UK and Crown Dependencies this is now possible, including Northern Ireland from 2020. We also supported the legalisation of same-sex civil partnerships across the UK.
Same-sex marriages also became legal in the Isle of Man in 2016, in Guernsey in 2017, in Jersey and Alderney in 2018, and in Sark in 2020.
What we did
We campaigned hard in favour of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2013, and were a founder member of the Coalition for Equal Marriage. Thousands of members and supporters wrote to their MPs in support of legalisation, and many members of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) participated in ensuring its passage. Our sister charity Humanist Society Scotland campaigned for legalisation in Scotland, which occurred in 2014.
With legalisation having occurred throughout Great Britain, we began working to see similar progress in Northern Ireland. In 2015, most MLAs voted in favour of such a change, but it was blocked by the DUP on the spurious grounds that it would threaten devolution. However, with devolution suspended from early 2017, attention turned to lobbying Westminster for the change to be made. Through the APPHG, we supported a number of private members’ bills. We also supported a 2018 Act that meant the UK Government must report regularly to the House of Commons on the matter. We were delighted when same-sex marriages became legal in Northern Ireland in 2020.
How to get a humanist wedding
Wouldn’t it be great to start your married life with a ceremony that really means something? To tell your friends and family what your relationship means to you, and why you are choosing to get married?
Many of us who aren’t religious are looking for a wedding that is more flexible and personal than a civil or register office ceremony.
A humanist, non-religious wedding ceremony gives you the opportunity to marry where you want, when you want and how you want. They’re available throughout the UK and crown dependencies (although humanist weddings cannot confer legal recognition in England, Wales, and the Isle of Man – we are campaigning to change). You can find out more on the Humanist Ceremonies website.