Colin Bloom, the Government’s Independent Faith Engagement Advisor, has called for legal recognition of humanist marriages in England and Wales at the earliest opportunity in his report Does government ‘do God?’ An independent review into how government engages with faith. Humanists UK has long campaigned on this issue and welcomes the report’s call for swift reform, noting it is the first Government-sponsored report to make this call. It calls on the UK Government to act on this without further delay.
At present, humanist couples who want to be legally married in England and Wales must also have a second, often unwanted civil ceremony, which comes with additional financial and administrative costs. Since 2013 the Government has had the power to grant legal recognition to humanist marriages without needing a new Act of Parliament, but it has yet to use this power.
What is a humanist wedding?
A humanist wedding is a non-religious ceremony that is deeply personal and conducted by a humanist celebrant. It differs from a civil wedding in that it is entirely hand-crafted and reflective of the humanist beliefs and values of the couple, conducted by a celebrant who shares their beliefs and values.
Colin Bloom’s 159-page report looked principally at religions, but does also slip in one recommendation about humanist marriages. The report quotes a respondent to the consultation that informed it as saying the following:
‘In England and Wales humanist marriages are STILL not legally recognised, although they have been so in Northern Ireland and Scotland for some time and more than 1,000 couples choose a humanist wedding ceremony every year in spite of the fact that they have to attend at a registry office on another day in order to make the marriage legal.’
Colin Bloom’s report goes on to say:
‘It is the opinion of this reviewer that this recommendation [i.e. legal recognition of humanist marriages] should be adopted by the Ministry of Justice at the earliest opportunity in line with the recent ruling of the High Court.’
In 2020, six humanist couples took a legal case on the basis of discrimination to the High Court, to bring England and Wales in line with the rest of the UK. In its judgment, the High Court found that the lack of legal recognition is indeed discriminatory. The judge said that the Secretary of State ‘cannot simply… sit on his hands’ and do nothing to resolve the matter, but afforded the Government more time because of the then on-going Law Commission’s review of weddings laws. That was three years ago.
Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson commented:
‘We are delighted to see for the first time a Government report call for legal recognition of humanist marriages at the earliest opportunity.
‘Fortunately, the Government already has the power to grant legal recognition so this reform would be easy and quick to achieve. Doing so would award the freedom to choose a marriage in line with their beliefs and values to couples in England and Wales.
‘There is no good reason that something as uncontroversial as this should be delayed, especially as humanist couples have already been waiting for nearly a decade. We have written to the Government off the back of the report to make this point.’
Humanists UK has welcomed some aspects of the wider Faith Engagement Review while expressing dismay at others.
Notes:
This forms part of a series of analysis of the Bloom Review conducted by Humanists UK. See our initial response published on the day.
For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson at press@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3072 or 020 3675 0959.
Read the Independent Faith Engagement Review.
Read Humanists UK’s more general comment on the review.
Read more about our work on humanist marriages.
Humanist weddings are non-religious wedding ceremonies that are fully customised to match the deepest-held values and beliefs of the couple getting married. They are conducted by a humanist celebrant, someone guaranteed to share their beliefs. In consultation with the couple the celebrant produces a completely bespoke script. The ceremony also occurs in whatever location is most meaningful for the couple. Humanists UK has more than 300 trained and accredited wedding celebrants.
Humanist marriages gained legal recognition in Scotland in 2005 and in 2019 there were more humanist than Christian marriages for the first time (23% of the total). In the Republic of Ireland, humanist marriages gained legal recognition in 2012. In 2019 around 9% of legally recognised marriages were humanist. That places the Humanist Association of Ireland only behind the Catholic Church and civil marriages. They gained legal recognition 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. Jersey also gave legal recognition to humanist marriages in 2019 and in 2021 Guernsey followed suit.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by 100,000 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.