10
ISSUES: Marriage
Chapter 1: Marriage
Humanists in England andWales call
for legal humanist weddings as Scottish
Parliament officially recognises humanist
ceremonies for marriage provision in law
T
housands of humanists in
England and Wales have been
calling on the Government to
give legal recognition to humanist
weddings this Valentine’s Day, while
in Scotland the Scottish Parliament
has officially recognised Humanist
Society Scotland (HSS) as the first
non-religious organisation with a
permanent right in law to conduct
legal marriages under the 1977
Marriage Act.
Humanist
weddings
were
first
recognised in Scotland 11 years
ago. Since then, the popularity of
humanist weddings has skyrocketed,
with more than 4,200 humanist
ceremonies taking place in 2015
alone. In England andWales, humanist
wedding ceremonies continue to
have no legal recognition despite
the British Humanist Association
(BHA) taking more weddings each
year than most recognised religious
organisations. The BHA conducts over
1,000 humanist weddings a year, with
most couples then having a simple
signing at the register office in order
become legally married. A YouGov
survey in 2016 found that roughly 15
million Brits had been to a humanist
ceremony.
Powers secured in the Marriage Act
2013 allow the UK Government to
give legal recognition to humanist
weddings in England and Wales
should it choose to. However,
following a public consultation which
showed
overwhelming
support
for legalisation and a subsequent
Law Commission review, there has
been no action. Over the past few
months, thousands of humanists
from across England and Wales
have written to their MPs calling for
humanist weddings to be given legal
recognition after years of inaction
from the Government.
Isabel Russo, Head of Ceremonies at
the BHA, commented: “The Scottish
Parliament should be commended
for responding to the growing
numbers of humanists across the UK
and recognising their equal right to
be married in accordance with their
deepest held values and beliefs. The
popularity of humanist marriages is
undeniable: humanist weddings are
now the most popular form of belief-
basedmarriage on offer in Scotland and
they continue to surge in popularity in
England and Wales. Humanist Society
Scotland becoming the first ever non-
religious body prescribed in law to
conduct marriages is further testament
to the high standards of celebrants
trained accredited by longstanding
humanist organisations.
“Non-religious couples have been
badly let down in England and Wales in
having to have separate humanist and
then civil ceremonies, and many have
startedmaking the trip over to Scotland
specifically in order to have a legal
humanist wedding. This Valentine’s
Day, when millions across the UK will
be popping the question and hoping
for a perfect wedding that reflects their
love and commitment, we would urge
the Lord Chancellor to act decisively
and at last give humanist weddings
in England and Wales the recognition
they deserve, so that humanist couples
across Britain can enjoy the same rights
afforded to religious couples.’’
Notes
For further comment or information,
please contact BHA Director of Public
Affairs and Policy Pavan Dhaliwal on
or 0773 843
5059.
Read more about the BHA campaign on
marriage reform at
org.uk/campaigns/human-rights-and-
equality/marriage-laws/.
About the change in Scots law
The new regulation has been made
using a Scottish Statutory Instrument
(SSI) under section 8(1)(a)(ii) and
(1B)(a)(i) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act
1977(1) and section94A(1)(a)(i) of theCivil
Partnership Act 2004(2) (Amendment of
the Civil Partnership (Prescribed Bodies)
(Scotland) Regulations 2016). The SSI
is available to view online at: http://
contents/made.
HSS will be the first body to be added
to the list of prescribed bodies since
1977, and the first ever non-religious
organisation. The other organisations
prescribed since 1977 are: The Baptist
Union of Scotland; The Congregational
Union of Scotland; The Episcopal Church
(etc.); The Free Church of Scotland;
The Free Presbyterian Church of
Scotland; The Hebrew Congregation;
The Methodist Church in Scotland; The
Religious Society of Friends; The Roman
Catholic Church; The Salvation Army;
The Scottish Unitarian Association, and
The United Free Church of Scotland.
(Ministers of the Church of Scotland are
entitled to conduct weddings without
being a prescribed body.)
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.
14 February 2017
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The above information is reprinted
with kind permission from the
British
Humanist
Association.
Please visit
.
uk for further information.
© British Humanist Association 2017
