Humanists in England and Wales call for legal humanist weddings
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Thousands 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 and Wales, 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 millio...
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