Government issues brief on humanist marriages

The Law Commission has provisionally proposed a framework that could allow non‑religious belief organisations, such as humanists, to conduct legally binding marriage ceremonies, as part of a wider consultation on reform of the law relating to how and where marriages can take place.

The government has said it will decide how to proceed in light of the Law Commission’s recommendations, which are expected in July 2022.

At present, it is not possible to have a legally binding humanist, or other non‑religious belief, marriage in England and Wales (unlike in Scotland and Northern Ireland). There have been calls for reform, a previous Coalition Government consultation on this issue, and an unsuccessful legal challenge.

In 2014, following calls for legislation to facilitate humanist marriage, and in accordance with a provision in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation on whether the law should be changed to permit marriage according to the customs of non-religious belief organisations.

The majority of respondents to the consultation were in favour of changing the law to allow legally valid non-religious belief marriage ceremonies to take place in unrestricted locations, including outdoors. However, the Coalition Government decided that the legal and technical requirements of marriage ceremonies and registration in England and Wales should be considered more generally before making a decision on this issue.

On 3rd September 2020, the Law Commission published a consultation, which provisionally proposed a new scheme that would offer couples greater flexibility over the form their wedding ceremonies will take, including religious and non-religious, and provided a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as humanists, to conduct legally binding weddings.

One of the features of the new scheme is that regulation would be based on the officiant rather than on the building in which the wedding takes place. If the government determines that non-religious belief organisations should be able to solemnize weddings, the Law Commission has provisionally proposed that these organisations would be able to nominate officiants.

The Law Commission’s consultation closed on 4 January 2021. The Commission aims to publish its final report, with recommendations for government, in July 2022.

The government has indicated that it will wait for the Law Commission’s recommendations, which it will consider carefully, before making a decision on non‑religious belief marriage ceremonies.