RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE CEREMONIES IN THE UK

Motion Text

That this House notes the provisions of the Marriage Act 1949 and the Marriage Act (Scotland) 1977; further notes that these two Acts create a differential standard of recognition for religious ceremonies within the UK whereby a couple in Scotland under the relevant Act may be married by a celebrant with an accepted connection to a particular faith or belief under the provisions of section 12 of that Act, which has no equivalent in the 1949 Act; further notes that unless a marriage ceremony takes place within a certified place of meeting for religious worship an additional civil service is required to solemnise a marriage and that these provisions of both Acts can have the effect of discriminating against minority religions, including but not restricted to those of a pagan belief, whose certifiable places of worship are few and whose religious leaders are not covered by the provisions of the 1949 Act; further notes the conclusions of a 2002 report Civil Registration: Vital Change which called for officiators of a marriage, not premises, to be licensed and for an approved list to be drawn up; and calls for the adoption of this proposal and the amendment of the appropriate Acts.