Non-Religious Marriages

Abstract

This chapter explores the other main concern that has arisen in recent years: the exclusion of non-religious marriages under the Marriage Act 1949. This chapter will fall into three sections. The first will introduce the issue while the second will examine how this issue has arisen in the public debate, exploring the campaign of Humanists UK during the Parliamentary passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and subsequent legal and political developments. The final section will then discuss the High Court challenge of the current law in R (On Application of Harrison) v Secretary of State for Justice that concluded that the law interfered with the applicant’s human rights but that this was justified by the fact that the law was currently under review by the Law Commission.