The office of National Statistics has released figures that show that fewer than a quarter of all marriages in England and Wales now take place in a place of worship.
The number has fallen from nearly 48% less than 20 years ago and continues to decline year on year, even though the number of marriages has slightly increased since 2015. Religious marriages fell by 4.2% between 2015 and 2018.
The Church of England has responded, without any apparent sense of irony, that ‘people self exclude, believing that they must be christened or a regular church attender’ (Canon Sandra Miller) and has yet to address the impact of the current ban on gay and lesbian couples marrying in its Churches.
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