Humanist weddings set to overtake Church of Scotland weddings this year

Humanist marriages in Scotland are set to outstrip Church of Scotland weddings this year for the first time, reports The Times.

According to the Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS), its celebrants will conduct more than 4,200 wedding ceremonies this year. Church of Scotland wedding have more than halved since 2003. In 2013, Church of Scotland ministers presided over 4,616 weddings, a fall of around 900 from the previous year. A similar fall this year will see it overtaken by the HSS.

Church of Scotland wedding have more than halved since 2003.

"The success of humanist weddings in Scotland has been unparalleled," Gordon MacRae, chief executive of HSS, told The Times. "The ethos of humanism places the celebration of human love and happiness at the forefront. Ceremonies don't only offer a personalised and meaningful ceremony, but a connection to a larger movement of people who are working for the common good."

Scotland is the only UK country in which humanists can legally conduct weddings.

Church of Scotland membership fell by 16,000 last year, with a fall in the number of its clergy leading to predictions that it will be short of 200 parish ministers short by the 2020s. The moderator-elect of the Free Church of Scotland, Rev David Robertson, said that the C of S seemed to be in 'terminal decline'.