Is A Civil Celebrant Religious?

Is A Civil Celebrant Religious?

If you have recently got engaged or you are planning to arrange a memorial or funeral for a loved one, one of the first things you might want to do is to organise and book a Civil Celebrant. Civil Celebrant’s have increasingly become more and more popular within the last few years, allowing more people to celebrate and include a wider range of aspects into their ceremony. As the movement of Civil Celebrants only arrived in the UK in the 1990’s, this way of conducting ceremonies is fairly new and modern, which is why a number of Church or Religious weddings have decreased massively within the last few years. But are Civil Celebrants Religious and do they follow any religious connotations during their performance?

There has been a little bit of confusion on what Civil Celebrants actually are, and whether they are religious figures within the industry. But I am here to confirm whether this is correct or not, and the true answer to these questions is; some are and some are not. As I have had the great joy of meeting a lot of Civil Celebrants throughout the years of working as a Wedding Planner and dealing with Celebrants on our listings, is that each Civil Celebrant is different and the great joy of choosing a Celebrant for your ceremony, is that you can make it as bespoke and personal as you wish. However, with this being said, the majority of Civil Celebrants are indeed non-religious, due to it being a fairly new and modern movement and that a lot of same sex couples are now legally allowed to marry with a Civil Celebrant (yay). 

Civil Ceremonies are secular, which essentially means that they are non-religious ceremonies, so the majority of Civil Celebrants which you will either meet online or book will most likely conduct a non-religious ceremony. As mentioned previously, each Civil Celebrant is different and they each take a different role in their ceremonies, making sure that everything is bespoke and individual to their customer/client. If you were looking to have religious connotations for your ceremony, some Civil Celebrants might be able to provide this for you, however on the other hand some might not. I would recommend spending some time with your Civil Celebrant beforehand, to understand exactly what they can provide for you and have a think about whether you might want any religious aspects to be included. 

In a sense, Civil Celebrants are a lot closer to government registrars, than they are to Church Pristest/Vicars OR Ordained Ministers etc…, as registrars do not include any religious elements whatsoever. However, when choosing between a Civil Celebrant and Registrar, I would suggest choosing the Civil Celebrant as you will have more leniency with what you can include in your ceremony. For example; a registrar will not allow you to use any hymns, readings, poems or music which include any religious aspects, due to government law and a Civil Celebrant will allow you to choose any reading, music, hymns etc…This is why it is so important to be able to research the difference between a Civil Celebrant and/or Registrar beforehand to understand entirely what their roles include and what you are allowed/not allowed to do. I would suggest writing down a few questions to ask your Civil Celebrant before meeting with them to make sure that you cover all bases and that you have a good understanding of who will be conducting your ceremony service. 

In conclusion; the majority of Civil Celebrants are non-religious and they will be able to conduct a bespoke and personal ceremony for you and your family without using any religious elements. However, it is worth doing a bit of research online as some Civil Celebrants may be able to use some elements of religion to your ceremony, as it is not against their views to do so.

Here at bookacelebrant.co.uk we have a huge number of Civil Celebrants, which have been handpicked just for you and your special day. So, please get in touch with us today to find your Perfect Civil Celebrant! You can also read our most recent blog on How Much Does A Civil Celebrant Cost?