The Difference Between A Civil Celebrant and a Humanist Celebrant?

The Difference Between A Civil Celebrant and a Humanist Celebrant?

In this Article, we will discuss and explain the difference between a Civil Celebrant and a Humanist Celebrant for either Weddings, Funerals, Naming Ceremonies or Vow Renewals. I will start by explaining the main duties of each role, and discuss the benefits between a Civil Celebrant and a Humanist Celebrant.

This is definitely a question which I get asked quite a lot, typically because both a Civil Celebrant and Humanist Celebrant are fairly new and modern movements within the Wedding and Funeral industry. Which can sometimes raise a few curious questions in regards to what they actually do and how are they both different?

In all honesty, there isn’t a huge amount of difference between a Civil Celebrant and a Humanist Celebrant, as they both work in a very similar way and they are also both a modern and new movement. However, there is still a slight difference which I will delve into in this blog.

Civil Celebrant

Let’s start with a Civil Celebrant; as you may already know, Civil Celebrants are professionally (and often trained) individuals who perform and conduct ceremonies; such as Weddings, Funerals, Vow Renewals and Naming Ceremonies. The Civil Celebrant movement started in the UK back in the 1990’s – which, in hindsight, isn’t that long ago, and it became such a powerful and strong change to society within the industry. Allowing same sex couples to marry and permitting couples to have more a bespoke, personal and more memorable experience. When Civil Celebrants became more and more popular, a number of Church Ceremonies began to decrease more and more. 

A Civil Celebrant’s main duties are to work with the couple or customer throughout the lead up to the ceremony, working with them on the structure of the day and assisting the couple or customer on how to produce and read their vows correctly and effectively. A Civil Celebrant will be with you in every sense of the word, working with you to the lead up of the ceremony, on the day of the ceremony, and some may even offer help after the ceremony has concluded. There is a huge stigma with Civil Celebrants, in which they just turn up to the ceremony on the day, say a few words and that’s it – but this is very much far from the real truth! A Civil Celebrant will ask you questions about how you first met, what your hobbies are and more personal questions to ensure a truthful and bespoke ceremony on the day. This is what makes Civil Celebrants special and unique, because they will ensure a joyful but personal ceremony. 

Civil Celebrants base their performances and ceremonies purely on the individuals and will make the entire ceremony about them and nothing else. They will allow you to incorporate any additional songs, readings, hymns..etc throughout the ceremony, which allows a relaxing and personal experience for the couple or customer. This is the main difference between a Civil Celebrant and Humanist Celebrant, in which you, as the couple or customer, can decide on what is included in the ceremony and the Civil Celebrant will allow this. A Civil Celebrant is mainly a non-religious figure, however a Civil Celebrant will also allow and include aspects of any religious content, if the couple or customer desires.

However, there can be a few downsides to having a Civil Celebrant conduct your ceremony; for example, having a Civil Celebrant conduct your Wedding is not a legally binding ceremony. This essentially means that you will not be officially married and that if you wish to officiate or legalise your Wedding vows, you would need to do this via a registry office or a licensed wedding venue with a registrar. 

Another potential downside for having a Civil Celebrant is that they can be quite costly, the estimated cost for a Wedding Celebrant in the UK is between £500 – £700, which is the most expensive ceremony out of a Wedding, Funeral, Vow Renewal & Naming Ceremony. The estimated cost for a Funeral in the UK is between £150 – £250 (which is the cheapest ceremony) and finally a Vow Renewal or Naming Ceremony is estimated between £250 – £350, which is ever so slightly in the middle. However, these costs can vary and this can depend on a number of different things, for example; where you are having the ceremony held, what time of year and which service you wish to have (i.e Weddings, Funerals etc.)

In this next section, I will discuss and explain the concept of a Humanist Celebrant and detail the difference between both a Civil Celebrant and Humanist Celebrant. 

Humanist Celebrant

A Humanist Celebrant is an individual who performs and conducts ceremonies for people who are looking to hold a Wedding, Funeral, Vow Renewal or Naming Ceremony. Their duties are very similar to Civil Celebrants and they will usually perform quite similarly, in the sense that they will work with the couple or customer throughout the entirety of the ceremony, including the lead up to the day and during the ceremony. However, the only main difference between a Civil Celebrant and Humanist Celebrant is that, Humanist Celebrants do not include any religious elements whatsoever. They specialise in concentrating on human life and they believe that, as humans, we have only one life to live.

The Humanist Celebrant society is the most recent and modern movement within the industry, starting only in 2005, making them the newest movement within the industry. Humanist Celebrants are a new and modern way of thinking, they encourage people to step outside of their beliefs and help them understand that there is only one life and there is no god or mighty power which rules our lives. The majority of Humanist Celebrants are accredited to organisations, such as; Humanist UK, The Humanist Society Scotland and The Humanist Association of Canada, so the fast majority of Humanist Celebrants will be a part of one of these 3 groups.

The Humanist Society has grown more and more popular each year, making their movement one of the most popular choices out there. I believe the reason for why they are so popular is because, people are increasingly becoming more anti-religious, and less people are choosing to marry in a Church or in a religious building of faith. Humanist Celebrants, give you the opportunity to celebrate the life of humans and nothing else, they allow you to be more flexible and truthful for the love that you have to share. As the numbers of religious ceremonies decrease, the number of Humanist Celebrants surge, making them one of the most popular choices for ceremonies. 

In Conclusion, the similarities for a Civil Celebrant and Humanist Celebrant are quite similar and their roles/duties are roughly the same. However, the only major difference between the two is their beliefs and how many religious elements they can include within their ceremony. A Civil Celebrant is primarily a non-religious figure, however some may be able to include as much religious content as they wish, if the couple or customer decide to include any. A Humanist Celebrant’s role is primarily focused on the human being and they believe that there is only one life to celebrate without the worship of any god or mighty power. So, the choice is totally up to you, the individual, which Celebrant you wish to choose for your ceremony and make sure you do as much research as possible when deciding on who to choose.

At bookacelebrant.co.uk, we have a number of Civil Celebrants and Humanist Celebrants waiting to hear from you! So if you are looking for one of these handpicked Celebrants to conduct your special day, or you are looking to get an instant 60 second quote, get in touch with us today! To find out more about more about Civil Celebrants, check out one of our most recent blogs on ‘What Is A Civil Celebrant?‘ or ‘How Much Does A Civil Celebrant Cost?‘