Dramatic increase in Scottish Humanist weddings

There are now more humanist weddings happening in Scotland than those performed by the Roman Catholic Church, and within two years it is expected that the number will also pass those carried out by the Church of Scotland.

Humanist weddings are non-faith, secular based ceremonies, which can be legally performed in Scotland by celebrants granted permission to do so under the authority of the Registrar General (since 2005). Scotland is one of only six countries in the world that allows for such ceremonies to be practised - the others being Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway and some states within the USA. The marriages are legally recognised around the world.

Once they pass the numbers carried out by the Kirk, only civil ceremonies will outnumber humanist ceremonies. For the full story visit www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22206854. The website of the Humanist Society is at www.humanism-scotland.org.uk.

As in all things genealogical, we do things a wee bit differently in Scotland!

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.