Thread by @Humanists_UK

1/6 Disestablishmentarianism thread:

#Onthisday in 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, defining the right of Henry VIII to be 'Supreme Head of the Church of England' thereby establishing the CofE. 487 yrs later, we are making the case for disestablishment...

2/6 The only two sovereign states to award clerics of the established religion votes in their legislatures are the UK & the Islamic Republic of Iran. The UK Parliament automatically awards 26 seats in the Lords to CofE bishops, also known as ‘The Lords Spiritual'.

3/6 The presence of 26 bishops from one denomination of one religion, having the automatic right to sit, speak, and vote in our Parliament, is unfair, unjustified, and, as this poll shows, unpopular. The majority of the public want the bishops out! RT

humanists.uk/2021/03/23/pub…

4/6 Additionally, all parliamentary proceedings start with prayers. There are 650 MPs in the HOC and only 427 seats. MPs who attend are more able to get seats and therefore are more likely to be chosen to speak in debates. This is deeply entrenched religious privilege at work.

5/6 Just last year, humanist MPs and peers called for a major rebalancing of the relationships between religion and state. This @APPGhumanist report details how UK Parliament can treat its members equally, regardless of religion or belief.

humanists.uk/2020/02/25/mps…

6/6 It's equally important that UK Parliament reflects the diversity of the UK public. According to latest British Social Attitudes survey, only 12% are Anglican, and the 53% have no religion. In an increasingly diverse society we must rebalance religion & state.