Scotland : Civil Registrar Ceremonies & Civil Ceremonies
Civil Registration of all Births, Deaths & Marriages has been compulsory in Scotland since 1855 when the UK government passed several Acts & Bills, effectively to stop the Scottish Traditional Practice of Legal Weddings being performed by communities.
In 1847, the Scotsman said that "Everybody knows that, by the law of Scotland, the marriage ceremony can be performed with as perfect legal effect by a blacksmith as by a clergyman". And the government wanted to end the Scottish practice of regarding a couple as married if they stated as much in front of witnesses. So Scottish Registration Bills were accompanied by Bills to reform the law of marriage. But this was opposed by the Church of Scotland, concerned that the new civil weddings would discourage people from getting married in church.
In the end, the government dropped the marriage proposals, the session clerks were paid to be registrars, and the Treasury met the cost of the new system. That allowed the bill to be passed by Parliament and approved by Queen Victoria on August 7 1854. The new system of civil registration started on January 1 1855.
Effectively since 1855, Civil Marriage Ceremonies have not been legal in Scotland except if performed by an employee of the government, usually in a registrars office. These Civil Registrar Ceremonies are completely non-religious and are not the same as Civil Ceremonies.
A Civil Ceremony remains within the local community in Scotland and is performed by a trusted member of the community, on behalf of the family & community involved. A Civil Celebrant will never force upon you or mention their own beliefs at your ceremony, nor will he/she insist that you join any religious or non-religious body in order to secure their services.
A Civil Ceremony can be completely religious, completely non-religious or a little bit of both and can take place almost anywhere the family & community wish (except some religious buildings and churches) at home, in a hotel, at a castle, at sea, in the woods, in the family garden.. ... any location which is special to the person or persons for whom the ceremony is for. A Civil Celebrant allows you to choose readings, poems and music based on your own values, wishes and beliefs. A Civil Ceremony is unique and a Civil Celebrant understands the diversity of all people and his/her services reflect the cultural and social mix which is in our communities today.
A Civil Ceremony is
"A Ceremony that is driven by the wishes, beliefs and values of the person or family, not by the beliefs or ideology of the person conducting it"
Read more about this topic: Civil Ceremony
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