Sports Calendar

Mr Brown asked the ONS to carry out a review which found several common examples of songs, music and readings which had been requested by couples but banned by local registrars.

The ONS review has also found anecdotal evidence of cases where guests in clerical or rabbinical dress have been excluded from ceremonies because of concern that their presence could be construed as conferring religious legitimacy.

The ONS review team have recommended replacing the 1995 guidance with fresh guidance that allows readings, songs or music “that contain an incidental reference to a god or deity in an essentially nonreligious context.”

After talks with the Treasury, the ONS will issue a consultation paper this week, setting out the recommendations of the review team, but saying that the Government is open-minded on potential changes to the system. If the various groups consulted, including the churches, faith groups, local registrars, are content for greater flexibility in the rules, then the Government will be quite happy to accept that, ministerial sources have told The Times.

But the Government is aware of sensitivities. Many local registrars will be keen to maintain a clear distinction between religious and civil ceremonies. The churches will not want to see anything agreed which will take away the unique appeal of a church wedding and some faith groups will be particularly concerned about anything which confers some sense of religious legitimacy on civil partnerships between same-sex couples.

Mr Foster told The Times last night: “I hope that [the Government] will end this nonsensical ban. It’s a bizarre form of censorship.”

The proposal will be given a guarded welcome by the Church of England, which would not oppose religious references in poems or readings but which would oppose the singing of hymns or prayers in civil marriages.

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

"Arise, my love, my fair one come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is comely . . . My beloved is mine and I am his . . .
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it . . ."
Song of Songs 2:13-14, 16; 8:6-7 Revised Standard Version

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portugese, No.43)

Does religion have a place in civil wedding ceremonies? Join the debate

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth