Secularisation of the legal system means that judges are no longer guardians of public morality, a senior judge has said.
According to The Times Sir James Munby, the President of the Family
Division, told a conference organised by the Law Society: "We live in
this country in a democratic and pluralistic society, in a secular
state, not a theocracy ... We sit as secular judges serving a
multicultural community."
Sir James said that courts would accommodate manifestations of
religious belief only when it was in the child's best interests.
He said
that forced marriage, female genital mutilation and "honour-based"
domestic violence were "beyond the pale".