There were more humanist weddings than Roman Catholic weddings in Scotland last year, according to new figures.
The Registrar General for Scotland's provisional data on
marriages by denomination showed humanist weddings were the third most
popular ceremony.
There were 1,706 humanist weddings, between January and
September 2010, an increase of 35% on 2009, while Catholic weddings
remained static at 1,506.
There were 11,430 civil marriages and 5,013 Church of Scotland weddings.
Humanist weddings were granted legal status in 2005.
The Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) said it expected to
see the number of humanist weddings "overtake those of the Church of
Scotland in 2015".
HSS convener Juliet Wilson said: "We believe that more and
more people are choosing to marry in a humanist ceremony because they
identify with the humanist values of equality, reason, compassion and
tolerance, and these are the values that bind society together."
Although classified by the Registrar General for Scotland as a
form of religious marriage,
humanism is not a religion, but a secular
philosophy or belief system.