Figures obtained by Northern Ireland Humanists suggest that humanist weddings may now be the third most typical within the province.
Humanist weddings were first granted legal recognition six years ago, and in response to the figures, which come from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) they could now account for as many as 15 per cent of all weddings.
Preliminary data for 2024 shows that out of seven,251 marriages, 1,113 were humanist. Catholic and civil weddings remain the most well-liked types of ceremony. However, the figures do suggest that humanist weddings at the moment are more popular than Protestant ones.
Figures for Protestant weddings should not yet available, although in 2023 the three essential Protestant denominations in Northern Ireland managed 1,084 marriages between them and this was on a downward trend.
When they were first recognised in 2018, humanist weddings represented just 0.5 per cent of the overall and have grown every yr thus far.
Northern Ireland Humanists claim that the sharp rise in humanist weddings is a sign that folks in Northern Ireland wish to maneuver on from the sectarianism of the past. A growing lack of spiritual identification can be an element.
Among those aged 25 to 44, over 1 / 4 (29 per cent) now claim to be of no religion, compare to 34 per cent who discover as Catholic and 23 per cent as Protestant.
Similar trends have been reported in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. In Scotland 29 per cent of weddings at the moment are humanist. In the Republic of Ireland, slightly below a 3rd of weddings are Catholic, although this represented a drop of 11.5 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
Church of Ireland (Anglican) marriages saw a good greater decline of over 20 per cent.
By contrast, data compiled by the Iona Institute found that last yr greater than 1 / 4 of Irish weddings were ‘New Age’ ceremonies. According to the Iona paper, humanist ceremonies fell by greater than 10 per cent and civil ceremonies dropped barely by 1.3 per cent.
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