Is Civil Celebrancy a Career?

What is your understanding of what ta Civil Celebrant does!

The two periods of major social change in the UK which led to the development of Celebrancy as a profession areMany and varied!

After the WWII there was a need for a greater workforce in order to rebuild the country. Immigration created a more diverse society and, although people were still attending church fairly regularly and divorce was rare, it was more by habit that desire. It could be said they were going through the motions for the purpose of tradition and custom. Churches were predominantly led by males, unmarried mothers were frowned upon and same sex partnerships had to be conducted in secret.

From the 1950s people became better informed and in a more diverse society there was a further transition towards a more liberal view on how ceremonies could be conducted. The influx of different cultures, some of whom had women leading religious ceremonies, opened minds to other cultures and options.

By 1990 the first woman minister was ordained by the Church of England. Although these major, social changes were initiated fairly long ago they have had a direct and positive effect on the development of Celebrancy as a profession as we now know it.

Now we experience living in a much more diverse, multi religious and cultural society and there is greater choice and requirement for officiants to conduct ceremonies for rites of passage celebrated in many different ways. This has paved the way and created a need for Civil Celebrants and this can now be distinguished as a career in its own right.