PICTURE the setting for a Scottish wedding and what do you see? Perhaps a traditional church with a religious minister or a government building with a registrar?
Think again. It seems more and more Scots are scrapping such conventional locations i
n favour of tying the knot in their back garden, up a hill or at the foot of a waterfall.
And many of those who do are joining the rapidly growing humanist movement – or at least they are for their big day.
The growth of humanist weddings in recent years has been so great that if they continue to expand at such a pace there will be more of them in Scotland by 2011 than those carried out by Catholic Church.
It is debatable whether this will happen, but it is startling to discover that humanists already marry almost as many couples as the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Figures released this week show a 64 per cent increase in the number of humanist weddings performed in Scotland last year, when 710 couples hired a humanist celebrant, rather than a minister, priest or registrar.
At the same time, the number of couples opting for church weddings dwindled, with nearly 9000 getting married in the Church of Scotland in 2005, yet only 8000 the year after. Figures are not yet available for 2007, but the trend is not expected to reverse.
So what is behind the rise of humanist weddings? Are they an emerging social force as the figures may suggest?
"We have a very inclusive philosophy and I think that strikes a chord with many people," says Tim Maguire, a humanist celebrant from Edinburgh.
While hundreds of couples are now opting for humanist ceremonies, there is little evidence to suggest this is the beginning of a mass organisation.
The reality is that anyone choosing to get married in Scotland is only now being presented with any real choice.
Decades ago, non-believers faced either a church or registry office. The latter involved set legal proceedings, offering little room for individuality.
Laws were gradually relaxed, allowing registrars to marry couples outside of local government buildings, therefore opening up more choice to couples who could now opt for hotels or historic castles as their wedding day venue.
And just three years ago, the humanist wedding arrived, making it legally possible for marriages to take place anywhere, as long as it was safe and decent.
But what conclusions can be drawn? Will the humanist movement grow as a greater number of people choose to use it as a marriage tool? That can, of course, only remain to be seen.
Perhaps cynically, just as is the case with many people who marry in churches across the land, their "belief" will last only as long as they ceremony itself.
But maybe the beauty of humanism lies in the fact that it does not have to be seen as an organised movement – a dogmatic body, compelling feelings of guilt among those in association, failing to turn up regularly.
Is it acceptable for genuine religious non-believers, sympathetic to humanist principles, to enjoy a humanist wedding and its spiritual connections, without becoming card-carrying members of the force? That is an issue for conscience.
Humanism is non-religious, advocating that human beings can live good lives without following the words of a sacred text. More than 3000 Scots are members of the Humanist Society, all following the principle that to make sense of the world, they must use reason, experience and "shared human values" – not organised religion.
In Edinburgh, humanist weddings are regularly performed on Arthur's Seat, in people's homes or in stately grounds. Many couples from the Capital choose elsewhere in Scotland, too, including the top of Ben Nevis, or in remote rural settings.
Mr Maguire says: "We're not crazy hippies who take our clothes off and run around hills, as I am sure some people think. We actually marry very normal people with very ordinary jobs and lives.
"When people are faced with having a wedding that can reflect them as people, they simply start using their imaginations."
But will religious believers ever accept humanism? Surely to many, the idea of a humanist wedding will always be less official in comparison to a historic church wedding, deeply rooted in Scotland's national heritage.
This week, religious figures disagreed, stressing it was up to individuals to decide how they should enter into marriage.
Faced with a falling marriage rate, a Church of Scotland spokesman said: "It seems reasonable that couples should be able to choose a wedding ceremony that reflects their own outlook on questions of faith."
Mr Maguire adds: "Funnily enough, usually the first people to rush up to me after a humanist ceremony are church elders. They tell me they thought it was lovely and often seem genuinely surprised. I think everyone can find something to relate to with a humanist wedding – that's the beauty."
In Scotland, there are 72 registered humanist celebrants who are legally able to perform funerals and weddings. This figure will surely have to rise if humanist predictions for expansion are correct.
Gordon Ross, national co-ordinator of the Humanist Society for Scotland, says: "We expect we will exceed the Catholic figures and we're very pleased people are choosing humanist weddings. We're not surprised, though, but the numbers have been bigger than we thought."
And what is it like for a couple to be married in the humanist way?
Mr Maguire says: "Unless you're a rock star, you will probably never see so many people looking at you with love in their eyes. It's a very moving experience. People don't tend to tap their feet at humanist weddings or wonder what time the drinking is going to start because they greatly enjoy the ceremony."
The full article contains 1001 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
