Are Couples Saying Yes to Religious Ceremonies?

The lovely people at Dejoria have been busy; they wanted to find out if religious ceremonies are still popular with couples getting married. 

For us, it's an interesting question. The LGBT community is often excluded by religious institutions. UK law, in fact, protects religious groups from having to perform or endorse same-sex marriage. For the vast majority of gay people there is no choice; it’s a civil marriage ceremony or nothing.

But it’s interesting to see that straight couples are now less inclined to choose a religious ceremony. This might be for a number of reasons: a lack of or change in religious belief, a small budget, a want of a different venue or the lure of the all-inclusive wedding package. 

We live in a different world now, a different society, and in the UK at least, the grip of the Church is weakening in many of the arenas it once dominated.   

Or perhaps we should be surprised that modern couples are still choosing religious ceremonies. One could argue that religious traditions are archaic – what place do they have in an increasingly secularised society? Yet religious ceremonies remain popular even for those with little to no religious inclination.

Whatever we’re to make of the results, they’re an interesting insight into the modern wedding. Here’s what DeJoria found out. 

Going to the Chapel & we're going to get married...

"Imagine you are planning your big day, would you consider a religious ceremony to enter the world of marriage?

The connections between marriage and religion has recently been a hot topic around the world as marriage laws have been changed to allow same-sex-couples to pledge their love for each other and get married. 

With these changes taking place, we thought we would test the traditional view of weddings being a religious affair and see if the general public would choose a religious ceremony and why. 

We asked 500 people: 'Imagine you're planning your wedding; Would you consider a religious ceremony?' 

Of the respondents, 43% answered 'No' as they are not religious. Although this seems fairly obvious, it still poses a few thoughts such as whether or not religion is on the decline, whether places of religious importance could also cater to those who may be less religious than others, if at all, as a symbol of geographical community as well as the religious community. 

With almost a quarter of respondents (24.8%) answering 'Yes' as it is important to their family values, this suggests that the long standing link between religion and family culture and coming together is still going strong for many couples. This suggests that family values and beliefs are very much the driving factor when it comes to life events. 

In third place came 'No' as there are now more options available when it comes to a wedding ceremony, whether it be castles, hotels, event venues, outdoors, or abroad. Almost 20% (19.7% to be exact) chose this as their reason behind not choosing a religious service. This suggests that society is more open to creativity in terms of weddings and ceremonies, which could be a result of advancing technologies and the ease in being able to travel around the world, however some may argue that this looses the traditional, homely values that are associated and often ranked highly when it comes to weddings. 

Surprisingly in last place with just over 10% of the vote was 'Yes – it's important to our own religion'.  This result suggests that the family values may not be lost just yet, as family beliefs seem to be more important than the couple's individual beliefs. This could be a reflection of the once valued family permission that was needed in order to get married and the joining of the (hopefully) compatible families. 

Does this mean that the highly traditional religious service is on the decline, is this religion specific, is this the beginning of a new era in terms of weddings, marriage and family values and living? We're not sure, but one thing is for sure, the freedom to choose is available, which is surely the most important element?"

About DeJoria Diamonds:

DeJoria Diamonds is based near Birmingham's famous Jewellery Quarter. The company was created in 2003, andspecialises in conflict-free diamond engagement rings and stunning diamond jewellery. Their range of beautiful diamond jewellery is handmade in the UK and wherever possible, they use recycled precious metals.