We are the only ones in Lithuania who organize humanist ceremonies that meet the international standard for humanist ceremonies and train ceremony leaders at the “Ceremony Masters Academy.”
We are a member of the international Humanists International network, representing humanist ideas and Lithuanian humanists, and striving to ensure the accessibility of all humanist services in Lithuania.
Today in Lithuania, religious communities are allowed to submit marriage registration documents to the Civil Registry Office, while a non‑religious worldview organization providing humanist ceremonies does not have this possibility. As a result, couples who choose a humanist wedding ceremony are forced to organize two separate ceremonies.
We ask that Lithuania allow marriages to be legally registered on the basis of a humanist ceremony.
Lithuania is a modern, democratic state that respects freedom of worldview and brings together people of diverse beliefs. Yet couples who choose a humanist wedding ceremony still do not have the same opportunities to register their marriage.
At present, under Article 38 of the Constitution, marriage, birth, and death are registered by the state. This function is carried out by the Civil Registry Offices.
Until 2016, all Lithuanian citizens - regardless of their worldview - registered their marriage at the Civil Registry Office. Since 2016, ministerial order it was established that “a marriage concluded in accordance with the procedures set by a church (denomination) in the Republic of Lithuania is entered into the records of the Civil Registry Office by creating a marriage entry.” This means that churches can submit the completed document form and act as intermediaries in the marriage registration process.
Every year, around 13,000 marriages are registered in Lithuania. Of these, 2,800 are legally recognized through documents submitted by churches. Meanwhile, the number of humanist weddings has reached 500 ceremonies for three years in a row. Yet couples who choose a humanist wedding ceremony are still required to organize two separate ceremonies in order to have their marriage legally recognized.
Religious communities already have the possibility to submit marriage registration documents to the Civil Registry Offices. We ask that an equivalent opportunity be granted to non‑religious worldview organizations as well.
☀️ marriage registration documents could be submitted not only after a church ceremony, but also after a humanist ceremony.
Since 2016, we have married more than 2,200 couples. Humanist ceremonies already have legal status in Norway, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland. We strive for what has already become meaningful to many people in Lithuania to be legally recognized as well.
We represent a lifestyle based on personal freedom, rationality, and science, and we educate the public about humanist ideas.
