The Defense Department recently created a controversy by revising its list of religious affiliation codes for service members and failing to designate the LDS Church as Christian.

After objections, DOD removed the Christian designation from the list altogether. [...]

Re St. Mary the Virgin, Aldworth [2026] ECC Oxf 10 The celebrated singer and song-writer Ms Marianne Faithfull died in London on 30 January 2025 at the age of 78, and is buried

at St Mary’s Church, Aldworth, Berkshire. By an application dated 20 March 2026, Ms Faithfull’s adult son, Mr Nicholas Dunbar, sought a faculty for a memorial [...]

In a guest post, Professor Russell Sandberg looks at the recent consultation on cohabitation rights Professor Russell Sandberg  Why the consultation on cohabitation rights

is to be welcomed [...]

Tackling antisemitism in the NHS The Government has accepted Lord Mann’s recommendations on tackling antisemitism in the NHS. In the wake of a series of attacks on the Jewish

community, including intimidation and abuse within the NHS, in October 2025 the former Secretary of State and the Prime Minister commissioned Lord Mann to lead an [...]

The Law Commission has published its final Report on New Funerary Methods. New funerary methods are potential alternatives to the established funerary methods of burial, cremation

and burial at sea. Some are available in other countries, but there is no regulation of new funerary methods in England or Wales. [...]

Re All Saints Broughton [2026] ECC Lee 1 The petition concerns a memorial which was unlawfully introduced into the churchyard of All Saints, Broughton on a date unknown in

December 2025 [1]. It was brought in the name of Mrs Janet Watson, widow of Mr Ian Watson over whose grave the memorial was erected, although the de facto petitioner [...]

In our earlier post Burial of pets in churchyards – an overview, we considered the situation in England and Wales, and noted that burying an animal in a church or municipal

cemetery, including the placement of an urn in a coffin, was illegal. However, burial on private land with the owner’s permission or scattering with the ashes of [...]

Review of the ecclesiastical court judgments during May 2026 Summaries to the both consistory court judgments reviewed during May are here. This review also includes: CDM

Decisions and Safeguarding; CFCE Determinations; and Links to other posts relating to ecclesiastical law. An index to these and earlier judgments in here. [...]

At the Hay Literary Festival, the Rev Richard Coles admitted to placing pets’ ashes in their owners’ coffins while serving as vicar of St Mary the Virgin in Finedon from

2011 to 2022. Reaction on social media reflected the view that whilst illegal, many contributors deemed it acceptable and thought that it should be accommodated more [...]

Places of Worship Renewal Fund: updates Projects already underway: The Historic Religious Buildings Alliance has drawn attention to the fact that in Year 1 of the recently-launched

Places of Worship Renewal Fund (PWRF), a limited amount of funding will be available for “projects that have lost anticipated match funding”. [...]