Difference between Non-Religious and Religious Marriage Celebrant
Wedding resource sites (like Oneflare.com and Married.Today) will often have an option to select your Celebrant Type/Prefrence:
- I Dont Mind
- Non-Religious Celebrant
- Religious Celebrant
Couples often think this relates to the type of ceremony and that a Religious Celebrant will only perform ceremonies with religious wording according to their faith.
With the introduction of changes to the Marriage Act which allowed same sex couples to marry, there are now 4 types of Authorised Marriage Celebrants:
- Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants
- Commonwealth-registered religious marriage celebrants
- Ministers of Religion (Registered with BDM)
- State and Territory Officers
The term Religious Celebrant (or Commonwealth-registered religious marriage celebrant) simply means these celebrants do not have to perform ceremonies that do not align with their own personal religious beliefs, and they must clearly say that they are a religious marriage celebrant in their advertising. For example, a Religious Marriage Celebrant does not have to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony if this is in conflict with their own religious beliefs.