About Faith to Faithless#
Faith to Faithless was founded in 2015 to raise awareness of apostasy and support people in the UK who have left religion, and became part of Humanists UK, the national charity for non-religious people, in 2016. It is not tied to one faith: its pages name ex-Evangelical Christians, ex-ultra-Orthodox Jews, ex-Muslims, ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and ex-Mormons among the people it helps. Most of its helpline volunteers have left a high-control religion themselves. It also trains frontline professionals, including police officers, in what apostates face: shunning, disownment and, for some, honour-based violence.
Ways to get support#
- The helpline. A freephone line, open for a few hours on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, staffed by trained volunteers. It says calls are free and do not appear on itemised bills, and each call is followed by an email with advice and signposting. The helpline page has the times and an email address for anyone who would rather write.
- Peer support meetings. Small, unpublicised groups of up to eight people with two trained facilitators, usually six meetings over twelve weeks, free and strictly confidential. You ask to join by email.
- Socials. Informal monthly weekend meet-ups around the UK, which you do not need to have left religion to attend.
The helpline and peer support are for adults only; Faith to Faithless points young people to Childline. It is a UK organisation and says it cannot yet advise on overseas cases.
What it says about leaving safely#
Faith to Faithless publishes nothing about changing your name. What it does publish is careful advice about when and how to tell people. Its page on coming out as a non-believer asks you to think first about whether you depend on family for money or a home, whether you could stay elsewhere if you had to leave, and whether you are at risk of violence. It says there is never any pressure to come out, and that living a double life can sometimes be necessary for your safety or relationships. Its victim support page lists help for honour-based abuse and forced marriage, emergency housing advice and mental health support, and tells anyone in physical danger to call 999.
Applying that to a new name#
A change of name is a kind of coming out, because the new name appears on letters, cards and accounts others may see. The same questions apply before you start: who will notice, whether you have somewhere safe to go, and whether you need to keep the old name in use with family for a while. The law allows that; an unenrolled deed poll is not published anywhere and nobody has to agree to it.
If you leave a religious name behind, the rules on the new name are GOV.UK's general ones: pronounceable, no numbers or symbols, nothing offensive (changing your name after converting to a religion covers them). Avoid enrolment if you want privacy, since it publishes your names and address in The Gazette, and read can someone find out my new name? for the records that can show it.
For a particular community, GesherEU supports people leaving Charedi Judaism and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain runs groups for ex-Muslims.
This page describes what Faith to Faithless and Humanists UK publish on their own websites, read on 26 October 2026. Neither has reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
