The National Secular Society has accused the Minister for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, of allowing his evangelical Christian views to cloud his judgment and risk a damaging split in society.

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that an ice cream advert is not offensive to Christians – even though it had previously banned a very similar ad from the same firm.

Two Catholic midwives have lost a legal battle after claiming that being asked to supervise nurses involved in abortion procedures violated their religious conscience.

Last year, the evangelical Christian MP Gary Streeter set up what he called "an inquiry" into whether Christians are being 'marginalised' in the UK. It has now produced a report jointly with the Evangelical Alliance UK.

A Cheshire town councillor who walked out of a meeting before prayers was heckled and told 'he should be ashamed of himself'.

The multi-award winning playwright and novelist Michael Frayn says he is "proud to have his name included" among the NSS's list of honorary associates.

After 130,000 Italians signed an online petition calling for the Vatican to be taxed on its commercial properties, the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, has said that such a tax will now be levied, bringing an end to the waivers that gave the Catholic Church millions of euros out of the taxpayers' pockets.

The Costa Rican government is under pressure from Catholic Bishops after it proposed legislation on abortion, in vitro fertilization, and homosexual unions.

A member of the Egyptian parliament was ordered to "stop talking and remain quiet" by the Speaker after he loudly recited the Azan, or the Muslim call to prayer, while ministers were in session on Tuesday.

The Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles – and the Coalition Government as a whole – risks alienating huge swathes of the population of this country with calls to return Christianity to the centre of public life, says the National Secular Society.

Two new polls about religion, which specifically asked a question about the Bideford case, illustrate an ambivalent reaction among the public.

The government is activating a power it claims will allow councils in England to hold prayers at meetings.

Bideford Council reportedly decided last night to appeal against the High Court's decision that prayers during Council meetings were unlawful.

A controversial evangelical church has announced plans to open a free school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Christian owners of a private hotel have lost their appeal against a £3,600 fine imposed on them for refusing to allow a gay couple to occupy a double room at Chymorvah House in Marazion, Cornwall, in 2008.

Several members of the NSS Council and several members of staff attended the One Law for All Free Speech rally outside parliament last week. Speaking for the NSS was Executive Director Keith Porteous Wood.

An academic study by Cardiff University shows that the proportion of adult Muslims actively practising the faith they were brought up in as children was 77%. That compares with 29% of Christians and 65% of other religions.

Conservative MPs in Poland have complained to the national airline LOT that banning staff wearing the Roman Catholic cross on flights is "discriminatory" and "unconstitutional".

In a speech at Lambeth palace today, the Queen told the Archbishop of Canterbury how inclusive the Church of England is and how important its establishment is to the nation.

Results of a poll carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science show that UK Christians are overwhelmingly secular in their attitudes on a wide range of issues.