Don't forget to buy your ticket to our Secularist of the Year awards ceremony next month. Members benefit from a discount so sign up today if you haven't already!
News, Blogs & Opinion
It’s time for an end to special religious privileges: we need a secular stateOpinion | Wed, 8th Feb 2017 Should the Anglican peers in the Lords be joined by religious leaders from other faiths? Ought the BBC be required to make religious programmes? Should religious groups enjoy more legal protection? The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life set out 37 recommendations – which, argues Steven Kettell, are deeply problematic in a society where half the population say they have no religion. The last few decades have seen significant changes to the landscape of religion and belief in Britain. According to surveys by British Social Attitudes the proportion of the adult population describing themselves as 'Christian' fell from 67% to 41.7% between 1983 and 2014, while the proportion self-identifying as having 'no religion' rose from 31% to 48.9% over the same period. These developments pose a number of important challenges, thrusting concerns about social cohesion, debates around national identity and questions about balancing the rights and duties of citizenship to the forefront of British public life. In December 2015 the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life (CORAB) published a report entitled: 'Living With Difference'. The report made a total of 37 recommendations, covering a variety of themes. A notable feature of the CORAB report, however, was that it paid insufficient attention to secular views and voices. Of the twenty members making up the Commission, just one – Andrew Copson, the chief executive of the British Humanist Association – was from a 'non-religious' organisation. And despite acknowledging the rise of non-religion and the growing diversity of religion and belief in Britain, the CORAB recommendations sought a more prominent role for faith in public life. In spring 2016 a panel of experts convened at the University of Warwick to consider the Commission's report. Our findings, which are supported by secularists from a range of spheres – including academics, activists and representatives from Britain's leading campaign groups – have now been published as a report entitled: 'A Secularist Response'. While being generally supportive of some of the CORAB recommendations (such as putting an end to the requirement for compulsory worship in schools, or refusing public funds to charitable organisations involved in proselytising), the principal thrust of the CORAB report remains deeply problematic. One of the key recommendations, for example, is for greater "religion and belief literacy" (a phrase that appears in the report no fewer than thirteen times). But it is simply not clear what the rationale for greater literacy is (especially in a context of religious decline) and no evidence in support of this point is ever actually presented. Similarly, CORAB calls for religious representation in the House of Lords to be extended to give voice to a wider variety of faiths, and for national and civic events (such as the coronation) to be made more representative of British society. Britain, of course, is the only sovereign democratic country to have automatic religious representation in its legislature (a wholly anachronistic practice that has no place in a modern democratic society), and it is hard to see how the coronation – as a distinctly Anglican ceremony – could be made properly inclusive without losing its religious underpinnings. Possible alternatives, such as holding the coronation or investiture in an inclusive secular ceremony at Westminster Hall, are simply not discussed. Moreover, while calling for the pluralisation of civic ceremonies sounds entirely reasonable, the Commission's call for the inclusion of religious representatives from a wider variety of faiths gives unwarranted credence to the self-presentation of religious leaders as moral figures representing separate communities. The CORAB report goes on to call (amongst other things) for religious coverage to remain a part of the BBC's charter (again with no justification – and in fact the charter makes no reference to 'religion' at all); for chaplaincy funding to be ring-fenced (we argue that religious organisations should fund their own chaplaincy provisions); and for charitable organisations based on religious principles to be given 'fair funding' (we object to government money being used to promote religious causes or viewpoints, and it is notable that CORAB fails to call for any reform or repeal of exemptions from equalities legislation allowing discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief). The CORAB report ends by calling for a review of the law covering the categories of race, ethnicity and religion in order to correct any "unjust anomalies". Reasonable enough, you might think. But we have serious concerns that extending further legal protections to religious groups could lead to a curtailing of freedoms and an erosion of current safeguards (such as the freedom of expression safeguards contained in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act). There is, it is worth remembering, no right not to be insulted. Relatedly, the issue of separate systems of religious courts and tribunals also presents a number of concerns, not least the worrying potential for the abuse of vulnerable citizens. In our view, the use of such tribunals should be accompanied by strict conditions, including that all participants be fully informed in advance as to their rights in civil law, and that such bodies refrain from pretending to a legal status that they simply do not possess. Taken together the CORAB recommendations are completely at odds with the realities of twenty-first century life in Britain. At a time when the majority of the British population belongs to no religion at all, proposals to extend the public role of faith amount to little more than an attempt to shore-up the crumbling towers of unwarranted religious privilege. And while secularism is often presented as involving a curtailment of religious freedom, as an authoritarian attempt to force religion out of public life and to impose a particular (usually non-religious) worldview, the reality is that a secular state – by distancing itself from all systems of religion or belief – provides the best possible framework for guaranteeing equality for all citizens, and the best means of fostering a free, inclusive and democratic society in which people of all faiths and none can live harmoniously together. The recommendations of the CORAB report, which defends and promotes religious privilege, are a recipe for increasing unfairness and division. Our response highlights the critical need for secular voices to be heard. The full report can be read here. Steven Kettell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. The views expressed in our blogs are those of the author and may not present the views of the NSS. This article was originally published by the London School of Economics and is reproduced here with the permission of the author. | |
Secular schools ‘more appropriate than faith schools’ in diverse BritainNews | Mon, 6th Feb 2017 The Times has reported that pupils from Muslim backgrounds outnumber those from Christian families in more than 30 Church of England faith schools, and that one Anglican school's population is from an entirely Muslim background. One school even describes itself as "a church school serving a majority Muslim community". Professor Alan Smithers of the centre for education at the University of Buckingham told the Times that secular schools were more appropriate than faith schools, and that some of the Anglican faith schools should be converted. "The Church of England has traditionally provided education in this country but now that risks being an uncomfortable experience for the Muslim pupils that fill many of these schools. "It must also be very confusing for the handful of Christian pupils in some of them. It would seem logical these schools become secular institutions." Stephen Evans, the campaigns director of the National Secular Society, endorsed Professor Smither's comments, and said that the Times' report "exposed the anachronism in our education system." "A 19th century system of education simply isn't appropriate for 21st century Britain. The time has come to consider ways in which we can move towards a truly inclusive secular education system in which religious organisations play no formal role. "The Church claims that its schools, funded by taxpayers, are not faith schools but 'church schools serving the local community'. This reassurance means very little given the priority they put on evangelising children and young people to stop the Church's ongoing collapse. "We have supported non-Sikh parents allocated to a Sikh faith school against their wishes, Muslim parents allocated to a Christian school when they wanted a community school, Muslim parents allocated to an Orthodox Jewish school, and all across the country non-religious parents are often left with no practical option but to send their child to a faith school. These absurdities are the obvious result of having such a heavily faith-based education system." The Catholic Education Service told the Times that 90% of pupils at one Catholic school were Muslim. Mr Evans added: "There is also an integration concern. In such a religiously diverse country it should be surprising indeed to find any school where all pupils share one religious background. But as we know from research and the recent Casey Review on integration, there are emerging religious ghettoes in the UK. "The education system is one way of breaking down this separation. But regrettably successive governments have encouraged faith schools, worsening segregation or causing absurd situations where you have an Anglican school with an entirely Muslim student population, or as is more often the case, church schools full of pupils from families that have no interest in religion whatsoever." | |
Liam Neeson backs integrated education in Northern IrelandNews | Thu, 9th Feb 2017 Actor Liam Neeson has released a video message calling for more integrated schools in Northern Ireland. The appeal was launched for the 'Integrate My School' campaign, which offers support for parents and schools on how to begin the transformation process. The campaign says that transforming a school means that it "will welcome children from Protestant and Catholic backgrounds, as well as those of other faiths and none. For many, the transition to integrated status is a natural step, as the school may well already attract children from different religious and cultural backgrounds." "Integrated education can help your child to have more friends from different backgrounds, develop more positive social attitudes and provide new educational, social and cultural experiences." A majority of parents "already support the idea of integrated education", the campaign notes. "The process of becoming an integrated school is called transformation, and by signing a petition to register your support, you have the power to trigger this process within your school." In his video appeal Neeson asked: "As Northern Ireland moves forward from division, who do we look to for a future we can share? "So why continue to educate them apart. Different religions, different backgrounds, different schools. There is another way. Protestants and Catholics, other beliefs and none, learning and working together every day. "Most people agree that educating children together is a better way forward for our society. It's time to turn our aspiration into reality." He appealed to parents to "help being the process of integrating your school". The BBC reported that just 7% of Northern Ireland's school pupils are educated in integrated schools. In January the National Secular Society welcomed proposals from Kellie Armstrong MLA aimed at simplifying the transformation process and boosting the number of integrated schools. Campaigns director Stephen Evans said, "I hope this issue is near the top of the political agenda following the election in March. Theresa May should take note of the clamour to integrate schools in Northern Ireland, as she continues to push more religiously selective faith schools in England." | |
A judge’s decision to separate a transgender parent from her Jewish Orthodox children was deeply misguidedOpinion | Fri, 10th Feb 2017 The decision to separate a transgender parent from her children gets to the heart of why faith-based harm is perpetuated and is frequently unchallenged, writes Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum. A recent ruling in the Family Court of Manchester denied an application from a transgender father for direct contact with her children. The father is now living as a woman having left the strict ultra-orthodox Charedi community. The judgement forbids any contact with her children except four letters a year. This distressing case offers a poignant example of how collusion with a religious community that unashamedly embraces discrimination, ignorance and coercion undermines the fundamental rights of children and minority groups. The judge acknowledged that "an absent parent's involvement in the child's upbringing will further the child's welfare… and… the courts recognise the vital importance of the role of non-resident fathers in the lives of their children and only make orders terminating contact when there is no alternative." There was no dispute that the father loved her children, and they her, and that she had her children's welfare at heart. There were no substantive child protection concerns and the judge noted that some of the younger children particularly were missing their father and wanted to see her again. The judge expressed no antipathy towards the transgender community nor was there evidence in the judgment of religious bias. The enforced separation is likely to have a devastating impact on the father and to deny five children any meaningful contact with one of their parents. So what steered the judge towards such a draconian judgement? The judge concluded that he was "driven to this conclusion"'. He regarded it as probable that "these children and their mother would be rejected by their community if the children were to have face to face contact with their father." He further believed that "the worst possible outcome for the children would be to be victimised and ostracised for having contact with their father." The judge was not blind to the dangers of the community in whose care he has entrusted the children. He commented on "the lengths to which the community is prepared to go regardless of… justice… or… the welfare of the young people." He noted "…evidence that the practices within the community… amount to unlawful discrimination and victimisation of the father and the children because of the father's transgender status." His judgement, which can only add fuel to this discrimination and victimisation, is all the more perplexing for that. It is perhaps best explained by the tendency to accept the religious paradigm as somehow normal no matter where it leads. There is a general societal deference to religious or cultural norms coupled with an extreme reluctance to challenge even harmful or illegal religious or cultural practices. There are parallels and lessons to be learned here. The ruling is a well-reasoned demonstration of how institutional harm becomes embedded and pandered to, even when the opportunity is there to prevent or challenge it. Institutional harm is not always about wilful complicity, but sometimes due to sincere, well-intentioned failure. By threatening to harm the children, the community has done enough to ensure that its culture and cherished beliefs remain sacrosanct and free from the threat of challenge or change. By such precedent, other bullying, insular, cultish communities may follow. The losers are the innocent and the victimised. And there are other troubling aspects of this judgment. Whilst the father alleged that she had to leave the family home because her life was threatened by members of the community, the judge stated that it was not necessary to take a view on this. At the very least, an allegation that a member or members of an insular community harbour homicidal ambitions towards people with different views or sexuality should be considered from a child safeguarding perspective. Violence within such communities is not rare and the barriers to reporting and justice are large. Some of these children, whose best interests are the cornerstone of the judgement, might later try to make contact with and see their father. Should they do so, the risk to them of similar aggression from the community might best be considered rather than dismissed. Separating parents from their children should only be considered when the parent poses a significant, enduring threat to the child, which was clearly not the case in this scenario. The threat was to the cohesion of a narrow-minded community which made no secret of an active ambition to expose the children to ostracism and bullying were it to be threatened in any way. The Charedi community shares many characteristics of a cult. Were a cult to behave in this manner, curtailing educational opportunities, instigating bullying, coercive behaviour and seeking to separate a parent from her children, the children would likely be removed to a safe haven. The familiarity and outward respectability of religious belief has instead led the judge to leave these children at its heart and to deny access to the one person who might have offered a safe haven outside. The father only sought reasonable contact, not custody. The judge tacitly acknowledged that his decision was not really based on the relationship between the father and her children but ironically on the limitations of the very community in which he constrained the children: "the truth is" he said "that for the children to see their father would be too much for the adults." According to the judge, the mother had responded to events "within the limited horizons of her upbringing." She had argued that "the community would not accept" contact between her children and their father. The judge agreed and thought it probable that "the children would be ostracised by the community if they had direct contact" with their father; that they would, in essence, be bullied by the community. Yet instead of standing up to bullying, the judge has acted to appease the bullying culture at enormous cost to the children and their father. It is within those very "limited horizons" that the children have now been condemned to grow up. For example, a representative from a faith school in the community reported "If a child had a parent... who was reading newspapers around them, that child would not be offered a place at the school." Such a comment speaks volumes about the learning environment of the children in this community. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees children the right to education which should prepare children and young people for a responsible life in a free society. Instead, this community is intent on limiting the children's horizons and preventing them from having an open future. The judge satisfied himself that this was a difficult but ultimately pragmatic decision. He failed to recognise it as a form of societal collusion with regressive religious attitudes and behaviours to the detriment of the children's rights; the children have been caught in the crossfire. The ruling offers lessons for secularists and child safeguarding workers alike. There are significant dangers inherent in supporting and buttressing harmful religious or cultural behaviour on what appear to be convincing, pragmatic grounds. When the limited parameters defined by self-interest groups are not challenged, it should come as no surprise when the end result is that people are harmed. That the father is transgender is pivotal to the adverse outcome. The unashamed Charedi community discrimination against any form of sexuality that does not sit within a simple heterosexual paradigm has been enforced by the judge. The judge commented on the conflict between "the right of religious freedom and the right to equal treatment" for minorities. This is a false dichotomy; the children have a right to an open future and to have a meaningful family life and relationship with both of their parents. By allowing access to their father, the children's right to choose their beliefs would have been unaffected. Individuals have human rights, not communities. This ruling gets to the heart of why much faith-based harm is allowed to continue and to be supported unchallenged by wider society. Many of the issues discussed are widespread among other close-knit religious communities including the wider Jewish orthodox community, if not always on the same scale. Many people report being threatened with being disowned or worse by their family should they marry someone from outside the community or break the rules. Such threats are an unfortunately effective technique for preserving insularity precisely because the perceived best interests of a child are then narrowed into the single interest of remaining within their community of origin to prevent the threatened harm. But it doesn't have to be that way. Given the chance, the education, the fortune and the fortitude of a judge who would instead support enlightened values despite the threats, children would at least stand a chance of escaping from such narrow-minded, restrictive world-views and function in wider society. Despite the judge's stated belief that the oldest child had autonomously chosen his belief, these children are being factory-farmed into a lifestyle and belief system. With the judge's approval, the possibility of their hearing about or considering alternatives has been greatly reduced. The child's view may well have been honestly held but had been moulded for him from the moment of his birth with dire threats should he think differently; that is not the same as autonomy. Child-safeguarding workers are now trained to recognise the dangers of grooming. The appearance of a willing child has fooled many who should have known better. As adults, these children may choose to remain within the community, but the barriers the judge identifies as an impediment to their contact with their father will also serve to prevent them from having the opportunity to move out into the wider world. The Children's Guardian noted that these children had no choice over what faith they should follow. This comment demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding between culture and faith. Being born into a faith community, should not constrain one's future belief options. Statements such as these should be challenged rather than be used as excuses to further the interests of the religious community over the needs of the child and the rights of their father. Although the judge curiously chose to sidestep the overt discrimination, threats and coercion evident in this case to make what appears to be a pragmatic decision, he did comment on the broader themes. In fact, the judge was so concerned he wrote to the Department for Education about certain details of the case – especially with regard to the faith schools concerned. Nevertheless he considered the children's best interests to be served by being placed in this environment and limiting external sources of information and knowledge. Some people not raised in a closed-minded faith community may find it difficult to perceive the many barriers to escape and the enormous pressure put on people not to rock the boat, not to hurt the members of the community (who stay in) and not to talk about it. Some of those barriers are deliberate, some inevitable when parents and communities place such great store by their beliefs that their pain is real when their children head in a different direction. In his discussion, the judge identified several benefits for the children of direct contact with their father. It "…prevents the situation where… the children will be locked in by community and family pressure." Quite. Remarkably considering the final judgement he articulated the problem so well: "It would give the children some small experience of the wider world and might even open the door to them being able to make life choices for themselves as they grow older." The judge made the classic mistake of limiting his imagination of the children's future self to the narrow ideology defined by their community of origin. He has sought to embody that limited imagination in a self-fulfilling directive. With this judgement, he has barricaded the exits, hidden the tools to escape and separated these children from a loving parent and one of the few people who might have offered them a different perspective on life and opened their eyes to a world that they may, or may not, have chosen as adults. Further he has separated a parent from her children for no good reason, in fact, for very bad reasons. This is a truly deplorable judgement that needs to be challenged. Dr Antony Lempert is the chair of the Secular Medical Forum and has experience on related issues as a GP with some additional expertise in child safeguarding. | |
American secularists express alarm over Trump’s new Secretary of EducationNews | Wed, 8th Feb 2017 Americans United for Separation of Church and State has said it is disappointed after the Senate narrowly voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education. DeVos was confirmed after an incredibly tight confirmation battle. Two Republican senators sided with Senate Democrats in a bid to block her confirmation. She was only confirmed after Vice President Mike Pence caste a tie-breaking vote – the first time in history that a cabinet nominee has needed a tie-breaking vote from a vice president to be confirmed. After her confirmation Americans United (AU) released a statement vowing to oppose any attempt by the Trump administration to use voucher programmes and "school choice" schemes that "divert desperately needed taxpayer funds to private, mostly religious, institutions." Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said the organisation had "grave concerns" about DeVos. AU said it "vowed to oppose any attempts by DeVos and President Donald Trump's administration to defund public schools by redirecting taxpayer dollars to private schools that lack accountability and typically perform no better – and sometimes worse – than public schools." The group also cited concerns that "vouchers will be used at private religious schools that teach religion, such as creationism and [an] anti-LGBTQ curriculum. AU notes that these schools don't provide the same civil rights protections – including those that protect students with disabilities and young women against discrimination – that public schools do." When challenged over her support for an organisation that supported a school district which used a biology textbook that featured intelligent design, De Vos said that she was in favour of "critical thinking". But Professor Robert Pennock told Pro Publica that 'critical thinking' was used as a code word for introducing intelligent design as an 'alternative' to evolution. Pennock said that DeVos "evaded what should have been a simple question about not teaching junk science" and that she "did so in a way that signalled her willingness to open the door to intelligent design creationism." The Secular Coalition for American said the Senate had voted "to entrust the education of our young people to an ideologue who devoted her philanthropic career to funnelling money from public schools that serve all students into private religious schools that serve a select few." They praised the two Republican senators who voted with the Democrats for putting "their duty to their constituents ahead of party-line politics." | |
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to present Secularist of the Year awardsNews | Thu, 2nd Feb 2017 The National Secular Society is pleased to announce that this year's Secularist of the Year award will be presented by journalist and writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. Alibhai-Brown is an author, columnist and broadcaster who has written for the Guardian, Daily Mail, Independent, Telegraph and New Statesman. In recent years she has been a powerful advocate for women's rights and a critic of sharia law and faith schools. Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "We are delighted that Yasmin will present this year's Michael Irwin prize for Secularist of the Year. "There are so many campaigners and groups worthy of recognition this year for their work in defending human rights, secularism and freedom. Come along and show your support." The award will be presented at a lunch event in central London on Saturday 18 March. All are welcome to attend, but members of the National Secular Society benefit from a discounted ticket price. The winner is chosen by the elected council of the National Secular Society, from nominations sent by our members and supporters. Recent winners include Educate Together, Charlie Hebdo and Turkish MP Safak Pavey. In addition to the main prize, National Secular Society uses the occasion to thank other individuals and groups for their contributions to the secularist movement and for their support of the Society and its mission. |
NSS Speaks Out
Our new manifesto, 'Rethinking religion and belief in public life', was reported in the 'Law & Religion UK' blog.
Quote of the Week
"Most people agree that educating children together is a better way forward for our society - it's time to turn our aspiration into reality."
Liam Neeson, in an appeal to integrate more schools in Northern Ireland.
Essay of the Week
Trump didn't sign a religious liberties executive order, but states are filling the gap.
Sandhya Somashekhar, Washington Post.
