Newsline 15 March 2003

Newsline 15 March 2003

"When I first joined I was motivated really by my atheism. Since that time however I have come to see the NSS as an organisation with a much broader and balanced agenda that I can subscribe to with enthusiasm. The removal of privileges from religion in all aspects of our lives has become very important to me. I am delighted to be a member." – John, NSS member, Norfolk.
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News, Blogs & Opinion

Pupils must "prove" their religion to qualify for free school buses

News | Sat, 9th Mar 2013

Flintshire County Council has launched a consultation on proposed changes to its discretionary home to school transport policy, that will require pupils attending faith schools to "prove" their religion to qualify for free school buses. The local authority says it will no longer provide free denominational transport for pupils whose admission is not based on faith grounds.

The council say suitable evidence of adherence to the faith of the school such as a baptismal certificate or a letter from a priest may be requested. The council describe their proposed policy as "fair" and "equitable".

The plans have been criticised by local parents and religious leaders alike for being discriminatory against people without religious faith.

In addition to their statutory duty towards eligible children, many local authorities offer

discretionary assistance to children who do not qualify for statutory free travel. This applies almost entirely to children attending 'faith' schools.

Many councils throughout England and Wales have opted to scrap discretionary arrangements in their push to cut spending. However, Flintshire County Council's proposal targets only pupils from non-religious backgrounds.

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: This kind of apartheid style home to school transport arrangement is completely unacceptable. It will result in children who live next door to each other, and travel to the same school – being treated unequally, purely on the basis of their parent's religious beliefs.

"Unfortunately, wide exemptions to equality legislation mean discrimination in home to school transport – as with many other areas of education – is somehow deemed acceptable by the Government. The National Secular Society attempted to change this during the passage of the Education Act in 2011, but our arguments fell on deaf ears.

"The Government now needs to get a grip on this and outlaw the religious discrimination that is so prominent throughout our state education system. Local authorities should be compelled to have equitable school transport policies, free from religious privilege, and fair to all families."

People living in Flintshire can take part in the consultation here.

Secular Medical Forum challenges Ed Miliband’s support for religious circumcision

News | Mon, 11th Mar 2013

The Secular Medical Forum has condemned Ed Miliband's recent support for the ritual genital cutting of children and called on the labour leader to rethink his stance on the issue.

On 7 March Ed Miliband told an audience in London that he supports the practices of brit milah – a Jewish religious male circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day-old male infants. In reference to ritual circumcision and kosher animal slaughter, the leader of the Labour party said: "These are important traditions … ways of life must be preserved".

The removal of a young boy's foreskin is commonly practised in the UK for religious reasons. The Secular Medical Forum (SMF) argues that the operation disregards autonomy and exposes the child to significant risks, including bleeding, infection and death. In a statement, the SMF said it questioned Mr Miliband's support for the "ethically flawed and medically dangerous" procedure.

Anthony Lempert, Chair of the Secular Medical Forum, said; "The first principle of healthcare is 'primum non nocere – first do no harm'. This guidance is disregarded by supporters of ritual circumcision.

"The Secular Medical Forum calls on Mr Miliband to focus squarely on the rights of vulnerable infants and children. Mr Miliband should prioritise the rights of children rather than harmful religious traditions. Mr Miliband should defend the weak, rather than preserve abusive traditions. He should not be misled by misplaced allegations of anti-semitism against those striving to protect children from harm."

In 2012, a German court caused international controversy when it found that parental consent to religious circumcision was in conflict with the best interests of the child, and ruled that parents do not have the right to circumcise their children without a medical reason. Following the court ruling, the government of Angela Merkel introduced legislation permitting the tradition.

A full statement from the Secular Medical Form can be found here.

Islamic group banned from UCL following gender segregation row

News | Tue, 12th Mar 2013

An organisation known as the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) has been banned from holding any events on University College London premises after attempting to impose a policy of sexual segregation at one of its events.

The event, a debate entitled "Islam vs Atheism" on Saturday 9 March, pitted the controversial public speaker Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (right) against theoretical physicist and cosmologist Professor Laurence Krauss. Professor Kraus, an NSS honorary associate, said he had been told in advance that there would be no segregation, and that people could sit wherever they wanted. Despite these assurances, segregation was enforced on the night. Only when Professor Krauss intervened and threatened to leave did organisers relent.

A full account of the event can be read here.

UCL launched an immediate investigation and swiftly issued a statement confirming the group would be prevented from holding future events at the University. The statement concluded: "Given IERA's original intentions for a segregated audience we have concluded that their interests are contrary to UCL's ethos and that we should not allow any further events involving them to take place on UCL premises.

In a further statement, issued via the Provost's newsletter, UCL clarified:

"UCL was founded in 1826 as a secular institution. That does not mean it is institutionally atheist but that it is an open institution, tolerant of difference, strong on of freedom of speech, but intolerant of discrimination on grounds of gender, race, religion or other irrelevant grounds. There is no shortage of other premises available in London to organisations wishing to operate to different rules."

University College London is celebrated as an early haven of enlightened free thinking, the first university college in England to have a secular foundation, and the first to admit men and women on equal terms.

The debate at UCL was part of Hamza Andreas Tzortzis' ongoing tour of universities in the UK as part of an 'Islam awareness' initiative.

Also see:
Sexual segregation at a UCL event a scandal, say students
Homo economicus' Weblog: Take a seat: UCL Islamic V Atheist debate
And this guest post on the UCL debate from Ophelia Benson's Butterflies & Wheels blog: The Missionary Position

Labour MP calls for state intervention in Church affairs over women bishops

News | Thu, 14th Mar 2013

Labour MP Diana Johnson has attempted to over-rule the Church of England by introducing legislation allowing for women to be consecrated as bishops.

Introducing the ten minute rule bill in Parliament on Wednesday, Ms Johnson said: "I certainly do not seek to have Parliament intervene in Church affairs lightly but in matters of discrimination it is very serious and we must speak up."

Responding to those who claim that the matter is solely for the Church, Ms Johnson said the Church was the "national established Church, headed by our Head of State, Queen Elizabeth, the Defender of the Faith and the Supreme Governor... We have 26 bishops sitting in the other place in recognition of the Church of England's important role in lawmaking in this country. We have prayers every day in this place, led by a Church of England chaplain."

Ms Johnson accused the Church of causing an "enormous amount of hurt to women who have a calling to be ordained and serve" and warned: "Our established Church risks going down the path to becoming a sect—a movement becoming a monument."

Despite this, Ms Johnson said she though the Church had a "big role" to play in Parliament and that Parliament had a "big role" to play in the Church of England.

Opposing the bill, Edward Leigh, a Catholic, said he was "agnostic" on this issue of women bishops, but said the Church should be "entirely independent" of Parliament. However, the Conservative MP made it clear that he still "strongly approved" of establishment "because it is important that we give an impression that we are still a Christian country".

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "Members of parliament involving themselves in church affairs is the very antithesis of secularism – and when they start threatening to do so, it's a clear sign that disestablishment is overdue.

"Rather than glibly proclaiming to be 'on the side of faith', political leaders should seek ways to ensure that our political structures reflect the reality of changing times, and give serious consideration to separating religion from the state. Not only would this signal the state's clear commitment to an open society free from religious privilege, it would also free the Church of any regulation of their activities by the state – so long as they acted within the law."

Read the full debate at Hansard

Watch the debate

Churches furious at plans to introduce Sunday parking charges

News | Mon, 11th Mar 2013

Church leaders in Carmarthenshire have reacted angrily to local authority plans to scrap free Sunday parking.

Carmarthenshire council says it is facing cuts to its funding and needs to raise money to balance its books and keep front line services running. The Council estimates it can raise £56,000 to put towards keeping services running by introducing the charge.

Canon Michael Lloyd Rees, Vicar of Betws and Ammanford, said: "There needs to be a bit of respect given to the community who use the facilities. Why should people be penalised for going to church?"

Reverend Leigh Richardson, Vicar of St. Peter's Church in Carmarthen, described the proposed charges as a "tax on community church." "Going to church is a freedom people in this country have enjoyed for centuries. Being charged to go to church is a tax on religion and it happens nowhere else in the world," he fumed.

The church will be meeting with Carmarthenshire Council officials to discuss the plans on March 26.

When faced with similar opposition from local Churches in 2011, councillors in Woking,Surrey, opted to allow worshippers to park free while charging everyone else. The National Secular Society has argued that such arrangements could be unlawful under the Equality Act.

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "Few people welcome parking charges, but if they are deemed necessary to fund front line services, they should be applied fairly, and without special exemptions for religious communities, as we've seen elsewhere in the country.

"The principle of equal treatment is very important, and arrangements that privilege Christians above other users of public car parks should not go unchallenged. Worshippers in church are no more deserving of special treatment that other citizens – so there is no legitimate reason why other taxpayers should subsidise churchgoing in this way."

The sorry tale of the Catholic Church in Scotland continues to unfold

Opinion | Tue, 12th Mar 2013

By Alistair McBay, NSS spokesperson for Scotland

It seems there is no end to the woes of the Catholic Church in Scotland in the wake of Cardinal O'Brien's abrupt departure.

The latest reports in the media examine the Scottish Catholic Church's record on dealing with historic allegations of child sex abuse by clergy, with one former investigator hired by the Church in the mid-1990s now considering a formal request to the police to investigate the Church's handling of abuse cases.

The revelations confirm the now all too familiar pattern of protecting the Church's reputation first and foremost – allegations not taken seriously enough or simply dismissed, offending priests quietly moved to another parish where they could offend again, and the Church continuing to refer to the cover-up with euphemisms like "errors" in handling cases.

The Church's first line of defence is to claim that it had tackled the problem when it introduced formal guidelines in 1999 for the protection of children. But it was only five years earlier that O'Brien's predecessor Cardinal Winning had enraged lay Catholics by stating that it was up to the victims of abuse to go to the police, not the Church authorities. A spokesman for the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children observed at the time that the Church in Scotland had "dealt with this issue in a shabby, damaging and incompetent way." There is now emergent evidence that Cardinal Winning's view was the one that still retained currency after 1999.

It gets no better for the Church when the names of those dismissive of investigators' concerns are recalled. The investigator appointed by the Church in the mid-1990s suggested that the investigation remit be widened to include "inappropriate relations" among the clergy. Given the recent revelations surrounding the 'inappropriate behaviour' of Cardinal O'Brien with young priests and seminarians, this suggestion seems to have been made with some merit. But Bishop Roddy Wright of Argyll and the Isles had, according to media reports, expressed his disquiet at this. Bishop Wright, we now know, resigned shortly after this in the mid-1990s when it became known he had father­ed a child with a parishioner. He then abandoned his diocese and his vocation to marry a divorcee. No wonder the Bishop had been uncomfortable at the prospect of an investigation of 'inappropriate relations' among the clergy. It is not hard to see now that it may also have unsettled the then Archbishop of St Andrews & Edinburgh, one Keith Patrick O'Brien.

Bishop Wright was not alone in his disavowal of priestly celibacy. More recently we have had 'Father Flash' Roddy MacNeill from the island of Barra (who had an affair with his first cousin and is believed to be the father of her child) and Father Gerry Nugent who admitted to having sex with Angelika Kluk, (subsequently murdered by Peter Tobin who buried her body under the floor in Nugent's church, St Patrick's, where he had been working). There was also the case of Monsignor Creegan in the Diocese of Dunkeld, whose long-term mistress confessed to her affair with him after details of his illicit relationship with a second woman came to light.

So it would seem that the headline in the Daily Telegraph of 8 March that some Scottish priests under O'Brien's watch were'out of control sexually' would appear to be beyond challenge.

Another inconvenient truth for the Scottish Church is that you can have as many guidelines and policies as you want, but if bishops refuse to implement them, they are worthless. With the publication of the Nolan report in 2001, the Church boasted that its 1999 actions had preceded Nolan by two years, and claimed that "there is much sharing of information, expertise and resources among the eight Scottish Dioceses. There is also liaison between the Catholic and Reformed Churches in Scotland and a developing relationship with other Churches in Britain and Ireland."

Was the Diocese of Cloyne in Ireland one of those with which this liaison occurred? For nowhere was the gulf between having procedures and actually putting them into practice more evident than in the case of Bishop John Magee in the Irish Diocese of Cloyne. Magee's failures led to the Irish Government's report revealing that the Vatican considered the Irish bishops' child protection policies and guidelines to be a 'study document', not a definitive set of instructions and rules. This in turn led to the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny's devastating speech in the Irish Parliament in 2011, when among other stinging criticisms of the Irish Catholic Church he noted the Cloyne report told "a tale of a frankly brazen disregard for protecting children," and this even after formal procedures had been put in place and reassuring noises as to future full compliance had been made.

Now it seems that a similar tale of guidelines and procedures being ignored has been the case in Scotland under His Eminence Cardinal O'Brien's tenure. In 2004, five years after the introduction of child protection guidelines and seven years after the initial investigative report, the director of child protection for the Catholic Church in Scotland found the system in disarray.

In a detailed report on Scotland's eight dioceses, carried out between December 2003 and March 2004, she found out that problem priests were inadequately supervised and potentially dangerous to children and young adults. The report, entitled A Review of Child Protection Practices, referred to the Church's 'secret archives' and stated: "There is no consistent system of monitoring clergy who present, or may present, a risk to children. Active cases requiring some further
action indicate that unacceptable levels of risk to children may have been and could remain present."

She resigned after just four months, shortly after delivering her report to the Bishops. Further allegations of abuse are now appearing as more victims realise that they were not alone in being abused by Catholic clergy, nor alone in having their initial complaints summarily dismissed. As Cardinal O'Brien is alleged to have told one complainant at the time of his abuse by the notorious Father Lynagh, "you are just another abused child, no-one will believe you." But times change.

Earlier this month, Lord McConnell, Scotland's former First Minister, told of his regret that almost ten years on since he made a landmark apology to historic child abuse victims of the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth, the victims had yet to see redress. In an interview with BBC Scotland, Lord McConnell said there had been "absolutely no progress" on compensation for victims, and called on the Scottish Government to "do the right thing".

As we await the inevitable media-inspired 'Popefest' this week from the Vatican, we wonder if the new Bishop of Rome will adopt a fresh approach to these issues and take on the Herculean task of cleansing the Catholic equivalent of the Augean stables. We wonder if the Church, whether globally or locally in Scotland, will at last grasp the full meaning of the words transparency and accountability. We wonder too if the Scottish Government will front up to the challenge of announcing a full inquiry of the sort announced last year by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Don't anyone hold their breath.

IHEU attacks Islamic states over freedom of expression

News | Wed, 13th Mar 2013

International Ethical and Humanist Union representative Roy Brown has again reminded Islamic States of their responsibility to uphold the right to freedom of expression.

Mr Brown delivered the below statement this week at the 22nd regular session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Freedom of Expression and the OIC

Mr President,

Freedom of expression is once again under sustained attack from the member states of the OIC: In Saudi Arabia last week, two activists were sentenced to ten years in jail for exposing hundreds of cases of human rights abuse in the kingdom.

In Iran, we have seen protesters imprisoned and even sentenced to death, for "waging war against God". But what strange logic can possibly equate criticism and peaceful protest with waging war? And since when did any government equate itself with God?

In Morocco, a colleague has had to flee for his life because he wrote of his doubts about Islam.

In Mauritania, last Saturday, a group of nine antislavery protesters were attacked and severely beaten by police.

In Pakistan, hundreds of Shias have been murdered for holding the "wrong" beliefs.

But we have waited in vain for condemnation by the OIC of human rights abuses carried out by agents of the State within its member States. Instead, we have seen protests against Islamic extremism condemned as "Islamophobia", which was recently described by the prime minister of Turkey as "a crime against humanity".

A crime against humanity, Mr President? No Sir. We see murder, ethnic cleansing, torture, kidnappings, suicide bombings, and terrorist attacks as crimes against humanity.

It is people that have human rights, Mr President, not beliefs. Protesting against human rights abuse, and pointing out where the responsibility lies, is not a crime, it is a duty. And it is the duty of every member state of this Council to uphold the right to freedom of expression, not condemn it.

Thank you Sir.

IHEU, to which the National Secular society is affiliated, is the sole world umbrella organisation for humanist, atheist, rationalist, secularist, skeptic, laique, ethical, cultural, freethought and similar organisations world-wide.

Also see: More work from the IHEU team in Geneva:
Iran admits torture following pressure from IHEU at the UN
"Why must I be killed?" asks Moroccan atheist

Leading Nigerian human rights advocate Leo Igwe to visit London

News | Wed, 13th Mar 2013

Leo Igwe, Nigeria's most prominent humanist and human rights activist will visit London later this month to giving a talk on 'Breaking the taboo of atheism in black communities'. Leo will also be a special guest at the National Secular Society's Secularist of the Year event.

The talk is being hosted by The London Black Atheists group who say black non-believers, in London and elsewhere, are starting to become more confident and active in openly challenging the over-bearing presence of religion within their families and communities and its negative social, financial and educational consequences. The group is encouraging secularists and humanists 'of all hues' to show their interest and support for this area of work.

The talk is part of increasing efforts to encourage black atheists, humanists and secularists to 'come out from the woodwork', to find a supportive environment when dealing with family and social reactions, to voice their opinions and be more proactive in the humanist, secularist and atheist movements.

Mr Igwe, in partnership with the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), is working to respond to harmful and growing superstitious beliefs throughout Africa, including belief in psuedoscientific "medicine" and witchcraft. A recent poll showed that around 55% of people living in Africa still believe in witchcraft and that this is correlated, unsurprisingly, with a lack of science education. Inevitably, this has had ramifications in London with its substantial African diaspora communities.

Following his short visit to London Leo will return to Africa to continue his research into witchcraft. A full biography of Leo Igwe can be found on Wikipedia.

The 'meetup' will take place in 'The Attic'at the newly refurbished Hackney Picturehouse on Monday 25 March (6.30pm). There is a bar on the ground floor and a lift to the Attic. Tickets will be available on the door. Cost £5 / £3 unwaged/students. A Facebook event page has been set up where you can RSVP and send out invitations to friends.

Pakistani secularists condemn attacks on Christian community

News | Mon, 11th Mar 2013

Secularists in Pakistan have strongly condemned attacks on Christians in the country after mobs ransacked a Christian neighbourhood and torched dozens of homes over a blasphemy row in the city of Lahore.

Muslim protesters turned violent after derogatory remarks against the Prophet Mohammed were allegedly made by a young Christian man, Sawan Masih. Reports say 178 houses of the low-income community, as well as shops and 3 churches were looted and burnt to ashes. The local Pastor was attacked and the father of Savan Masih was beaten up and subsequently arrested.

Responding to violence, The Forum for Secular Pakistan said the country is witnessing "the bitter fruit of decades of State and external sponsorship and promotion of the Jihadi groups, as well as the more recent appeasement policy towards the Taliban groups."

A spokesperson for the group said: "Violating the Constitutional safeguards and guarantees, the State has failed to provide protection of life, liberty, honour, dignity, property and possessions. It has now reached a stage where the very existence of Pakistan is at stake.

"The Forum calls for an immediate separation of religion from politics; a clear federal and provincial policy statement regarding concrete measures to protect vulnerable minorities; a substantive change in our school curricula to remove all hate materials; and an immediate revision of the law and section 295-B&C to prevent further exploitation falsely in the name of religion."

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive subject in Pakistan. According to Human Rights Watch, there are at least 16 people on death row for blasphemy and another 20 are serving life sentences. Opponents of the blasphemy law say it is often used for vested interests, personal vendettas and political gains.

Last chance to grab your place at Secularist of the Year 2013

News | Thu, 14th Mar 2013

There's just over a week to go until Secularist of the Year. If you haven't already done so, please book your place now, and join us as we celebrate secularism and award the Irwin Prize to a very worthy winner.

This year's award will be presented by NSS honorary associate Michael Cashman MEP. We will also be joined by last year's winner Peter Tatchell. Leading Nigerian human rights advocate Leo Igwe will also be joining us as our special guest. The nominations for this year's award can be viewed here.

The date: Saturday 23 March, the time: 12.30 for 1pm start. Reserve you place today and look forward to welcome mojito on arrival, followed by a three course lunch and the usual buzz of a secular social.

Tickets are £45 and are available here. We look forward to seeing you there!

NSS speaks out

NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans discussed the appointment of Pope Francis on BBC Radio London and BBC Radio WM. He was also quoted in this article on discrimination against the non-religious.

Edinburgh Secular Society spokesman Neil Barber appeared on Scotland Tonight to discuss the role of religion in society.

Have your say!

We're keen to hear you views on issues related to secularism. Please send your letters for publication to letters@secularism.org.uk. We want to publish as many letters as possible, so please keep them brief –no more than 250 words. Read this week's letters here.