Newsline 30 August 2013

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News, Blogs & Opinion

	Girl Guides stand firm over Promise despite condemnation from reactionary Christians News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 Christian Guide leaders in Harrogate have backed down after initially refusing to introduce the new secular Promise. The Guide leaders, who are all members of the local United Reformed Church, had told volunteer leader Jem Henderson that they would be sticking with the previous promise which includes the phrase "to love my God". However, following a meeting with Girlguiding UK, the St Paul's Harrogate troop has now agreed to use the new secular promise. The refusal to implement the new Promise made national headlines after Ms Henderson contacted the NSS seeking support. The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, called on Christian Guide leaders to rebel against what he called "secular totalitarianism", and suggested the organisation could split if it refused to compromise and allow two pledges. Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, joined the small chorus of condemnation, saying: "These women should be commended for standing up to the forced secularisation of the Guiding movement." Girlguiding UK updated their promise after a public consultation involving nearly 44,000 people from inside and outside the organisation, showed that different wording was needed for the promise to be inclusive of all girls, of all faiths and none. The updated Promise replaces the phrase 'to love my God' with 'be true to myself and develop my beliefs'. In one radio interview for BBC 3 Counties, Church of England General Synod member Alison Ruoff suggested God would "remove his blessing from the UK" if the new pledge was introduced. Prominent church leaders also called for Guides to be prevented from using Church premises. Despite the controversy, Chief Guide Gill Slocombe said the response to the new Promise had been "overwhelmingly positive" and the complaints it had received from members represented "significantly less than 1%" of their membership. She confirmed that all members must use the secular Promise after September 1. Jem Henderson, commented: "All I wanted out of this was for the troops to accept the secular promise. My friends and people around me are very proud of me for standing up for what I believe in."
	NSS stalwart Bill McIlroy dies aged 85 News \| Thu, 22nd Aug 2013 William J. McIlroy (4 July 1928 – 22 August 2013) With great sadness, we report the death of William (Bill) McIlroy on 22 August 2013, aged 85. Bill devoted his adult life to the National Secular Society and allied causes. He served as the secretary of the NSS from 1963 to 1977 with a one year break. In the 1960s, Bill and the then president David Tribe were responsible for a resurgence of activity resulting in the NSS becoming nationally prominent, attracting eminent supporters such as writer Brigid Brophy and philosopher Margaret Knight, who made groundbreaking broadcasts on secularism. David and Bill spearheaded major campaigns including Secular Education Week and campaigned successfully for reform of the law on stage censorship, Sunday observance, male homosexuality and abortion. In 1989, Bill, along with Nicolas Walter, reformed The Committee Against Blasphemy Law to protest at the threat to Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses. The Committee issued a Statement Against Blasphemy Law signed by over 200 public figures. Bill had been secretary of the original Committee Against Blasphemy Law, which was founded in the late 1970s to protest the trial of the editor and publishers of Gay News. Bill served on the NSS Council of Management for a few years in the early 2000s and was presented by the NSS with a lifetime achievement award in 2005. He was editor of the Freethinker for around fourteen years in three stints spanning nearly a quarter of a century from 1970, and worked as a volunteer for a further decade. Bill was born in Northern Ireland but left its religious sectarianism at the earliest opportunity. He lived in Coventry, London, Sheffield and Brighton. His wife Margaret died some years ago from multiple sclerosis. Bill had lived independently in Brighton for his last fifteen years, but was diagnosed with cancer around a year before his death. In his final days he was cared for compassionately in Horsham, Sussex, by his daughters Helen and Ruth, who ensured he still had easy access to his many books on secularism. Pride of place went to biographies of NSS founder Charles Bradlaugh, a cherished booklet celebrating of the NSS's centenary in 1966, which he helped compile, and a book by pro-blasphemy campaigner Mary Whitehouse, who named Bill as a major thorn in her side. Even in his last days he was reminiscing with visitors, writing to friends and colleagues at home and abroad on his fifty-year-old manual typewriter. Bill was a man of great integrity and humour but would not abide anyone he thought to be acting against the best interests of the organisations he supported, which included the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. Right up until his death, Bill took a great interest in the NSS's current activities and pleasure in its successes. His ready wit, wise counsel and encyclopaedic knowledge, especially on historic matters, will be missed by his many friends and colleagues.
	Schools adjudicator rejects religious discrimination complaint over community school admissions News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 The Office of the Schools Adjudicator has rejected a complaint concerning a non-religiously designated academy in Solihull that gave priority in admissions to pupils from a religiously selective 'faith school'. The National Secular Society was one of the complainants in the case. Tudor Grange Academy had originally planned to give priority to children at two schools that use criteria favouring pupils whose parents attend Church of England services in their admission arrangements. The NSS wrote to Tudor Grange Academy in February informing it that after taking legal advice, it believed the proposals were likely to result in local children being disadvantaged on grounds of religion and belief — and that as such, the proposals were likely be both a breach of the admissions code and unlawful. Tudor Grange subsequently revised its admissions policy to no longer prioritise pupils from one Church school (St Alphege CofE) but still opted to prioritise pupils attending another Church school (St James) above pupils living in the catchment area. St James, which is part of the Tudor Grange Multi-Academy Trust, concurrently launched a consultation on proposals to remove of its faith criteria for admissions. Certain schools with a 'religious character' are permitted to operate admissions policies that discriminate against children on religious grounds when the school is oversubscribed. However, Section 1.9 of the Admissions Code prohibits non-religiously designated schools from prioritising children on the basis of their own or their parents' activities. As Tudor Grange Academy has no religious designation, it is not permitted to take account of religious activities. The NSS argued that by naming a religiously selective school as a feeder school, Tudor Grange Academy could be indirectly advantaging children on the basis of their parents' religious beliefs and activities. However, in its ruling the Schools Adjudicator found that in this particular circumstance, as St James had been undersubscribed for several years, no indirect discrimination would occur. The ruling agreed that if there were to be children at the feeder school who had been prioritised on the basis of faith, and if these children were then to be prioritised over catchment area children for admission to Tudor Grange Academy, this might constitute indirect discrimination. However the ruling also said this would not necessarily be unlawful under equalities legislation as long as the school could show that the criterion is objectively justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Jenny Woodruff, who fronted a local campaign against the school's proposals, said: "We are disappointed that the potential for indirect religious discrimination in the original proposals was not evaluated as this was relevant to other arguments, such as compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. We are disappointed that there is no recognition that given other suitable choices, those without religious beliefs would be less likely to attend faith schools even if faith were not a requirement for admission which could create an advantage in feeder school arrangements." Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "The prospect of religious selection creeping into community schools' admissions policies is deeply alarming. "While we're disappointed by the ruling, we are pleased that the Schools Adjudicator has at least recognised that community school admission arrangements that indirectly disadvantage children from non-churchgoing backgrounds through the naming of feeder schools, are potentially unlawful, even if that isn't necessarily the case in this instance. "However, we are very concerned by the adjudicators' contention that within the context of admissions to a non-religiously designated school, indirect discrimination on grounds of religion and belief could be in some way justified. "The ideal way to achieve fairer admissions is to bring an end to all religious selection in state-funded schools. "The truth is however, the naming of faith schools as feeder schools — even those without faith based selection policies — further disadvantages the non-religious in our state education system. We're told that the existence of 'faith schools' creates greater parental choice, but for many parents, the exact opposite is often true." The full determination from the OSA is available here Also see: London Oratory School slammed for 'unfair' admissions
	New report demands fresh approach to inclusion of Muslims in British life News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 A new report from the Runnymede Trust entitled The New Muslims says it "seeks to challenge dominant representations of Muslims in Britain by gathering the views and insights of researchers who have been seeking to understand the contemporary identities of those racialised as Muslim in the UK and the politics which surrounds their presence." The report says that dominant perceptions of Muslims are damaging as they do not take into account the vast complexities and differences in British Muslim identities. It calls for more public money to be put into Muslim women's groups because without it they have to work "within restrictive frameworks that may not be best suited to the communities they serve." The report says that debates on integration of schooling must factor in experiences of anti-Muslim racism, the importance of Muslim group solidarity as a potentially positive feature of school life and be aware of the ways in which international and national events shape local Muslim experiences within schools The report seeks to create a more positive perception of Muslim lives in Britain, saying that "Statistics published by the Ministry of Defence in 2012 showed that 650 Muslims serving in the UK armed services. Of these 550 are in the British army, constituting 0.5% of the total." Rob Berkeley, the Director of The Runnymede Trust — which describes itself as the UK's leading race equality think-tank — said: "Through this publication we hope in some small way to counter the dominant understandings of British Muslim identities where these are based on falsehoods and generalizations, and to highlight the complexities, nuances and diversity of identities among Muslims in Britain. We do this as part of our ongoing project to ensure that our public policy debates and public discussions are based on robust, evidence-based analysis rather than sensationalist, knee-jerk responses." Among other findings in the report: According to the latest census figures, the Muslim population increased from 1.2m to 2.7m between 2001-2011, with the group's share of the population increasing from 3% to 4.8%. The Muslim population is relatively evenly spread through England and Wales. There has been a decrease in Muslim segregation, through the spreading out from the biggest Muslim concentrations (e.g. Tower Hamlets) towards neighbouring areas (e.g. Barking and Dagenham) Muslim citizenship in the UK is under threat. Since 2003, 21 British nationals who have had their citizenship removed, and all but one or two are Muslim. Sixteen of these were under the current government and at least five were British-born, with one man having lived in the UK for almost 50 years. There is a need for an urgent review about funding for voluntary and ethnic minority and faith groups. It was found that youth services served a clear purpose as young Somali men expressed desire to not engage in activities associated with risk, e.g. gangs, fighting, drug dealing. However, government funding agendas are stemmed from young Somali men being politically designated as 'high risk'. As a result youth services have negative connotations. In order for these spaces to effectively provide a safe and secure environment for marginalised young people, a move away from negatively loaded 'risk prevention' agendas by the government will be necessary. Dominant views of Muslim identity can be challenged and expanded by including Muslim voices in the media. Unity FM, a community radio stations for the Muslim community in Birmingham, provides a space for diverse Muslim voices and messages to come together and change limited notions of community. The report is accompanied by a film called 'Muslim Multicultures' and a series of recorded conversations which explore the challenges currently facing Muslims in Britain. Participants include Rushanara Ali MP, Humza Yousaf MEP, Yasir Mizra of the Guardian and the graffiti artist Mohammad Ali. Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "We welcome any attempt to create better relationships between the many Muslim communities in this country and the mainstream. Whether or not this report has the answers is open to question. For any kind of integration to occur there must be give and take on both sides. We feel strongly that this report should be read alongside Professor Ted Cantle's latest book Interculturalism: The New Era of Cohesion and Diversity."
	On homophobia and racism Opinion \| Thu, 29th Aug 2013 Two weeks ago the Archbishop of Canterbury was in Monterrey, Mexico where he delivered a sermon to the effect that Anglicanism is standing on a precipice and risks falling into a "ravine of intolerance". Mr Welby said the Church had to steer a course between, on the one hand, compromising so much that it abandoned its "core beliefs" and, on the other, becoming so intolerant that it fractured completely. He said the atmosphere in the Anglican Communion was rather like the English civil war: what the church was fighting about was "incomprehensible" to people outside it. He revisited the same territory this week in a speech to a group of evangelical Christians when he told them that young people considered the Church's attitude to gay marriage as "cruel" and "wicked". Even young evangelicals thought so. Yet he still maintains that he did the right thing in voting against gay marriage in the House of Lords. It's worth quoting him in detail: "What I voted against was what seemed to me to be the rewriting the nature of marriage in a way that I have to say within the Christian tradition and within scripture and within our understanding is not the right way to deal with the very important issues that were attempted to be dealt with in that Bill. "The Bill was clearly, quite rightly, trying to deal with issues of homophobia in our society. "As I said at the time in the House of Lords, the Church has not been good at dealing with homophobia — it has at times, as gods' people, either implicitly or explicitly supported it and we have to be really, really repentant about that because it is utterly and totally wrong. But that doesn't mean that redefining marriage is the right way forward. "That discussion is continuing and the Church is deeply and profoundly divided over the way forward on it. "I am absolutely committed not to exclude people who have a different view from me, I am also absolutely committed to listening very carefully to them. "If the same thing happened again I would vote the same way as I did then but I am continuing to think and listen very carefully as to how in our society today we respond to what is the most rapid cultural change in this area than there has been for a very long time. "We have seen changes in the idea about sexuality, sexual behaviour. We have to face the fact that the vast majority of people under 35 not only think that what we're saying is incomprehensible but also think that we're plain wrong and wicked and equate it to racism and other forms of gross and atrocious injustice. We have to be real about that. "I haven't got the answer one way or the other until my mind is clear on this. I'm not going to get into the trenches." So, the Archbishop is facing up to the intractable problem that defeated his predecessor. A church that is, on the one hand, deeply and hatefully homophobic (in its African divisions at least) and increasingly liberal in its European and American branches. It's the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Rowan Williams didn't have an answer, and neither does Justin Welby. The reason? There is no answer that will satisfy all parties. The only solution is to split, something the bishops are desperate not to happen. The Church is weak enough as it is, but would be even weaker broken into ever smaller warring factions. Justin Welby's dilemma is insoluble, but he does not make it better by saying on the one hand that he deplores homophobia and five minutes later practising it in the most disgraceful manner. If you put yourself up as a moral arbiter, you had better be consistently moral yourself. Mr Welby hasn't got there yet. And in a similar fashion, we must take to task the Runnymede Trust which has recently published a pamphlet saying that Muslims in Britain must not be stereotyped — in fact, to do so is "racist". The pamphlet then goes on to indulge in the worst kind of stereotyping. Even its title "The New Muslims" immediately herds everyone who has come from a Muslim heritage into being "a Muslim". If you happen to live in an immigrant community that originates from a Muslim majority source then, according to the Runnymede Trust, you are a Muslim. Imagine if they did the same with "Christians". Imagine if, because you are white and Anglo Saxon (and perhaps live in the Home Counties), you were immediately identified as a "Christian" and lumped into a category that they had chosen for you rather than one you had chosen for yourself. The Runnymede Trust says that it is "racist" to imagine all Muslims are the same. That is true, and we have long recognised that Muslims originate from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The Somalis have little in common with the Pakistanis and the Sri Lankans share little common ground with the Bosnian Muslims. But what if you come from one of these countries and you don't regard yourself as a Muslim? What if you have grown indifferent to the "faith" that your parents (or the Runnymede Trust) assigned to you? What if you feel actively hostile towards it, as some do? Just like in the general population, there are people from Pakistan and Iran and other majority Muslim countries who simply aren't interested in religion. I have seen only one small survey of "Muslims" which measured their mosque-going. It showed that about a third of those questioned never went to a mosque. This is not to say that they didn't regard themselves as "Muslims" — in the same way that people who never cross the threshold of a church can still regard themselves as Christians. But there are many "indifferents" in both Christian and Muslim heritage cultures. This is something the Runnymede Trust doesn't seem to recognise. But it is a message that Maryam Namazie and the Council of ex-Muslims in Britain has been trying to get out for years. So, who are the real "racists" here? Those who genuinely judge a person on his or her individual qualities and merits or someone who can think only in terms of "Muslims" and "Christians"?
	Report from Australia: secularists score political parties on their levels of religious favouritism Opinion \| Thu, 29th Aug 2013 Meredith Doig, president of the Rationalist Society of Australia, reports on her country's continued privileged treatment of religion. One area of the political debate that does not receive much attention during election campaigns is the question of religious influence on party policy. This is a gap. Australians clearly prefer a separation between church and state. According to a Herald/Nielsen poll conducted in the lead up to the 2010 federal election, 84% of people surveyed agreed with the statement ''religion and politics should be separate''. In Australia's increasingly complex society of many different cultures and different types of beliefs or lack of belief, that would seem to be the only sensible approach. Given the public holds a firm position on the relationship between religion and politics, the Rationalist Society of Australia has taken on the task of assessing each party's commitment to the principle of secularism by monitoring comments, statements, and parliamentary voting practices on key policy issues and scoring each party accordingly. Political parties that received a "Fail" essentially took the view that church and public policy is inseparable, particularly on policy pertaining to end-of-life decisions, termination of pregnancy, same-sex marriage, religious instruction in schools, and preferential treatment of religious organizations. Parties that presented mixed and contradictory messages on these issues received a B or C grade. And parties awarded an A presented a consistent commitment to the principle of separation of church and state, ensuring the provision of government services does not discriminate on religious grounds. How each party scored is in the public interest and, more importantly, in the interest of voters. See the Secular Scorecard 2013. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the NSS.
	France to post a “secularism charter” in every school News \| Tue, 27th Aug 2013 French Education Minister Vincent Peillon announced on Monday a plan to post a "secularism charter in every [educational] establishment" by the end of September. The document would appear in a prominent place in every school, and remind teachers and pupils of a list of secular, Republican principles. "Everyone has a right to their opinions," Peillon told French journalists on Monday. "But not to dispute lessons or miss classes [for religious reasons]," he added. The minister insisted, however, that the project should not "turn into an obsession with Islam." "The vast majority of our Muslim compatriots are convinced of the benefits of secularism," he added. The project has provoked a mixed reaction in France, with some questioning the application of secular principles, and others claiming the measure doesn't go far enough in enforcing France's particularly strict church-state separation. "The reality is that in the last few years, the Left has singularly lacked courage in the difficult struggle to defend secularism," said Michèle Tabarot, a centre-right opposition UMP deputy. "This decision is totally in keeping with the pussyfooting image of this government." For his part, Philippe Tournier, Secretary-General of France's union of headteachers, told Europe 1 radio he welcomed the secularism charter in principle, but worried about its implementation. "The intentions are absolutely positive, but the essential thing still remains – putting into force what [the charter] affirms," he said. Peillon's predecessor as Education Minister, however, Luc Chatel from the opposition UMP party, expressed his tentative support for the charter. "Any time we can give children a point of reference as to what the Republic is, and what our values are, that's a good thing," he told France Info radio on Monday. This isn't the first time in recent months that Peillon has caused controversy with a project to reinforce France's secular values in its schools. In April, The Local reported how the education minister showed parliament his plans for school pupils to debate "secular morality" for one hour every week. "Teaching and sharing the values of the Republic is a responsibility for each school," Peillon said at the time. When the minister first announced the proposals last year, Chatel on that occasion strongly criticised his successor as education minister. He claimed the plan had echoes of a similar call by Marshall Pétain who led the Nazi-allied regime, known as Vichy France, during World War II. Chatel said Peillon's quest to seek the "intellectual and moral re-education" of France's young people copied "word for word the call of Marshal Pétain on June 25th, 1940" when he promised to rid France of its "moral decadence". Secularism or "laïcité" is a cornerstone of France's constitution, but a perennially thorny issue, especially when it comes to education. Recently, a court overturned the sacking of a nursery school teacher for refusing to take off her Islamic veil. In response, deputies from across the political spectrum decried the ruling as an attack on secularism. A 2004 law bans the wearing of "ostentatious religious symbols" in public schools, and a report earlier this month caused a stir by recommending that the ban be extended to universities. Speaking at the time, professor and author Raphael Liogier told The Local that the plan was proof that France was "having an identity crisis over Islam." "The state pretends to be strong by creating new laws and in the end we end up discriminating against people who have nothing to do with the real problem," he said. "But when there is a real problem, the state does nothing." Source: The Local http://www.thelocal.fr/ and reproduced with permission.

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NSS Speaks Out

The NSS has been busy in the media during Newsline's break — we were widely quoted in the story about the soon-to-retire Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks who gave an interview on Radio 4 saying that society was falling apart because of the rise of secularism. Stephen Evans was quoted on the BBC and Keith Porteous Wood was quoted in the Independent

Meanwhile, the story of the Harrogate Girl Guide troop, led by Christians, who had decided not to implement the new secular promise, included comments from Stephen Evans in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. When they backed down, the Daily Mail and Huffington Post covered the news. The story was taken up by the Press Association which ensured that it also appeared in numerous local and regional newspapers.

A real silly season story about the Bible being dropped from Desert Island Discs originated in the Independent and was devoured by the news-hungry Telegraph and Daily Mail.

NSS Scottish Spokesman Alistair McBay had this letter in the Scotsman.

Quotes of the Week

"The essential freedom to practice and express our faith, or to have no faith at all, does not include a right to impose those beliefs on others. Nor does it confer a right to enlist the machinery of government to enforce religious restrictions in public services."
(Daniel Mach, New York Times)

"The church has not been good at dealing with homophobia. We have implicitly and even explicitly supported it and that demands repentance."
(Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury)

Essays of the Week

Your fatwa does not apply here
(Deniz Kandiyott & Karima Bennoune, Open Democracy)

America's wars and organised religion
(Jon Kozy, Global Research)

	Girl Guides stand firm over Promise despite condemnation from reactionary Christians News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 Christian Guide leaders in Harrogate have backed down after initially refusing to introduce the new secular Promise. The Guide leaders, who are all members of the local United Reformed Church, had told volunteer leader Jem Henderson that they would be sticking with the previous promise which includes the phrase "to love my God". However, following a meeting with Girlguiding UK, the St Paul's Harrogate troop has now agreed to use the new secular promise. The refusal to implement the new Promise made national headlines after Ms Henderson contacted the NSS seeking support. The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, called on Christian Guide leaders to rebel against what he called "secular totalitarianism", and suggested the organisation could split if it refused to compromise and allow two pledges. Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, joined the small chorus of condemnation, saying: "These women should be commended for standing up to the forced secularisation of the Guiding movement." Girlguiding UK updated their promise after a public consultation involving nearly 44,000 people from inside and outside the organisation, showed that different wording was needed for the promise to be inclusive of all girls, of all faiths and none. The updated Promise replaces the phrase 'to love my God' with 'be true to myself and develop my beliefs'. In one radio interview for BBC 3 Counties, Church of England General Synod member Alison Ruoff suggested God would "remove his blessing from the UK" if the new pledge was introduced. Prominent church leaders also called for Guides to be prevented from using Church premises. Despite the controversy, Chief Guide Gill Slocombe said the response to the new Promise had been "overwhelmingly positive" and the complaints it had received from members represented "significantly less than 1%" of their membership. She confirmed that all members must use the secular Promise after September 1. Jem Henderson, commented: "All I wanted out of this was for the troops to accept the secular promise. My friends and people around me are very proud of me for standing up for what I believe in."
	NSS stalwart Bill McIlroy dies aged 85 News \| Thu, 22nd Aug 2013 William J. McIlroy (4 July 1928 – 22 August 2013) With great sadness, we report the death of William (Bill) McIlroy on 22 August 2013, aged 85. Bill devoted his adult life to the National Secular Society and allied causes. He served as the secretary of the NSS from 1963 to 1977 with a one year break. In the 1960s, Bill and the then president David Tribe were responsible for a resurgence of activity resulting in the NSS becoming nationally prominent, attracting eminent supporters such as writer Brigid Brophy and philosopher Margaret Knight, who made groundbreaking broadcasts on secularism. David and Bill spearheaded major campaigns including Secular Education Week and campaigned successfully for reform of the law on stage censorship, Sunday observance, male homosexuality and abortion. In 1989, Bill, along with Nicolas Walter, reformed The Committee Against Blasphemy Law to protest at the threat to Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses. The Committee issued a Statement Against Blasphemy Law signed by over 200 public figures. Bill had been secretary of the original Committee Against Blasphemy Law, which was founded in the late 1970s to protest the trial of the editor and publishers of Gay News. Bill served on the NSS Council of Management for a few years in the early 2000s and was presented by the NSS with a lifetime achievement award in 2005. He was editor of the Freethinker for around fourteen years in three stints spanning nearly a quarter of a century from 1970, and worked as a volunteer for a further decade. Bill was born in Northern Ireland but left its religious sectarianism at the earliest opportunity. He lived in Coventry, London, Sheffield and Brighton. His wife Margaret died some years ago from multiple sclerosis. Bill had lived independently in Brighton for his last fifteen years, but was diagnosed with cancer around a year before his death. In his final days he was cared for compassionately in Horsham, Sussex, by his daughters Helen and Ruth, who ensured he still had easy access to his many books on secularism. Pride of place went to biographies of NSS founder Charles Bradlaugh, a cherished booklet celebrating of the NSS's centenary in 1966, which he helped compile, and a book by pro-blasphemy campaigner Mary Whitehouse, who named Bill as a major thorn in her side. Even in his last days he was reminiscing with visitors, writing to friends and colleagues at home and abroad on his fifty-year-old manual typewriter. Bill was a man of great integrity and humour but would not abide anyone he thought to be acting against the best interests of the organisations he supported, which included the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. Right up until his death, Bill took a great interest in the NSS's current activities and pleasure in its successes. His ready wit, wise counsel and encyclopaedic knowledge, especially on historic matters, will be missed by his many friends and colleagues.
	Schools adjudicator rejects religious discrimination complaint over community school admissions News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 The Office of the Schools Adjudicator has rejected a complaint concerning a non-religiously designated academy in Solihull that gave priority in admissions to pupils from a religiously selective 'faith school'. The National Secular Society was one of the complainants in the case. Tudor Grange Academy had originally planned to give priority to children at two schools that use criteria favouring pupils whose parents attend Church of England services in their admission arrangements. The NSS wrote to Tudor Grange Academy in February informing it that after taking legal advice, it believed the proposals were likely to result in local children being disadvantaged on grounds of religion and belief — and that as such, the proposals were likely be both a breach of the admissions code and unlawful. Tudor Grange subsequently revised its admissions policy to no longer prioritise pupils from one Church school (St Alphege CofE) but still opted to prioritise pupils attending another Church school (St James) above pupils living in the catchment area. St James, which is part of the Tudor Grange Multi-Academy Trust, concurrently launched a consultation on proposals to remove of its faith criteria for admissions. Certain schools with a 'religious character' are permitted to operate admissions policies that discriminate against children on religious grounds when the school is oversubscribed. However, Section 1.9 of the Admissions Code prohibits non-religiously designated schools from prioritising children on the basis of their own or their parents' activities. As Tudor Grange Academy has no religious designation, it is not permitted to take account of religious activities. The NSS argued that by naming a religiously selective school as a feeder school, Tudor Grange Academy could be indirectly advantaging children on the basis of their parents' religious beliefs and activities. However, in its ruling the Schools Adjudicator found that in this particular circumstance, as St James had been undersubscribed for several years, no indirect discrimination would occur. The ruling agreed that if there were to be children at the feeder school who had been prioritised on the basis of faith, and if these children were then to be prioritised over catchment area children for admission to Tudor Grange Academy, this might constitute indirect discrimination. However the ruling also said this would not necessarily be unlawful under equalities legislation as long as the school could show that the criterion is objectively justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Jenny Woodruff, who fronted a local campaign against the school's proposals, said: "We are disappointed that the potential for indirect religious discrimination in the original proposals was not evaluated as this was relevant to other arguments, such as compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. We are disappointed that there is no recognition that given other suitable choices, those without religious beliefs would be less likely to attend faith schools even if faith were not a requirement for admission which could create an advantage in feeder school arrangements." Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "The prospect of religious selection creeping into community schools' admissions policies is deeply alarming. "While we're disappointed by the ruling, we are pleased that the Schools Adjudicator has at least recognised that community school admission arrangements that indirectly disadvantage children from non-churchgoing backgrounds through the naming of feeder schools, are potentially unlawful, even if that isn't necessarily the case in this instance. "However, we are very concerned by the adjudicators' contention that within the context of admissions to a non-religiously designated school, indirect discrimination on grounds of religion and belief could be in some way justified. "The ideal way to achieve fairer admissions is to bring an end to all religious selection in state-funded schools. "The truth is however, the naming of faith schools as feeder schools — even those without faith based selection policies — further disadvantages the non-religious in our state education system. We're told that the existence of 'faith schools' creates greater parental choice, but for many parents, the exact opposite is often true." The full determination from the OSA is available here Also see: London Oratory School slammed for 'unfair' admissions
	New report demands fresh approach to inclusion of Muslims in British life News \| Wed, 28th Aug 2013 A new report from the Runnymede Trust entitled The New Muslims says it "seeks to challenge dominant representations of Muslims in Britain by gathering the views and insights of researchers who have been seeking to understand the contemporary identities of those racialised as Muslim in the UK and the politics which surrounds their presence." The report says that dominant perceptions of Muslims are damaging as they do not take into account the vast complexities and differences in British Muslim identities. It calls for more public money to be put into Muslim women's groups because without it they have to work "within restrictive frameworks that may not be best suited to the communities they serve." The report says that debates on integration of schooling must factor in experiences of anti-Muslim racism, the importance of Muslim group solidarity as a potentially positive feature of school life and be aware of the ways in which international and national events shape local Muslim experiences within schools The report seeks to create a more positive perception of Muslim lives in Britain, saying that "Statistics published by the Ministry of Defence in 2012 showed that 650 Muslims serving in the UK armed services. Of these 550 are in the British army, constituting 0.5% of the total." Rob Berkeley, the Director of The Runnymede Trust — which describes itself as the UK's leading race equality think-tank — said: "Through this publication we hope in some small way to counter the dominant understandings of British Muslim identities where these are based on falsehoods and generalizations, and to highlight the complexities, nuances and diversity of identities among Muslims in Britain. We do this as part of our ongoing project to ensure that our public policy debates and public discussions are based on robust, evidence-based analysis rather than sensationalist, knee-jerk responses." Among other findings in the report: According to the latest census figures, the Muslim population increased from 1.2m to 2.7m between 2001-2011, with the group's share of the population increasing from 3% to 4.8%. The Muslim population is relatively evenly spread through England and Wales. There has been a decrease in Muslim segregation, through the spreading out from the biggest Muslim concentrations (e.g. Tower Hamlets) towards neighbouring areas (e.g. Barking and Dagenham) Muslim citizenship in the UK is under threat. Since 2003, 21 British nationals who have had their citizenship removed, and all but one or two are Muslim. Sixteen of these were under the current government and at least five were British-born, with one man having lived in the UK for almost 50 years. There is a need for an urgent review about funding for voluntary and ethnic minority and faith groups. It was found that youth services served a clear purpose as young Somali men expressed desire to not engage in activities associated with risk, e.g. gangs, fighting, drug dealing. However, government funding agendas are stemmed from young Somali men being politically designated as 'high risk'. As a result youth services have negative connotations. In order for these spaces to effectively provide a safe and secure environment for marginalised young people, a move away from negatively loaded 'risk prevention' agendas by the government will be necessary. Dominant views of Muslim identity can be challenged and expanded by including Muslim voices in the media. Unity FM, a community radio stations for the Muslim community in Birmingham, provides a space for diverse Muslim voices and messages to come together and change limited notions of community. The report is accompanied by a film called 'Muslim Multicultures' and a series of recorded conversations which explore the challenges currently facing Muslims in Britain. Participants include Rushanara Ali MP, Humza Yousaf MEP, Yasir Mizra of the Guardian and the graffiti artist Mohammad Ali. Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "We welcome any attempt to create better relationships between the many Muslim communities in this country and the mainstream. Whether or not this report has the answers is open to question. For any kind of integration to occur there must be give and take on both sides. We feel strongly that this report should be read alongside Professor Ted Cantle's latest book Interculturalism: The New Era of Cohesion and Diversity."
	On homophobia and racism Opinion \| Thu, 29th Aug 2013 Two weeks ago the Archbishop of Canterbury was in Monterrey, Mexico where he delivered a sermon to the effect that Anglicanism is standing on a precipice and risks falling into a "ravine of intolerance". Mr Welby said the Church had to steer a course between, on the one hand, compromising so much that it abandoned its "core beliefs" and, on the other, becoming so intolerant that it fractured completely. He said the atmosphere in the Anglican Communion was rather like the English civil war: what the church was fighting about was "incomprehensible" to people outside it. He revisited the same territory this week in a speech to a group of evangelical Christians when he told them that young people considered the Church's attitude to gay marriage as "cruel" and "wicked". Even young evangelicals thought so. Yet he still maintains that he did the right thing in voting against gay marriage in the House of Lords. It's worth quoting him in detail: "What I voted against was what seemed to me to be the rewriting the nature of marriage in a way that I have to say within the Christian tradition and within scripture and within our understanding is not the right way to deal with the very important issues that were attempted to be dealt with in that Bill. "The Bill was clearly, quite rightly, trying to deal with issues of homophobia in our society. "As I said at the time in the House of Lords, the Church has not been good at dealing with homophobia — it has at times, as gods' people, either implicitly or explicitly supported it and we have to be really, really repentant about that because it is utterly and totally wrong. But that doesn't mean that redefining marriage is the right way forward. "That discussion is continuing and the Church is deeply and profoundly divided over the way forward on it. "I am absolutely committed not to exclude people who have a different view from me, I am also absolutely committed to listening very carefully to them. "If the same thing happened again I would vote the same way as I did then but I am continuing to think and listen very carefully as to how in our society today we respond to what is the most rapid cultural change in this area than there has been for a very long time. "We have seen changes in the idea about sexuality, sexual behaviour. We have to face the fact that the vast majority of people under 35 not only think that what we're saying is incomprehensible but also think that we're plain wrong and wicked and equate it to racism and other forms of gross and atrocious injustice. We have to be real about that. "I haven't got the answer one way or the other until my mind is clear on this. I'm not going to get into the trenches." So, the Archbishop is facing up to the intractable problem that defeated his predecessor. A church that is, on the one hand, deeply and hatefully homophobic (in its African divisions at least) and increasingly liberal in its European and American branches. It's the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Rowan Williams didn't have an answer, and neither does Justin Welby. The reason? There is no answer that will satisfy all parties. The only solution is to split, something the bishops are desperate not to happen. The Church is weak enough as it is, but would be even weaker broken into ever smaller warring factions. Justin Welby's dilemma is insoluble, but he does not make it better by saying on the one hand that he deplores homophobia and five minutes later practising it in the most disgraceful manner. If you put yourself up as a moral arbiter, you had better be consistently moral yourself. Mr Welby hasn't got there yet. And in a similar fashion, we must take to task the Runnymede Trust which has recently published a pamphlet saying that Muslims in Britain must not be stereotyped — in fact, to do so is "racist". The pamphlet then goes on to indulge in the worst kind of stereotyping. Even its title "The New Muslims" immediately herds everyone who has come from a Muslim heritage into being "a Muslim". If you happen to live in an immigrant community that originates from a Muslim majority source then, according to the Runnymede Trust, you are a Muslim. Imagine if they did the same with "Christians". Imagine if, because you are white and Anglo Saxon (and perhaps live in the Home Counties), you were immediately identified as a "Christian" and lumped into a category that they had chosen for you rather than one you had chosen for yourself. The Runnymede Trust says that it is "racist" to imagine all Muslims are the same. That is true, and we have long recognised that Muslims originate from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The Somalis have little in common with the Pakistanis and the Sri Lankans share little common ground with the Bosnian Muslims. But what if you come from one of these countries and you don't regard yourself as a Muslim? What if you have grown indifferent to the "faith" that your parents (or the Runnymede Trust) assigned to you? What if you feel actively hostile towards it, as some do? Just like in the general population, there are people from Pakistan and Iran and other majority Muslim countries who simply aren't interested in religion. I have seen only one small survey of "Muslims" which measured their mosque-going. It showed that about a third of those questioned never went to a mosque. This is not to say that they didn't regard themselves as "Muslims" — in the same way that people who never cross the threshold of a church can still regard themselves as Christians. But there are many "indifferents" in both Christian and Muslim heritage cultures. This is something the Runnymede Trust doesn't seem to recognise. But it is a message that Maryam Namazie and the Council of ex-Muslims in Britain has been trying to get out for years. So, who are the real "racists" here? Those who genuinely judge a person on his or her individual qualities and merits or someone who can think only in terms of "Muslims" and "Christians"?
	Report from Australia: secularists score political parties on their levels of religious favouritism Opinion \| Thu, 29th Aug 2013 Meredith Doig, president of the Rationalist Society of Australia, reports on her country's continued privileged treatment of religion. One area of the political debate that does not receive much attention during election campaigns is the question of religious influence on party policy. This is a gap. Australians clearly prefer a separation between church and state. According to a Herald/Nielsen poll conducted in the lead up to the 2010 federal election, 84% of people surveyed agreed with the statement ''religion and politics should be separate''. In Australia's increasingly complex society of many different cultures and different types of beliefs or lack of belief, that would seem to be the only sensible approach. Given the public holds a firm position on the relationship between religion and politics, the Rationalist Society of Australia has taken on the task of assessing each party's commitment to the principle of secularism by monitoring comments, statements, and parliamentary voting practices on key policy issues and scoring each party accordingly. Political parties that received a "Fail" essentially took the view that church and public policy is inseparable, particularly on policy pertaining to end-of-life decisions, termination of pregnancy, same-sex marriage, religious instruction in schools, and preferential treatment of religious organizations. Parties that presented mixed and contradictory messages on these issues received a B or C grade. And parties awarded an A presented a consistent commitment to the principle of separation of church and state, ensuring the provision of government services does not discriminate on religious grounds. How each party scored is in the public interest and, more importantly, in the interest of voters. See the Secular Scorecard 2013. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the NSS.
	France to post a “secularism charter” in every school News \| Tue, 27th Aug 2013 French Education Minister Vincent Peillon announced on Monday a plan to post a "secularism charter in every [educational] establishment" by the end of September. The document would appear in a prominent place in every school, and remind teachers and pupils of a list of secular, Republican principles. "Everyone has a right to their opinions," Peillon told French journalists on Monday. "But not to dispute lessons or miss classes [for religious reasons]," he added. The minister insisted, however, that the project should not "turn into an obsession with Islam." "The vast majority of our Muslim compatriots are convinced of the benefits of secularism," he added. The project has provoked a mixed reaction in France, with some questioning the application of secular principles, and others claiming the measure doesn't go far enough in enforcing France's particularly strict church-state separation. "The reality is that in the last few years, the Left has singularly lacked courage in the difficult struggle to defend secularism," said Michèle Tabarot, a centre-right opposition UMP deputy. "This decision is totally in keeping with the pussyfooting image of this government." For his part, Philippe Tournier, Secretary-General of France's union of headteachers, told Europe 1 radio he welcomed the secularism charter in principle, but worried about its implementation. "The intentions are absolutely positive, but the essential thing still remains – putting into force what [the charter] affirms," he said. Peillon's predecessor as Education Minister, however, Luc Chatel from the opposition UMP party, expressed his tentative support for the charter. "Any time we can give children a point of reference as to what the Republic is, and what our values are, that's a good thing," he told France Info radio on Monday. This isn't the first time in recent months that Peillon has caused controversy with a project to reinforce France's secular values in its schools. In April, The Local reported how the education minister showed parliament his plans for school pupils to debate "secular morality" for one hour every week. "Teaching and sharing the values of the Republic is a responsibility for each school," Peillon said at the time. When the minister first announced the proposals last year, Chatel on that occasion strongly criticised his successor as education minister. He claimed the plan had echoes of a similar call by Marshall Pétain who led the Nazi-allied regime, known as Vichy France, during World War II. Chatel said Peillon's quest to seek the "intellectual and moral re-education" of France's young people copied "word for word the call of Marshal Pétain on June 25th, 1940" when he promised to rid France of its "moral decadence". Secularism or "laïcité" is a cornerstone of France's constitution, but a perennially thorny issue, especially when it comes to education. Recently, a court overturned the sacking of a nursery school teacher for refusing to take off her Islamic veil. In response, deputies from across the political spectrum decried the ruling as an attack on secularism. A 2004 law bans the wearing of "ostentatious religious symbols" in public schools, and a report earlier this month caused a stir by recommending that the ban be extended to universities. Speaking at the time, professor and author Raphael Liogier told The Local that the plan was proof that France was "having an identity crisis over Islam." "The state pretends to be strong by creating new laws and in the end we end up discriminating against people who have nothing to do with the real problem," he said. "But when there is a real problem, the state does nothing." Source: The Local http://www.thelocal.fr/ and reproduced with permission.

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Newsline 30 August 2013

News, Blogs & Opinion

Girl Guides stand firm over Promise despite condemnation from reactionary Christians

NSS stalwart Bill McIlroy dies aged 85

Schools adjudicator rejects religious discrimination complaint over community school admissions

New report demands fresh approach to inclusion of Muslims in British life

On homophobia and racism

Report from Australia: secularists score political parties on their levels of religious favouritism

France to post a “secularism charter” in every school

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Central London Humanists - Secular Europe Campaign March and Rally 2013

National Youth Theatre: Pope Joan

NSS fundraiser - Tribute to Marlene Dietrich

Newsline 30 August 2013

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NSS Speaks Out

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