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"The Democratic system that is predominant in the world is not a suitable system for the peoples of our region... The system of free elections is not suitable to our country."
(King Fahd of Saudi Arabia)
"Since 9/11, we have waited for the people of the Middle East to take the fight against dictatorial, terror-spreading Islamism into their own hands. By removing the bogeyman of Bush (a moniker deserved or not), and electing Obama, Americans made this opening possible. Obama's Cairo speech undercut the regime's prime defense mechanism: demonization of America. The Internet did the rest."
(Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish)
(Bernard-Henri Lévy, Huffington Post)
The National Secular Society has called for the removal of prayers in the Commons saying it would "strike a blow for equality and modernity"
The Church of England has failed in an attempt to take over a community centre project in the Foxholes district of Paignton in Devon.
Traditionalist Christians are locked in a battle with more modernising Christians over prayers at a hostel for the homeless in Torbay.
Courtesy of the Christian Institute, we can now reveal that the new Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, is a secularist. The CI doesn't like it, of course, portraying Mr Bercow as an enemy of "religious liberty" (which, by their definition, means having the right to practice discrimination against other people).
In the mire of the expenses revelations we have an amazing claim for £510 from David Treddinick, Tory MP for Bosworth, for astrology software and training. Between February and March 2006 he claimed £210 for software from a new age astrology company and £300 on tuition sessions from the firm, Crucial Astro Tools, to learn to use it. Mr Tredinnick said he had bought the software to help with a Parliamentary speech on alternative medicines and had cleared the claims with the Commons fees office.
Two thirds of teenagers don't believe in God and half have never prayed, according to new research commissioned by Penguin books.
Church of England bishops are becoming restive at the prospect that the Government might recommend a wholly elected House of Lords (a Senate as it would be). There would be no place for ex-officio religious representatives in such a body - or ex-officio anyone else, come to that.
In a surprise announcement last week it was revealed that on July 1 there will be Congressional hearings in Brasilia on the concordat signed last November. This has thwarted the attempts of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference ten days ago to have the agreement rushed to a vote under an emergency procedure for urgent matters of national defence.
We often point to France as a beacon of secularism, a country with a constitution that guarantees religious rights but ensures that they are completely separate from the functions of the state.
Now religion and secularism in France are in conflict in two arenas. First, whether a parliamentary commission should be established to consider banning the burqa from French soil and second, whether Scientology should be outlawed in France.
The Roman Catholic Church in Spain has started a new offensive in a battle over plans by the ruling Socialists to liberalise the country's strict abortion law.
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Highly praised exhibitionat the Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge.
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Letters for publication should be addressed to letters@secularism.org.uk. Please keep letters short so that others can have their say.
