Author: Keith Porteous Wood

Church of England’s links with insurer undermines justice for survivors of clergy abuse

Anglican abuse victims believe the Church's close links with its insurer results in lower settlements to victims.... Read More »

The greater the religious fervency, the greater the homophobia

On Pride weekend, NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood highlights the interconnectedness between the fight for... Read More »

Irish National Maternity Hospital: “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries!”

The determination to give a hospital to a disgraced religious order, in spite of public outrage, is the very antithesis... Read More »

Anglican stance on women and gays could trigger disestablishment

Keith Porteous Wood argues that, with the CofE's hierarchy so at odds with the values on equality held by the country... Read More »

Who is running Ireland – the Government or the Church?

The reach and power of the Catholic Church has waned considerably in recent years in Ireland. But there are troubling... Read More »

Mass grave full of children's remains at Catholic home reveals atrocities on a massive scale

With the latest revelations about human remains in an Irish Mother and Baby home, Keith Porteous Wood, executive director... Read More »

Stop pharmacies refusing prescriptions for emergency contraception on religious grounds

With the regulator considering curtailing 'conscience' objections to contraception prescriptions, Keith Porteous Wood... Read More »

Norway’s separation of Church and State: a work in progress

Norway's supposed separation of Church and State, effective from 1 January 2017, is a very positive step, but it's... Read More »

The new UN Secretary General must not allow religion to override human rights

UN Secretary General designate needs to ignore Catholic pressure to row back on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights... Read More »

The House of Lords and religion

The Parliamentary recess provides welcome respite from the frenetic activity of the political battles being fought... Read More »

Church and State united in denying religious freedom to young people

NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood writes on the union between church and state that is denying freedom of... Read More »

Do we need ‘religious approaches’ to Human Rights?

Keith Porteous Wood offers a critical review of a new book that claims Human Rights owe their existence to religion... Read More »

Spotlight: This hard-hitting film salutes the journalists who exposed the power of a deeply corrupt institution

Keith Porteous Wood previews Spotlight, the hard-hitting film which depicts the Boston Globe's investigation into... Read More »

Damning details emerge about establishment cover-up of Anglican sex abuse

New revelations about the extent of the letter-writing campaign to help disgraced bishop Peter Ball escape charges... Read More »

National occasions need not be dominated by religion – as France’s commemoration ceremony so poignantly demonstrated

France's recent ceremony for those killed in the Paris attacks was a moving demonstration that religiously neutral... Read More »

Peter Ball sex abuse case: 20 questions that must be answered

Any genuine inquiry into the handling of allegations of child sex abuse by Bishop Peter Ball must answer key questions... Read More »

Assisted Dying Bill: The Church has no right to deny dignity in death

The media give too much weight to the views of faith leaders who have failed to deal with the central issue of assisted... Read More »

The BBC is failing to respond to fair criticism of its religious output

The NSS has objected numerous times over the past half century to the exclusion of non-believers from BBC Radio 4's... Read More »

Catholic hierarchy stand by while nuns’ orders seek to obstruct justice for their abuse victims

Following the failed attempt to obstruct the historic child abuse inquiry in Scotland, Keith Porteous Wood exposes... Read More »

The Catholic Church is now paying the price for its past in Ireland

NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood welcomes the Irish referendum result on marriage equality and argues that... Read More »

Irish same-sex marriage – is the Church trying to blackmail the state?

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has threatened to stop civil marriage registration if Irish law is changed to... Read More »

Should taxpayers be paying for the Church’s leaking roofs?

Keith Porteous Wood argues that with the Church Commissioners sitting on a £4bn surplus, the Church of England... Read More »

Assisted Dying: It is now a case of ‘when’, rather than ‘if’

On Friday 7 November the Assisted Dying Bill was debated in the House of Lords. The executive director of the National... Read More »

Pope's first year of papacy has been a failure on child abuse

This week marks the first anniversary of the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis.... Read More »

The RE Report – A missed opportunity

The RE Council's report has been well received. However, with the decline in church attendance and increasing evangelism... Read More »