Joint faith school campus brings segregation under one roof
Posted: Fri, 18 Aug 2017
A new £17m campus which houses Catholic and Jewish faith schools together has opened in East Renfrewshire. Read More »
Same-sex marriages need not be recognised in NI, court rules
Posted: Fri, 18 Aug 2017
The High Court has ruled that same-sex marriages which are entered into in England do not need to be recognised in Northern Ireland. Read More »
Caught between Hindu and Buddhist nationalists: Rohingya Muslims face expulsion
Posted: Thu, 17 Aug 2017
The Indian government plans to deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslims living in the country to Myanmar after labelling them all illegal immigrants. Read More »
NSS calls for ban on ‘gay conversion therapies’ after church starvation
Posted: Thu, 17 Aug 2017
The NSS has called on the government to consider banning so-called gay conversion 'therapies' after a Liverpool church encouraged LGBT+ people to starve themselves for long periods. Read More »
Blasphemy laws “astonishingly widespread” - report
Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2017
Dozens of countries from all corners of the globe retain laws which punish blasphemy and most of them punish the 'crime' severely, according a report from the US government. Read More »
DUP vows to resist calls to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage
Posted: Fri, 11 Aug 2017
DUP leader Arlene Foster has said her party will retain Northern Ireland's restrictions on abortion and same-sex marriage, despite growing pressure for reform. Read More »
Three setbacks for anti-counter extremism lobby
Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017
Lobbyists attempting to undermine and spread misinformation about Prevent – the government's counter-radicalisation safeguarding strategy - have suffered three setbacks in two weeks. Read More »
Malaysia targets ex-Muslims over viral atheist photo
Posted: Tue, 08 Aug 2017
Malaysia's government says it will re-educate ex-Muslims who took part in an atheist meeting after a photo of the event went viral. Read More »
NSS criticises Archbishops over clerical hostility to LGBT+ rights
Posted: Thu, 03 Aug 2017
The National Secular Society's Executive Director, Keith Porteous Wood, has criticised Church of England leaders for their record on gay rights after they spoke out on the subject. Read More »
Evangelising NHS worker may not launch second appeal, court rules
Posted: Wed, 02 Aug 2017
An NHS worker who was disciplined for using her position to evangelise will not be allowed to appeal against a decision that she did not face discrimination. Read More »
UN tells Pakistan to end blasphemy laws and protect minorities
Posted: Wed, 02 Aug 2017
The UN's Human Rights Committee has told Pakistan to end its blasphemy laws and do more to protect religious minorities. Read More »
Jehovah's Witnesses censured by Charity Commission over treatment of child abuse allegations
Posted: Mon, 31 Jul 2017
A congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses has been severely criticised by the Charity Commission over its handling of allegations of child abuse. Read More »
Government plans mass expansion of CofE faith schools across England
Posted: Thu, 27 Jul 2017
The Department for Education hopes to open at least another 140 Church of England schools in the next five years, according to the Church Times. Read More »
Secularist conference features ‘largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history’
Posted: Tue, 25 Jul 2017
Organisers of a major conference on free thought say it has brought together "the largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history". Read More »
NSS expresses support for 'deplatformed' Richard Dawkins
Posted: Tue, 25 Jul 2017
The National Secular Society has expressed its support for Richard Dawkins after a radio station cancelled one of his speeches because of his criticisms of Islam. Read More »
100% faith-based admissions leads to increased levels of segregation, says schools inspectorate
Posted: Mon, 24 Jul 2017
The chief inspector of schools has criticised Government proposals to allow some faith schools to select all of their pupils on the basis of faith and suggested the plans may be dropped. Read More »
Vast majority of Welsh councils no longer hold prayers during meetings
Posted: Sun, 23 Jul 2017
Councils across Wales no longer hold prayers as part of their official business after the National Secular Society won a court battle over the practice. Read More »
Pakistan puts pressure on Facebook to help punish 'blasphemers'
Posted: Fri, 21 Jul 2017
The Pakistani government is punishing people for social media posts which it considers blasphemous, and placing pressure on social media companies to help it do so. Read More »
Ofsted head criticises segregation as Islamic school is taken over
Posted: Tue, 18 Jul 2017
The chief inspector of the schools inspectorate Ofsted has spoken out against gender segregation in mixed-sex schools. Read More »
Ex-Muslims accused of 'inciting hatred' after criticising Islamic homophobia at Pride
Posted: Mon, 17 Jul 2017
A prominent group of ex-Muslims are facing calls to be banned from future Pride marches in London after a mosque complained about their criticisms of Islam. Read More »
