NSS questions “biased” government faith review

The National Secular Society has said a government review into faith engagement is biased and threatens to further undermine separation of religion and state.

Faith engagement adviser Colin Bloom today published a report which recommends the government increase its engagement with faith groups.

It says that following the Faith New Deal pilot fund, a grant scheme exclusively for religious groups to provide community services, the government should "consider ways of proactively partnering with places of worship in a Faith Partnership Charter". It said every local council should be signed up to a Faith Partnership Charter by December 2023.

The recommendations did not mention that serious concerns have been raised about the Faith New Deal pilot fund, including its discrimination against organisations without a religious ethos, and the 16 organisations which received Faith New Deal grants. One of these charities has since had its funding agreement terminated after the NSS found its chair called Islam "demonic" and "spiritual wickedness".

The NSS is also concerned that the Faith Partnership Charter will be based on the newest version of the 'Faith Covenant' created by the APPG on Faith and Society, which was updated to remove a clause prohibiting faith groups contracted to provide public services from proselytising.

The report also recommended the role of the prime minister's special envoy for freedom of religion or belief be expanded to "include the promotion and protection of religious freedom in the UK", as well as the government appointing an "Independent Faith Champion". The NSS said this would likely lead to religious freedom being prioritised over other human rights, including the freedom not to have religious views imposed on people.

The NSS welcomed some of the recommendations, including cracking down on religious extremism, high-control religions, forced marriage and unregistered schools.

It partially welcomed a recommendation to review chaplaincy in prisons and the armed forces, which are still Christian-centric. But it expressed concerns about the lack of references to non-religious pastoral care in these settings, as well as the recommendation that the government should "explicitly integrate the use of religious or theological reflection as an important part of the rehabilitation of some offenders".

The report is based on a review launched in 2020 which the NSS said was "designed to reach a conclusion which will please religious interest groups".

The NSS said the call for evidence central to the review was not fair or impartial, because wording around the review suggested only responses from religious people would be considered, or be prioritised over responses by people without a stated religion.

NSS: Review is "fundamentally flawed"

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "This review is fundamentally flawed and threatens to further erode separation of religion and state.

"While we welcome the recommendations to crack down on harms caused by religious fundamentalism, the report's clear pro-faith bias distorts its conclusions.

"If implemented, several of the recommendations would lead to more division and more imposition of religion on the public, supported by public money. We've already seen this through the government's discriminatory and misguided 'faith new deal' pilot fund.

"If the government wants a more objective and accurate picture of religion in UK society, it needs to commission a review that isn't designed from the outset to pander to religious interests."