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This week we've had several reminders that schools remain the most significant battleground for secularists today. Most significantly in England, our exclusive
research has found that more than 18,000 families were assigned faith schools this year despite the fact parents preferred a non-faith school. And we're
particularly disappointed that the government has abandoned plans for a compulsory register of out-of-school education settings after fearmongering and intense
lobbying from religious groups.
Meanwhile religious polarisation remains entrenched in Northern Irish society, 20 years on from the Good Friday Agreement. We're once again calling on politicians
to prioritise the integration of schools to help tackle this.
Secularism is an essential part of promoting justice and ensuring cohesion and equality between citizens. With your continued support, we'll continue to challenge
religious privilege by making a principled stand for freedom, fairness and human rights.
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News & Opinion
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More than 18,000 children were sent to state faith schools against their parents' preferences in England this year, an exclusive analysis by the National...
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The National Secular Society has criticised the government's "betrayal of children's rights" after it abandoned plans for the compulsory registration of...
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The National Secular Society has welcomed the creation of a buffer zone around a west London abortion clinic.
Ealing Council voted to implement a public... Read More »
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Teachers from the ATL union have voted to demand a clampdown on parents selectively withdrawing their children from RE. But Stephen Evans says the
right... Read More »
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The National Secular Society has reiterated its call for action to integrate schooling in Northern Ireland after a poll revealed the extent of religious...
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A woman is challenging a Crown Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute a doctor after her son was subjected to a harmful circumcision without her...
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The government is considering introducing a register of home-educated children and issuing school attendance orders for parents who refuse to comply, as...
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The National Secular Society has criticised the creation of two state-funded, single-sex Muslim secondary schools for up to 800 children each as
Manchester... Read More »
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Other news
The poll which highlighted the extent of religious polarisation in Northern Ireland also found that 76% of people in Northern Ireland
support same-sex marriage and 54% support unrestricted access to abortion for women up to 12 weeks pregnant.
To get all the latest news and views on secularism from the media in your inbox every morning, you can sign up to receive your daily media briefing.
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Read elsewhere
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By 'Ratbiter', for Private Eye
A government quango set up to combat hatred against Muslims is proving oddly muted when it comes to intra-Muslim violence.
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Support our work
Please support our work so we can make the case for a fairer secular democracy for all.
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Quotes of the week
"This was never about protest. It was about small groups of strangers choosing to gather by our entrance gates where they could harass and intimidate women
and try to prevent them from accessing healthcare to which they are legally entitled."
Richard Bentley, Marie Stopes UK managing director, on buffer zones outside
abortion clinics
"Don't let go, be the British bulldog, be tenacious. I would tell anybody out there to trust in the British justice system. Yes, it's crazily weird, but you
will get justice."
A woman who was sexually abused as a child by members of the Salvation Army outlines what she'd tell others after the
conviction of her abusers
"Politics apart, this is horrible that some people would see this horrendous crime through a religious prism to gain some mileage. It's a new low and I don't
know if we can stoop any lower after this."
Girdhari Lal, a retired teacher,
reflects on the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from a Muslim family in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The crime has sparked protests from
Hindu nationalists, who are demanding the release of the accused
See our quotes of the week archive...
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NSS speaks out
Our president Keith Porteous Wood spoke to a European Parliament conference this week about discrimination against and persecution of non-believers around the world. We've published
the transcript of his speech.
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Upcoming events
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Date: Thursday 3 May 2018
Time: 19:30–22:00
Venue: 17 Queens Crescent, St Georges Cross, G4 9BL Glasgow, United Kingdom
Dr Ian Good and Dr Ealasaid Munro present some of the key findings of their AHRC... Read More »
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Date: Sunday 25 November 2018, 09:30 – 20:30
Location: Central London
Tickets: From £65.27
Details: Join notable secularists and veteran women's rights campaigners for a conference on Sharia,... Read More
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