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Our campaigning scored a significant, if qualified, victory last Friday: the government decided not to scrap the 50% cap on faith-based admissions to free schools
in England. This was very welcome news. Given the education secretary's explicit support for it – and the commitment made in the Conservative party manifesto –
securing a change of course was a significant achievement. Thanks to all of you who supported our campaign by writing to your MPs.
The planned expansion of voluntary-aided schools, which are already able to select up to 100% of pupils on the basis of faith, is more concerning. Damian Hinds has
said he doesn't expect too many of the schools to open, but it's up to us to hold the government and local authorities to account.
The NSS is leading the way in campaigning for a fully secular education system. If you haven't done so already, why not visit our dedicated No More Faith Schools website to find out how you can get involved?
We're working tirelessly across a number of fronts to separate religion from the state and secure equality for all, regardless of belief. If you value our work in
challenging religion's privileged position in society, please consider showing us your
support. Thank you.
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News & Opinion
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The government has abandoned plans to lift the 50% cap on faith-based admissions to new free schools – but will pave the way for a new wave of religiously...
Read More »
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The decision not to allow more faith-based admissions to new free schools in England is a big win, says Stephen Evans. But the expansion of faith
schools... Read More »
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Coroners in England and Wales are not obliged to give automatic priority to requests which come from particular religious communities, the chief coroner...
Read More
»
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The National Secular Society has said calls for children to be segregated on joint campuses have "shown the need to take education in Scotland out of
religious... Read More »
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The National Secular Society has said the government "must consider proportion and context" as it prepares to tell businesses to allow employees to
display... Read More »
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Faith schools' approach to admissions and sex education reminds us that religious groups' interests often conflict with those of society. Megan Manson...
Read More »
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'Pro-life' campaigners have launched a court bid to block the Scottish government's decision to allow women to take the abortion pill at home.
In October... Read More »
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Latest from the No More Faith Schools campaign
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Testimonial, by a teacher
The increasingly assertive religious ethos of Church of England schools undermines the commonly-held idea that they aren't really faith schools. And, a
teacher writes, the change is being driven by the church itself.
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Other news
The Church of England is lobbying the
government not to scrap civil partnerships. The church is concerned that the move would throw its stance on sexuality into disarray.
The Sutton Trust, which focuses on social mobility, has welcomed the Department for
Education's decision not to lift the 50% cap on faith-based admissions to new faith schools in England.
Lawmakers in Guernsey have been debating a bill which would legalise
assisted dying. If the bill passes the process of legalisation will take at least three years, the island's chief minister has said.
The first mosque in the Western Isles has opened
its doors, despite objections from the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).
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 IHEU and others
A group of 21 NGOs has released a joint statement calling on the government of Mauritania to reverse a new law which makes the death sentence mandatory for
'apostasy' and 'blasphemy'-related crimes.
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From the archives: IDAHOBIT 2018
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By Keith Porteous Wood, now NSS president
To mark yesterday's International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, this piece from our archive says the campaign for secularism is
inherently connected to the campaign for LGBT+ rights.
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Quotes of the week
"At a time when hate attacks against Muslims are having a serious impact on many people, let us try to ensure that obfuscation through the use of the term
'Islamophobia' does not take away from the real-world problems facing Muslims."
Fiyaz Mughal, founder
and director of Faith Matters
"If the [sexual] act is not ordered towards creation, then it is not procreative and therefore it is not a legitimate expression of sexuality, as far as we
are concerned."
Father Michael McMahon,
Church Representative with Inverclyde Council, speaking at the annual conference of the Catholic Headteachers' Association of Scotland
See our quotes of the week archive...
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NSS speaks out
Our CEO Stephen Evans's article on the government's faith school admissions U-turn was published in the Huffington
Post. Stephen also went on the radio station BBC Surrey to discuss our recent criticism of Surrey Police for engaging in evangelism.
Our findings on an Islamic school which discouraged the use of tampons, which featured in our recent Unsafe Sex Education report, were reported in
The Sun. Our education and schools officer Alastair Lichten was quoted.
Ekklesia reported on our letter, from Stephen Evans and the
chair of our Secular Legal Forum Sadikur Rahman, requesting an investigation of the Christian Legal Centre's conduct during the Alfie Evans case.
Devon Live
reported estimates we had used on the Church of England's assets in a piece arguing that the church should either look after the green around Exeter Cathedral or
give it to the local council.
Our research on the Family Research Council, whose president Tony Perkins has been appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, was cited
in Media Matters for America.
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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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