NSS Opinion
The Church shouldn’t have a privileged platform in political debate
Posted: Wed, 20 Apr 2022 by Stephen Evans
Following the furore over the archbishop of Canterbury's latest political intervention, Stephen Evans argues Justin Welby should be free to speak, but his words shouldn't carry the constitutional weight they do. Read More »
Time to follow Northern Ireland in ending religious discrimination against teachers
Posted: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 by Ella Sen
After ending a blanket exemption from equality laws, Northern Ireland will outlaw religious discrimination against teachers. Ella Sen examines the situation across other UK nations and urges them to follow suit. Read More »
CofE plans to increase influence in post-16 education smack of hubris
Posted: Thu, 07 Apr 2022 by Alastair Lichten
The Church of England's emerging plans to expand their role in sixth form and further education colleges, accompanied by empire building and evangelism, may undermine the secularity and inclusivity of this sector, argues Alastair Lichten. Read More »
A government blueprint for more religious control of schools?
Posted: Wed, 30 Mar 2022 by Alastair Lichten
The government's new proposals for education reform in England could see increased discrimination, and most non-faith schools placed in faith-based academy trusts. Alastair Lichten explores the threat to secular education posed by the 'Opportunity for all' white paper. Read More »
An inclusive Britain starts with inclusive schools
Posted: Wed, 23 Mar 2022 by Stephen Evans
Keeping religion and state education separate is the best way of ensuring schools promote free inquiry, equality and inclusivity, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Religious education isn’t the right vehicle for civics
Posted: Wed, 23 Feb 2022 by Stephen Evans
The government thinks religious education is important for developing children's critical thinking, values, and understanding of different traditions. There are much better ways to achieve this than through the outdated subject of RE, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Recent studies agree: the risks of circumcision outweigh any benefits. It’s time to rethink our permissive approach to genital cutting.
Posted: Mon, 31 Jan 2022 by Dr Antony Lempert
Dr Antony Lempert says the findings of two recent medical papers critical of infant circumcision should prompt us to greater protect children from religious and cultural genital cutting. Read More »
Appointments of future archbishops shouldn’t be the state’s business
Posted: Thu, 27 Jan 2022 by Stephen Evans
Church of England plans to give Anglican church leaders from around the world greater power in choosing future archbishops of Canterbury are a reminder of the need to separate church and state, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Playing whack-a-mole with religious charities isn’t working. Time to reform charity law.
Posted: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 by Megan Manson
Regulating charities effectively will not be possible until religious privilege is removed from charity law, says Megan Manson. Read More »
Religious selection is only part of the problem with faith schools
Posted: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 by Alastair Lichten
Ending religious discrimination in faith school admissions is an important first step – but it will not undo all the harms caused by faith schools, says Alastair Lichten. Read More »
Remove religious gatekeepers from school admissions
Posted: Tue, 04 Jan 2022 by Alastair Lichten
Faith-based selection forces families' religiosity to be assessed, compels conformity, and undermines everyone's freedom of belief, says Alastair Lichten. Read More »
A message from the chief executive
Posted: Wed, 22 Dec 2021 by Stephen Evans
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans reflects on how secularism fared in 2021 and the NSS's activities over the year. Read More »
Christian lobby groups’ doublespeak is a distortion of human rights
Posted: Fri, 17 Dec 2021 by Stephen Evans
Evangelical activists' insistence that equality amounts to discrimination is a narcissistic approach to human rights, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
‘Islamophobia’ distracts from tackling anti-Muslim bigotry
Posted: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 by Nova Daban
We need to tackle anti-Muslim hate, but the politicised and problematic term of Islamophobia should be ditched, argues Nova Daban. Read More »
Don’t sacrifice the principle of universal human rights to religious leaders
Posted: Mon, 22 Nov 2021 by Megan Manson
A recent report on state-sanctioned killings of 'blasphemers' and 'apostates' suggests re-interpreting Islam as a solution rather than promoting universal human rights. Megan Manson argues this is the wrong approach. Read More »
‘Inclusive language’ in the army is meaningless without inclusive culture
Posted: Mon, 08 Nov 2021 by Megan Manson
The Armed Forces must dismantle their institutional Christian privilege if they are truly committed to inclusivity, says Megan Manson. Read More »
A vision for inclusive assemblies for all
Posted: Fri, 05 Nov 2021 by Susan Garratt
Paul Stanley's work shows how much more inclusive and engaging school assemblies could be without the anachronistic legal requirement for religious worship, argues Sue Garratt. Read More »
Islamist extremism won’t be addressed by ignoring it
Posted: Thu, 21 Oct 2021 by Stephen Evans
The national conversation following the brutal killing of David Amess suggests an unwillingness to tackle the Islamic extremism behind it, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Why is the Catholic church allowed to hinder secondary school choice?
Posted: Thu, 21 Oct 2021 by Alastair Lichten
A case in Leicestershire shows the mess faith groups make of admissions and why secular accountability is necessary, argues Alastair Lichten. Read More »
Religion shouldn’t frustrate assisted dying reform
Posted: Thu, 14 Oct 2021 by Stephen Evans
Ahead of parliament's first consideration of assisted dying for six years, Stephen Evans calls on secularists to help ensure that religious objections don't stand in the way of necessary reform. Read More »
Only secular law can bring justice to victims of mass clerical abuse in France
Posted: Thu, 07 Oct 2021 by Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood says France's deference to the Catholic Church has obstructed justice for hundreds of thousands of abuse victims. Read More »
Terry Sanderson’s memoir shows gay and secularist activism go hand in hand
Posted: Thu, 07 Oct 2021 by Helen Nicholls
Helen Nicholls reviews The Reluctant Gay Activist, the revised memoir of former NSS president Terry Sanderson. Read More »
Beware the government’s “new normal” of faith-based public services
Posted: Thu, 23 Sep 2021 by Megan Manson
A new government fund exclusively for faith groups threatens to embed religious privilege into public services, warns Megan Manson. Read More »
Schools should be liberated from the compulsion of worship
Posted: Thu, 16 Sep 2021 by Stephen Evans
As a bill to reform collective worship progresses in parliament, Stephen Evans argues that the time has come for lawmakers to recognise that laws mandating worship have no place in modern Britain. Read More »
Major reform is needed to ensure equality and fairness in marriage law
Posted: Mon, 13 Sep 2021 by Russell Sandberg
Marriage law in England and Wales has failed to keep up with changing social realities. Russell Sandberg, the author of a new book on the topic, calls for change to put couples – not religious institutions – in control. Read More »
