NSS Opinion
A faith ethos is no magic solution for improving schools
Posted: Sat, 07 Jan 2017 by Alistair McBay
There are success stories and failures in schools of all types, including faith schools, despite what the churches would have people believe. NSS vice president Alistair McBay debunks the myth that 'faith school' is a byword for success.
2016 was another interesting... Read More »
Norway’s separation of Church and State: a work in progress
Posted: Wed, 04 Jan 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
Norway's supposed separation of Church and State, effective from 1 January 2017, is a very positive step, but it's still a work in progress, writes Keith Porteous Wood.
Both Norway and the United Kingdom have populations that are very secular in outlook, with... Read More »
Sister Sarah Kuteh: up steps the next so called victim of ‘Christian persecution’
Posted: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 by Stephen Evans
It has been another week in which we've seen Christians in the Middle East losing their lives to violence and persecution, but much media attention in the UK has instead focussed around the plight of a nurse, supposedly sacked for "offering to pray with her... Read More »
Sabbatarians have imposed their dogma on islanders for long enough, help them put a stop to it
Posted: Thu, 08 Dec 2016 by Alistair McBay
The National Secular Society is helping campaigners on the Isle of Lewis open a sports centre on a Sunday, currently blocked by a council who won't allow it on the Sabbath. It's hardly the first time Sabbatarians on Lewis have played this game.
The attempt... Read More »
The Casey Review lays bare the failure to integrate Muslim minorities
Posted: Mon, 05 Dec 2016 by Benjamin Jones
Dame Louise Casey offers a damning critique of mass immigration undertaken without serious efforts to integrate new arrivals, but she shies away from properly tackling faith schools, and the problems she identifies may be intractable.
The Casey Review is a... Read More »
Clerics shouldn’t be the gatekeepers to publicly funded schools
Posted: Fri, 25 Nov 2016 by Stephen Evans
A progressive education policy would seek to break down barriers between people of different faiths and beliefs, not erect them, writes NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans.
The schools adjudicator recently ruled against a new policy across all Catholic schools... Read More »
Sharia reviews and the case for non-accommodation and non-regulation
Posted: Fri, 11 Nov 2016 by Sadikur Rahman
Our legal system cannot be permitted to fracture into parallel codes for different religious groups. Sadikur Rahman writes on how to avoid accommodation with sharia while also protecting the rights and interests of Muslim women.
The role of sharia law as practised... Read More »
Protecting women’s rights is the priority, but that isn’t the only legitimate concern about sharia
Posted: Thu, 03 Nov 2016 by Benjamin Jones
Gender inequality isn't the only problem with sharia councils, and non-Muslims have every right to object to the foundation of a parallel legal system in the UK, writes Benjamin Jones.
The discrimination against women inherent in sharia is its most objectionable... Read More »
Saudi women’s rights activist arrested – days after Saudi Arabia returned to Human Rights Council
Posted: Thu, 03 Nov 2016 by David van Rooyen
A leading women's rights activist, Mariam Nassir Al Oteebi, has been arrested in Saudi Arabia and languishes in prison, just days after the country was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council, writes David van Rooyen.
Mariam Nassir Al Oteebi had been playing... Read More »
Why the Ashers Bakery 'gay cake' ruling was reasonable
Posted: Tue, 01 Nov 2016 by Stephen Evans
Despite the hyperbole, the decision in the Ashers Baker case is both reasonable and straightforward, opening the door neither to a denigration of religious freedom or equality laws. Had the case gone the other way it would have undermined both.
Had the Ashers ‘gay cake’ ruling gone the other way it would have seriously undermined equality law
Posted: Fri, 28 Oct 2016 by National Secular Society
Despite the outcry following this week's Ashers 'gay cake' ruling, Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal delivered a clear and logical judgment.
There was an outcry this week when the Christian bakers found to have discriminated against a gay man by refusing... Read More »
Review: The Battle for British Islam, by Sara Khan with Tony McMahon
Posted: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 by Benjamin Jones
There are three million Muslims in the UK. The evidence shows they are becoming more religiously conservative, thousands are thought to have joined Islamic State; vast majorities would criminalise blasphemy and homosexuality. What hope is there?
'The Battle... Read More »
Forced cutting of young boys’ genitals violates the most fundamental medical ethics
Posted: Mon, 24 Oct 2016 by Dr Antony Lempert
Too often those who carry out forced cutting of young boys' genitals escape with gentle admonishment, rather than punishment commensurate with the severity of their actions, writes Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum.
In 2013, Dr Hassan Abdulla,... Read More »
The new UN Secretary General must not allow religion to override human rights
Posted: Fri, 21 Oct 2016 by Keith Porteous Wood
UN Secretary General designate needs to ignore Catholic pressure to row back on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Gay Rights, writes Keith Porteous Wood.
The former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has been officially appointed as the next... Read More »
Advice for parents wanting to give the evangelical Operation Christmas Child shoebox scheme a wide berth
Posted: Wed, 12 Oct 2016 by Alastair Lichten
Alastair Lichten looks at the ethical, educational and efficiency case against the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child shoebox scheme.
It gets earlier every year. Despite the unseasonable sunshine this September we've already started to receive the... Read More »
The demonisation of Louis Smith: This is how a de facto blasphemy law works
Posted: Tue, 11 Oct 2016 by Stephen Evans
The castigation of a British gymnast for 'mocking Islam' is illustrative of a troubling return of blasphemy, argues Stephen Evans.
If you've been following the hounding of British Olympic gymnast Louis Smith this week, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that... Read More »
Channel 4’s Dispatches reveals intimidating tactics of US-inspired anti-abortion campaigners
Posted: Thu, 06 Oct 2016 by Dr Antony Lempert
Dr Antony Lempert of the Secular Medical Forum reacts to Channel 4 Dispatches' programme that showed the shock tactics UK anti-abortion campaigners are importing from America.
This week's Channel 4's Dispatches, presented by Cathy Newman, went undercover among... Read More »
The biter bit: Church of England suffers from Chancel Repair Liability
Posted: Wed, 05 Oct 2016 by Ed Moore
The legal requirement to repair church chancels has surprisingly started to impact the Church Commissioners. Here's what they did about it.
The National Secular Society has long campaigned to remove Chancel Repair Liability (CRL), which dates back to the time... Read More »
Inclusive education: divisive faith schools are the elephant in the room
Posted: Fri, 30 Sep 2016 by Stephen Evans
NSS campaigns director on why progressives of all political and religious stripes should unite in opposing Theresa May's plan to open a new wave of divisive 'faith schools'
As an advocate for secular education, my hopes were raised momentarily this week when... Read More »
Church of England or Chancellor of the Exchequer: who’s setting the agenda?
Posted: Mon, 19 Sep 2016 by Ed Moore
NSS treasurer Ed Moore writes on the blurred lines between church and state when it comes to taxpayer funding for church repairs, and the vast sums of money being sent from the Treasury to the Church of England.
It can be hard, viewed from afar, to try and... Read More »
Facilitating more religious segregation in faith schools can only harm social cohesion
Posted: Mon, 12 Sep 2016 by Stephen Evans
In a move devoid of any common sense, Theresa May's government looks set to capitulate to the demands of religious groups by relaxing admissions rules for faith-based academies, allowing them to select all pupils along religious lines.
It's hard to think of... Read More »
Living better together: French secularism risks being destroyed by political ambition
Posted: Thu, 25 Aug 2016 by Terry Sanderson
Despite occasional conflicts, France's tradition of secularism has served both social cohesion and religious freedom well. Terry Sanderson argues that misusing secularism for political aims risks undermining both.
The French ban on so-called burkinis –... Read More »
Religious privilege undermines abuse victims’ access to justice
Posted: Mon, 22 Aug 2016 by Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer, a specialist child abuse lawyer at Slater & Gordon draws attention to organisations seeking more lenient treatment over child abuse-connected matters because they are religious and makes the case for no concessions being given.
Which is... Read More »
Conflating abuse with criticism of Islam risks a return to a UK blasphemy law
Posted: Thu, 18 Aug 2016 by Benjamin Jones
The BBC and Demos have published an accidental case-study in why we should all stop using the meaningless and sinister word 'Islamophobia'.
The BBC has made much of a report from Demos warning that thousands of 'Islamophobic' tweets are sent in English every... Read More »
Governor’s perspective: beware an increasingly assertive religious ethos in ‘Church schools’
Posted: Tue, 16 Aug 2016 by A Governor
The NSS is regularly contacted by governors and staff at Church of England schools who are pressured by their diocese to promote a more rigorous 'Christian ethos' - whether or not it's suitable for their school community. Here's one governor's account of increasing... Read More »
