Opinion

Thanks, but no thanks: the US can keep its culture war

Thanks, but no thanks: the US can keep its culture war

American efforts to export regressive religious views under the guise of the 'culture war' are to be resisted, argues... Read More »

Hold the Church to account for abuse – separate it from the state

Hold the Church to account for abuse – separate it from the state

The Church of England's increasingly dire record on safeguarding should have consequences for its established status,... Read More »

House of Lords makes politicians out of prelates

House of Lords makes politicians out of prelates

Religious leaders should be free to speak out on matters that concern them, but they should do so on the basis of... Read More »

The coronation isn’t for us. It’s for the Church.

The coronation isn’t for us. It’s for the Church.

As King Charles' coronation approaches, Megan Manson says we must stop letting the Church using our affairs of state to promote itself. Read More »

A coronation fit for a king, not a modern democracy

A coronation fit for a king, not a modern democracy

An exclusively Anglican religious ritual is no way to inaugurate a head of state in diverse Britain, argues Stephen... Read More »

Hospital chaplains: unfair, unevidenced, unnecessary?

Hospital chaplains: unfair, unevidenced, unnecessary?

NSS research shows the NHS significantly cut real-terms chaplaincy spending between 2009 and 2021. This is a step... Read More »

Why are safeguarding experts fleeing the Catholic Church?

Why are safeguarding experts fleeing the Catholic Church?

Experts appointed to tackle abuse in the Catholic Church are quitting their roles. Keith Porteous Wood says this demonstrates... Read More »

Homophobic churches and liberal states make for unhappy bedfellows

Homophobic churches and liberal states make for unhappy bedfellows

Parliament should begin the process of disestablishment rather than try to fix the Church of England, argues Stephen... Read More »

Parliament’s rift with the Church shows the need to separate religion and state

Parliament’s rift with the Church shows the need to separate religion and state

MPs dismayed over the Church of England's position on homosexuality are pushing for legislation to permit the Church... Read More »

The state must stop faith schools behaving like cults

The state must stop faith schools behaving like cults

New research by the NSS has found some state funded faith schools' admissions policies are so extreme they appear... Read More »

We need to normalise blasphemy

We need to normalise blasphemy

Stephen Evans argues that the huge overreaction to a Quran being scuffed in Kettlethorpe is symptomatic of the adoption... Read More »

Why not judge politicians by their views?

Why not judge politicians by their views?

Kate Forbes' religious beliefs have come under scrutiny as she bids to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, prompting suggestions... Read More »

A homophobic church shouldn’t be an arm of the state

A homophobic church shouldn’t be an arm of the state

Anglican bishops' stance on same-sex marriage shows Church and state have drifted apart. Formal separation should... Read More »

Happy Christmas, secular Britain

Happy Christmas, secular Britain

2022 was the year which made the case for secularism stronger than ever – not only in the UK but across the... Read More »

It’s not just the Census. Everywhere you look, the CofE is withering.

It’s not just the Census. Everywhere you look, the CofE is withering.

By every measure membership figures for Church of England are in freefall – and the church's increasingly outdated... Read More »

Secularism has never been so relevant and necessary – unlike the established church

Secularism has never been so relevant and necessary – unlike the established church

The Census 2021 results reveal that for the first time, most people in England and Wales aren't Christian. Megan Manson... Read More »

Time for an Islamophobia self-awareness month

Time for an Islamophobia self-awareness month

Recent incidents reveal pushing the term 'Islamophobia' is less to do with challenging genuine anti-Muslim bigotry,... Read More »

When it comes to religion, the BBC is showing its age

When it comes to religion, the BBC is showing its age

Radio 4's discriminatory 'Thought for the Day' slot is totemic of religious privilege at the BBC and should be the... Read More »

Show FIFA’s moral relativism the red card

Show FIFA’s moral relativism the red card

Human rights defenders are perfectly entitled to ignore FIFA's plea to 'focus on the football' and use the World Cup... Read More »

Salman Rushdie and the women’s revolution in Iran are linked

Salman Rushdie and the women’s revolution in Iran are linked

There is a direct link between the threats and violence faced by Salman Rushdie and that faced by generations of women... Read More »

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IICSA and clerical abuse: the devil in the detail

Richard Scorer unpacks the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and finds that while... Read More »

Our health system is failing to protect children from ritual circumcision

Our health system is failing to protect children from ritual circumcision

While UK medical bodies tie themselves in knots on ritual male infant circumcision, untold numbers of boys are being... Read More »

Union Jack

Time for an anthem we can all sing with sincerity

The religious and monarchical God Save the King should make way for something that the whole country can sing along... Read More »

Child evangelism isn’t charitable

Child evangelism isn’t charitable

Religious organisations with a focus on evangelising and converting children are exploitative and potentially harmful.... Read More »

Tackling child abuse in religious settings: What must happen next

Tackling child abuse in religious settings: What must happen next

As the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse draws to an end, Richard Scorer explains what the government needs... Read More »

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