NSS Opinion
Ireland's mother and baby homes scandal shows the necessity of separating church and state
Posted: Fri, 05 Feb 2021 by Keith Porteous Wood
The misery which women and children faced for decades highlights the damage that can be done when states leave religious authority unchecked, says NSS president Keith Porteous Wood. Read More »
Religious censorship is about ownership
Posted: Tue, 02 Feb 2021 by Megan Manson
Theocratic demands for censorship in India and Pakistan reflect attempts to grab power which undermine everyone's religious freedom, says Megan Manson. Read More »
Christian nationalism is a key part of Trump’s legacy
Posted: Thu, 21 Jan 2021 by Alastair Lichten
Alastair Lichten argues that understanding Christian nationalism is essential to understanding the presidency of Donald Trump and its consequences for the world. Read More »
Our school – and community – were severely disadvantaged by our C of E status
Posted: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 by John Mapperley
Former headteacher John Mapperley says the school he ran was given a vastly reduced range of options when considering academy status – and he believes the church puts its own interests above those of pupils. Read More »
Religious conversion isn’t a charitable endeavour
Posted: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 by Megan Manson
Some registered charities exist primarily to convert members of one religion to another. Megan Manson says such activity is harmful to community cohesion – and shouldn't be treated as a valid charitable purpose. Read More »
"Being offended is the price we pay for living in a free society": NSS CEO talks to Charlie Hebdo
Posted: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 by Charlie Hebdo
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans was interviewed in a recent edition of Charlie Hebdo which marked six years since the attack on its staff. The interview is reproduced here in English. Read More »
The lockdown exemption for communal worship represents a dangerous double standard
Posted: Tue, 05 Jan 2021 by Stephen Evans
With the country again plunged into a strict lockdown, Stephen Evans questions the rationale behind and wisdom of an exemption for religious worship in England. Read More »
All I want for Christmas is freedom of and from religion
Posted: Fri, 18 Dec 2020 by Stephen Evans
Opponents often erect a straw man of secularism to justify demands for religious privilege. But freedom of religion must come with freedom from religion, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
RE shouldn’t be a vehicle for the Church of England’s interests
Posted: Thu, 17 Dec 2020 by Chris Selway
A new study of a widely-used set of RE resources illustrates the way powerful groups control the subject to accommodate the evangelical mission of the Church of England, says Chris Selway. Read More »
The Catholic Church’s dogma shouldn’t undermine sex education
Posted: Wed, 16 Dec 2020 by Neil Barber
The local council in the Outer Hebrides has endorsed Catholic Church resources on sex and relationships – with some demanding they're used "exclusively". Neil Barber says this is a misguided decision. Read More »
Religion is not a justification for discrimination
Posted: Tue, 08 Dec 2020 by Stephen Evans
A shadow minister was wrong to say religious registrars should be able to opt out of providing same-sex marriages. And her comments are a reminder that we don't need a ministerial office for faith, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
Allowing religious discrimination in school admissions opens the door to other forms of discrimination
Posted: Thu, 03 Dec 2020 by Megan Manson
A state-funded faith school recently rejected a child because her mother isn't Jewish. This shows the absurdity of religious discrimination in admissions, says Megan Manson. Read More »
The state mustn’t allow children to die for their stated religious beliefs
Posted: Thu, 26 Nov 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
As the High Court considers whether to let a girl from a Jehovah's Witness community refuse blood transfusions, Dr Antony Lempert says the precedent of overriding a child's refusal of lifesaving treatment should be upheld. Read More »
The Catholic Church’s control over abortion policy has sparked a furious backlash in Poland
Posted: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 by Aleksandra Myslek
A ruling on abortion in Poland has again highlighted the government's damagingly close relationship with the Catholic Church. But many Poles are now questioning the church's power, says Aleksandra Myslek. Read More »
Why was the Church of England allowed to influence the direction of our local secular schools?
Posted: Mon, 09 Nov 2020 by Chris Leng
The church was given a key role on the board of our local multi-academy trust – even though there were no faith schools in it. Chris Leng questions the assumptions which lay behind this arrangement. Read More »
The onus should be on theocrats, not liberal democracies, to change
Posted: Wed, 04 Nov 2020 by Chris Sloggett
Liberal equivocation on whether to stand up to jihadist murder and Islamist intimidation is morally wrong, misguided and counter-productive, says Chris Sloggett. Read More »
Church and state should be separate
Posted: Tue, 03 Nov 2020 by Stephen Evans
Ahead of the NSS's 2020 Bradlaugh Lecture on the subject, Stephen Evans says the disestablishment of the Church of England is right in principle and could benefit church and state alike. Read More »
Human rights should not be at the mercy of the pope’s pontifications
Posted: Wed, 28 Oct 2020 by Megan Manson
Amid widespread interest in the pope's views on same-sex civil unions, Megan Manson says states shouldn't allow themselves to be used to further the Catholic Church's agendas. Read More »
The BMA’s opportunity to rethink its position on assisted dying
Posted: Fri, 23 Oct 2020 by Dr Antony Lempert
The British Medical Association's opposition to assisted dying is at odds with its members' views. There's now a chance for the BMA and parliamentarians to stand up to religious obstructionism, says Dr Antony Lempert. Read More »
The Church of England’s culture of entitlement has to end
Posted: Tue, 20 Oct 2020 by Richard Scorer
The furore over John Sentamu not being handed a life peerage reveals an ugly culture of entitlement that has not served church or state well, argues Richard Scorer. Read More »
Brutally murdered for doing his job
Posted: Tue, 20 Oct 2020 by National Secular Society
The beheading of Samuel Paty, a teacher in France targeted for showing Charlie Hebdo cartoons to his students, was an appalling attack on critical enquiry. Read More »
Those providing public services – including religious groups – should respect reasonable boundaries
Posted: Thu, 08 Oct 2020 by Stephen Evans
Following a call for a greater role for religion in public services, Stephen Evans argues that any expansion of faith-based provision mustn't see equality and fair treatment relegated to secondary or dispensable matters. Read More »
It’s time to tackle loopholes in equality law which privilege religion
Posted: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 by Lynne Featherstone
On the 10th anniversary of the Equality Act coming into force, Lynne Featherstone says reforms proposed by the NSS on education, caste discrimination and employment would make Britain fairer and more cohesive. Read More »
Religious fundamentalists can’t be trusted with child protection
Posted: Mon, 28 Sep 2020 by Richard Scorer
The extraordinary antics of Jehovah's Witnesses at the public inquiry on child sexual abuse show why independent oversight of religious organisations is needed to protect children from abuse, says Richard Scorer. Read More »
NHS trusts’ cosy relationships with Jehovah’s Witness leaders could have tragic consequences
Posted: Thu, 24 Sep 2020 by Lloyd Evans
Committees of Jehovah's Witnesses who encourage patients to refuse treatments involving blood are seeking influence in hospitals – and many NHS trusts are holding the door open for them, writes Lloyd Evans. Read More »
