NSS Opinion
The legacy of decades of abuse in a Catholic children's home
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 by Mark Boules
Hundreds of children died at Smyllum Park, a home in Lanarkshire run by the Catholic Church between 1864 and 1981. As an order of nuns considers selling the land, calls for a memorial are mounting. Mark Boules reflects on what is left after decades of abuse... Read More »
Lessons from the frontline of Islamic fundamentalism
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 by Megan Manson
Megan Manson explores autobiographies by two Muslim secularists whose lives have been directly intertwined with Islamist extremism, and asks if the secular pluralism extremists most fear could be our best hope.
"Extremists have shown what frightens them the... Read More »
Britain should embrace secularism as it loses its religion
Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2017 by Chris Sloggett
As new data suggests non-belief is at a record high, Chris Sloggett says secularists should be more assertive in making the case for freedom of and from religion. This article was originally published by the International Business Times; reprinted here with... Read More »
Cardinal Murphy O'Connor's cover-up of child abusers must be a lesson to the Catholic Church
Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the former Archbishop of Westminster, died on 1 September. NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood seeks to set the historical record straight with this alternative obituary. This piece was originally published on Conatus News. It... Read More »
Beware the drip drip of religious exemptions
Posted: Sat, 02 Sep 2017 by Stephen Evans
As a theme park lifts its ban on Sikh ceremonial swords, NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans questions the wisdom behind religious exemptions from generally applicable rules.
The latest submission to religious demands came this week when a popular theme park... Read More »
Ireland’s hospitals: some welcome secularisation
Posted: Fri, 01 Sep 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood detects a long-overdue and decisive turn towards secularism in publicly funded healthcare in Ireland, an area in which the Catholic Church has until now been predominant.
The Catholic Church in Ireland has, until recently,... Read More »
The confessional shouldn’t shield child abuse from reporting
Posted: Wed, 16 Aug 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
The Australian abuse commission is right not to exempt the confessional from reporting obligations, and its rigour should provide a model to reverse the backsliding already all too clear in the UK, argues Keith Porteous Wood.
Should priests be legally bound... Read More »
Newcastle: what's faith got to do with it?
Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 by Yasmin Rehman
A group of mainly Muslim men has been convicted for sexual abuse in another British city. Amid a predictable response, Yasmin Rehman says child protection does not require the involvement of faith groups or 'community leaders'.
Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford,... Read More »
Food for thought! Imposing worship in Australian schools
Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 by A Parent
Blinkers go on when the topic is religion. So one parent in a Queensland school thought she would use food to explain the impact of the school's version of 'inclusiveness', which involves telling them her child can go somewhere else while the prayer is being... Read More »
Sam Brownback: Trump’s new man is no fan of religious freedom
Posted: Wed, 09 Aug 2017 by Chris Sloggett
The record of President Trump's new nominee exposes the hypocrisy of the US religious right. Chris Sloggett argues that its opponents must challenge the ingrained assumption that faith is a good thing.
"Religious freedom is the first freedom. The choice of... Read More »
The BBC is overdoing religion
Posted: Mon, 31 Jul 2017 by Terry Sanderson
New figures show that the BBC is devoting hundreds of hours of programming to religion each year. NSS president Terry Sanderson argues that more of its scarce resources should be spent elsewhere.
In its recently published annual report, the BBC reveals the... Read More »
Church of England’s links with insurer undermines justice for survivors of clergy abuse
Posted: Wed, 26 Jul 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
Anglican abuse victims believe the Church's close links with its insurer results in lower settlements to victims. NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood thinks they've got a point, and offers solutions to put things right.
An insurance company connected... Read More »
Intolerant religion mustn’t dictate England’s education policy
Posted: Wed, 26 Jul 2017 by Stephen Evans
The government is under fire over proposals to lift the cap on faith-based admissions in faith schools. Stephen Evans says the plans should be abandoned - and religious groups' role in education rolled back.
Following criticism of the government's divisive... Read More »
Never mind joining SACREs, we should be abolishing them
Posted: Fri, 21 Jul 2017 by Keith Sharpe
A parent's legal challenge to the exclusion of a humanist representative from the local body responsible for overseeing religious education highlights the need for urgent reform of this contested area of the curriculum, argues Keith Sharpe.
A humanist parent... Read More »
The PM must be held to account for her faith school obsession
Posted: Thu, 20 Jul 2017 by Chris Sloggett
Theresa May's plans to expand faith schools in Britain are ill-judged. In response, Chris Sloggett argues, it is up to secularists to make a principled case: state education must be grounded in reason and free intellectual enquiry.
Books in the library promoting... Read More »
Separate is not equal – not in this ‘faith’ school
Posted: Tue, 11 Jul 2017 by Stephen Evans
Turning a blind eye to discriminatory gender discrimination in Islamic schools would be disaster for future generations of British girls growing up in Muslim communities, argues Stephen Evans.
I was in court this week for Ofsted's appeal of a ruling that gender... Read More »
The greater the religious fervency, the greater the homophobia
Posted: Fri, 07 Jul 2017 by Keith Porteous Wood
On Pride weekend, NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood highlights the interconnectedness between the fight for secularism and equality for LGBTQ people.
Homosexuality, or at least homosexual activity, especially by men, has been a long-standing subject... Read More »
The Church can’t be allowed to carry on marking its own homework
Posted: Sun, 25 Jun 2017 by Richard Scorer
The Church concealed evidence of criminality and colluded to protect an abusive bishop. Only external oversight will guarantee that church safeguarding practices comply with secular standards, argues Richard Scorer.
With the publication of the Gibb report the... Read More »
Anti-Muslim hate must be challenged. Silencing criticism of Islam won’t help
Posted: Fri, 23 Jun 2017 by Stephen Evans
Both the Government and civil-society have a role to play in challenging anti-Muslim hate, but efforts to silence criticisms of Islam will only be counterproductive, argues Stephen Evans.
In the wake of yet more manifestations of violent Islamism and anti-Muslim... Read More »
Abortion ruling is a missed opportunity to recognise the disparity in women’s reproductive health rights across the UK
Posted: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 by Dr Antony Lempert
Ensuring that NHS abortion services are made available, free of charge, to UK citizens travelling from Northern Ireland would be a way of mitigating the harm caused by a disparity in women's reproductive health rights across the UK, argues Dr Antony Lempert.... Read More »
Was Tim Farron a secularist?
Posted: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 by Terry Sanderson
Tim Farron was a classic secularist, but found himself unable to reconcile his personal faith and his party's socially liberal positions and made his own choice, argues Terry Sanderson.
So, does the former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron now join the ranks of the... Read More »
Scottish care provider’s decision to drop faith test should prompt a rethink over equality exceptions
Posted: Tue, 13 Jun 2017 by Stephen Evans
When religious organisations are delivering state-funded public services they should neither discriminate nor proselytize – argues Stephen Evans, looking at the case of CrossReach and its implications.
The decision of The Church of Scotland this week... Read More »
“Glastonbury of Freethinkers”: conference on freedom of conscience and expression
Posted: Mon, 12 Jun 2017 by Maryam Namazie
Saturday 22 – Monday 24 July will see activists from around the world gather for a weekend of discussions and debates on freedom of conscience and expression in the 21st century. Maryam Namazie tells us why it is such an important event.
Atheists and... Read More »
What happens next? Some thoughts on the election and the challenges to come
Posted: Fri, 09 Jun 2017 by National Secular Society
The dust is beginning to settle. Whether you're delighted, dismayed or just surprised by last night's results there are challenges and opportunities to come.
Whatever your party political views, there are principles that we can all support: the triumph of secular... Read More »
We need to defend both our lives and our way of life
Posted: Thu, 08 Jun 2017 by Stephen Evans
Terrorist atrocities have a way of bringing the nation together, albeit temporarily. We need a glue to keep us together, to protect our lives and our way of life, writes Stephen Evans.
There's a lot to be said for Britain's calm, defiant response to the threat... Read More »
