NSS Opinion
Faith School Admissions: Four Myths Busted
Posted: Mon, 22 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
Megan Manson takes on common myths about the 50% cap on children admitted on religious grounds to faith schools.
It's unpleasant enough that any institution would turn away a child on the basis of their parents' beliefs. When it's a state-funded school, it's... Read More »
Book review: 'Persepolis'
Posted: Tue, 16 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
In light of the recent protests in Iran, and the rise of Islamist extremism throughout the world, Megan Manson looks back at the graphic novel Persepolis, published nearly 20 years ago.
If there were ever a perfect time to read Persepolis, it would be now.... Read More »
Will Anglicanism reign supreme at the next coronation?
Posted: Fri, 12 Jan 2018 by Stephen Evans
As the BBC focuses on the Queen's coronation, Stephen Evans says the next initiation of the UK's head of state will be a major test of the monarchy's ability to evolve and reflect the nation it serves.
On Sunday the BBC will broadcast an hour-long film on the... Read More »
The David and Goliath battle in our schools: parents versus religion
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
As NSS research highlights a systemic bias against secular schooling, Megan Manson explores the tactics used by religion to infiltrate education – and how parents are fighting back.
In November, the National Secular Society got a call from a parent whose... Read More »
How to win (cathedral) friends and influence people
Posted: Wed, 10 Jan 2018 by Ed Moore
The Government is hailing the work done under a fund for the restoration of cathedrals. But NSS treasurer Ed Moore asks if it is really a taxpayer-funded opportunity for Church of England archbishops to grab power.
As Chancellor Osborne's 2014 First World War... Read More »
Fundamentalists feel the Force of Star Wars
Posted: Tue, 09 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
Sabbatarians in Lewis claim a right to impose their beliefs on others, including by banning screenings of Star Wars on Sundays. Megan Manson asks if they would make these demands if Jediism was a recognised religion.
Obi-Wan has taught them well. When An Lanntair... Read More »
Let’s point out that the ‘Je ne suis pas Charlie’ brigade are helping the terrorists win
Posted: Sun, 07 Jan 2018 by Chris Sloggett
Three years after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Chris Sloggett says it is a moral duty to push back against those who invent outrages to impugn the magazine's reputation.
Terrorism will never prevail. Terrorists will never change who we are. Terrorists will never... Read More »
The Minister for Faith went on a tour of Anglican cathedrals and all we got was a lousy report
Posted: Thu, 04 Jan 2018 by Stephen Evans
Stephen Evans questions the point of a Minister for Faith and says his recent tour of all 42 of England's Anglican cathedrals was a waste of ministerial time and taxpayers' money.
I've often wondered what the point of a Minister for Faith is. What do they actually... Read More »
Case study: Difficulty exercising the right to withdraw from collective worship
Posted: Wed, 03 Jan 2018 by A Pupil
Thanks to campaigning by the NSS, sixth-formers have the right to withdraw themselves from collective worship. But faith schools often make this nigh-on-impossible, as this pupil's story from one academy shows.
My sixth form holds three assemblies a week based... Read More »
Yes, secularism is good for gender equality
Posted: Wed, 03 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
Western academics who claim that secularism undermines women's rights are not merely wrong; their assertions are a slap in the face of women fighting for their rights under religious tyranny, says Megan Manson.
Of all the images that have emerged from mass... Read More »
It's time to disestablish the Church of England
Posted: Tue, 02 Jan 2018 by Prof. Steven Kettell
As the National Secular Society prepares to send a major report on the subject to MPs, Prof. Steven Kettell says the establishment of the Church of England is incongruous with the beliefs and attitudes of the people it affects.
In the past few decades the landscape... Read More »
Secularism is a challenge to religion’s political power and privilege, not people of faith
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 by Stephen Evans
Some Christians use the Christmas period to attack secularism for its challenge to their sense of entitlement. But Stephen Evans says the faithful have far more to fear from religious fanatics than secularists.
Buying a copy of the Christmas edition of the... Read More »
Only reform of the law can tackle the Church's temptation to cover up abuse
Posted: Fri, 15 Dec 2017 by Richard Scorer
Richard Scorer reflects on three weeks of damning evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. He says mandatory reporting of institutional abuse is necessary to prevent churches from covering it up to protect their reputation.
For the past... Read More »
The Christian ‘legal army’ in hundreds of court battles worldwide
Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 by Claire Provost & Ella Milburn
Women's rights advocates say the US legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom is "exporting extreme ideologies worldwide" against sexual and reproductive rights. Claire Provost and Ella Milburn investigate.
The international wing of a controversial US... Read More »
Pakistan’s capitulation to extremists sets a dangerous precedent
Posted: Thu, 07 Dec 2017 by Basit Mahmood
Pakistan's government, military and opposition parties have given in to the demands of a fundamentalist mob. Basit Mahmood says this is a blow to those who wish to remain true to the secular vision of Pakistan's founder.
"You are free; you are free to go to... Read More »
Only secularism can defeat the emboldened Hindu right
Posted: Fri, 01 Dec 2017 by Chris Sloggett
Violent threats look set to censor a film which was due for UK release today. It's the latest sign of rising Hindu fundamentalism. In response, Chris Sloggett says, we must make sure no religion gets special treatment.
The makers of the Bollywood historical... Read More »
Home schooling debate must prompt wider discussion of children’s rights
Posted: Thu, 30 Nov 2017 by Alastair Lichten
As supporters of a new Bill aim to see home schooling in England registered for the first time, education and schools campaigner Alastair Lichten says children's independent rights must receive greater focus.
NSS honorary associate Lord Soley aims to register... Read More »
A lesson in silencing dissent: the controversy of hijab in schools
Posted: Tue, 28 Nov 2017 by Yasmin Rehman
Yasmin Rehman was among campaigners who recently met Ofsted's chief inspector to discuss veiling in schools. Now, she writes, some powerful Muslims are making sinister efforts to silence her and her fellow activists.
As I prepared to mark the International... Read More »
Big ideas for religious education?
Posted: Thu, 23 Nov 2017 by Alastair Lichten
The latest report into the problems with religious education reiterates the need to start with a fundamental examination of the subject's purpose. But, Alastair Lichten wonders, do the proposals go far enough?
The Commission on RE is currently consulting on... Read More »
Our business was harassed by Christian fundamentalists – now it’s the best known in Lewis
Posted: Wed, 22 Nov 2017 by Martin Flett
The National Secular Society recently reported the case of Leona Rawlinson, the owner of TweedTastic in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Leona was being harassed by sabbatarians over her decision to open her shop on Sundays. The story was picked up by several... Read More »
State recognition of Islamic nikah marriages is no way to empower Muslim women
Posted: Wed, 22 Nov 2017 by Sadikur Rahman
Most women in the UK who have Islamic weddings are missing out on their legal rights. The solution to this problem must not lie in the automatic registration of Islamic marriages, argues Sadikur Rahman.
Channel 4's documentary The Truth about Muslim Marriage... Read More »
Who controls religious education?
Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2017 by Stephen Evans
Necessary reforms of religious education are being frustrated by religion's lingering influence. It's time to liberate RE from the vested interests, argues Stephen Evans.
Religious education in England faces "a perilous future" unless it is subject to "strategic,... Read More »
De facto blasphemy laws are alive and well
Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2017 by Chris Sloggett
It is now 38 years since Monty Python's Life of Brian was released in November 1979, despite protests. But Chris Sloggett says we aren't truly free to engage in blasphemy today.
It is now 38 years since Monty Python's Life of Brian was released in November... Read More »
The folly of the civil service’s ‘faith and belief champion’
Posted: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 by Chris Sloggett
A new civil service appointment may be intended to promote 'inclusion'. But insistently bringing religion into the workplace will only serve to promote it and encourage an assertive form of selfishness at public expense, says Chris Sloggett.
If a decision is... Read More »
Interfaith must embrace secularism
Posted: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 by Megan Manson
Interfaith Week is underway. Megan Manson says interfaith dialogue must embrace secularist principles to remain relevant, effective and inclusive.
Interfaith, the constructive dialogue between people of different faiths in order to promote mutual understanding,... Read More »
