Author: Stephen Evans
Promote religious freedom in schools: abolish the worship requirement
Posted: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 by Stephen Evans
A private member's bill to replace compulsory worship with inclusive assemblies should prompt the government to reform the archaic collective worship law, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
Don’t let controlling ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups undermine sex education
Posted: Fri, 03 Jan 2020 by Stephen Evans
Sex education empowers young people. The government must stand up to those making faux religious freedom arguments in an attempt to stop them receiving it, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Medical regulators shouldn’t let doctors push religion on patients
Posted: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 by Stephen Evans
The General Medical Council has decided not to pursue a case against a GP who was accused of pushing religion on a vulnerable patient. Stephen Evans warns against allowing this exploitative behaviour. Read More »
Why the blind spot when it comes to faith schools?
Posted: Fri, 22 Nov 2019 by Stephen Evans
Politicians need to end their fetishisation of faith schools and face the fact that a religiously divided education system is unfit for the future, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Election 2019: pledges that should be in the parties’ manifestos
Posted: Tue, 05 Nov 2019 by Stephen Evans
As the UK's political parties consider their manifestos for the upcoming election, Stephen Evans outlines a series of secularist pledges they should include to advance freedom, fairness and equal citizenship. Read More »
The Catholic Church’s snub to the child abuse inquiry speaks volumes
Posted: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 by Stephen Evans
The Holy See's refusal to fully assist the UK's sexual abuse inquiry reveals unchangeable deficiencies within the church and highlights the need for a new mandatory reporting law, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
Time to stop pretending we have a ‘national church’
Posted: Fri, 18 Oct 2019 by Stephen Evans
As affiliation to Anglicanism continues its rapid decline the Church of England's privileges are increasingly unsustainable, says Stephen Evans. Let's disestablish the church and embrace a secular state. Read More »
Islam, like any other religion, must be fair game for criticism
Posted: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 by Stephen Evans
The disqualification of a GCSE student who criticised halal meat is a reminder of the need to resist censorious offence-taking on Islam and the normalisation of the idea of 'Islamophobia', says Stephen Evans. Read More »
The ‘minister for faith’ shouldn’t be replaced
Posted: Tue, 30 Jul 2019 by Stephen Evans
After the minister for faith's resignation, Stephen Evans says this unnecessary role enables the government to promote a positive view of religion and should be abandoned. Read More »
Prayers aren't appropriate in the public realm
Posted: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 by Stephen Evans
As Brighton's new mayor comes under fire for abolishing prayers at council meetings, Stephen Evans argues that Britain's growing indifference to religion should prompt a rethink of religion's public role. Read More »
Sexual freedom and secularism have always gone hand in hand
Posted: Fri, 07 Jun 2019 by Stephen Evans
Stephen Evans says religious concerns weren't a good reason to restrict understanding of birth control in Victorian England and they aren't a good reason to undermine relationships and sex education today. Read More »
Praying on the vulnerable
Posted: Fri, 24 May 2019 by Stephen Evans
A ruling that a nurse was not wrongly dismissed for repeatedly evangelising was unsurprising, says Stephen Evans. Healthcare professionals must be prepared to set aside their personal beliefs at work to protect patients. Read More »
Britain needs to stand up for everyone’s religious freedom
Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 by Stephen Evans
The appalling attacks in Sri Lanka again highlight the growing global persecution of Christians. But there should be no hierarchy of importance when it comes to protecting people from persecution, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Religion and public benefit – why it’s time to rethink charity law
Posted: Fri, 22 Mar 2019 by Stephen Evans
An NSS report says 'the advancement of religion' should be removed as a charitable purpose. Stephen Evans says the law should align with public opinion and only support charities that deliver a genuine public benefit. Read More »
Religious dogma still clouds assisted dying debate
Posted: Thu, 07 Feb 2019 by Stephen Evans
As the Royal College of Physicians consults its members over assisted dying, Stephen Evans says we should be aware of often well-disguised theological objections to reform. Read More »
Institutionalised prayer doesn't belong in parliament
Posted: Wed, 16 Jan 2019 by Stephen Evans
As MPs launch a motion against parliamentary prayers, NSS CEO Stephen Evans says ending the anachronistic custom would strike a blow for modernity, equality and freedom of conscience. Read More »
Students should be free to excuse themselves from worship
Posted: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 by Stephen Evans
After two students pushed the Welsh government for a response to a petition to remove schools' obligation to hold acts of worship, Stephen Evans says pupils should be free to opt out of religious practices in schools. Read More »
European ruling that ‘religious feelings’ trump free speech is a dangerous development
Posted: Fri, 26 Oct 2018 by Stephen Evans
Just as Irish citizens strike a blow for the right to freedom of expression, the European Court has fundamentally undermined it, argues Stephen Evans.
Irish voters decided this week to remove the 'crime' of blasphemy from its constitution. The majority of citizens,... Read More »
The questionable ethics of evangelical debt advice
Posted: Fri, 05 Oct 2018 by Stephen Evans
The good deeds of faith-based organisations shouldn't lead us to turn a blind eye to their more ethically dubious practices, argues Stephen Evans.
Personal debt in the UK has reached epic proportions. Millions of households are living beyond their means with... Read More »
China's religious persecution is a secularist issue
Posted: Fri, 21 Sep 2018 by Stephen Evans
China may be the most godless country in the world, but it is far from being a secular one. Stephen Evans says the intensifying religious persecution in the repressive state must be condemned.
China is by far the most godless country in the world. According... Read More »
Do burka bans do more harm than good?
Posted: Thu, 02 Aug 2018 by Stephen Evans
As Denmark's ban on face coverings in public comes into force, Stephen Evans says standing up for fundamental rights and freedoms is the best way to push back against the oppression the burka represents.
Denmark became the latest country to "ban the burka"... Read More »
Sectarian schooling is nothing to celebrate
Posted: Fri, 13 Jul 2018 by Stephen Evans
Integrating schools isn't a magic bullet to end sectarianism, but no serious attempt to address the issue can ignore the role of religiously segregated schools, argues Stephen Evans.
Last week, as Catholic worshippers were leaving Saturday evening Mass in Glasgow... Read More »
Ten years on from the abolition of blasphemy, free speech still needs defending
Posted: Wed, 11 Jul 2018 by Stephen Evans
Marking ten years since the criminal offence of blasphemy was abolished in England and Wales, Stephen Evans argues that the freedom to speak critically about beliefs others hold sacred is far from assured.
This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the abolition... Read More »
Bishop Rachel’s prejudiced thinking highlights the problem of state-sponsored religion
Posted: Wed, 13 Jun 2018 by Stephen Evans
The bishop of Gloucester is entitled to question whether atheists can truly have deep love or hope, writes Stephen Evans. But the state shouldn't indulge the view that the religious are morally superior to others.
The bishop of Gloucester drew criticism this... Read More »
The government's U-turn shows the tide is turning against faith schools
Posted: Fri, 18 May 2018 by Stephen Evans
The decision not to allow more faith-based admissions to new free schools in England is a big win, says Stephen Evans. But the expansion of faith schools is the wrong response to Britain's growing religious diversity.
The government's U-turn on its manifesto... Read More »
