Podcasts
Ep 33: Kaja Bryx, Catholic nationalism in Poland
Posted: Thu, 3rd Sep 2020
In this episode Emma Park speaks to Kaja Bryx, president of the Polish Rationalist Association, about the influence of the Catholic Church and the religious right in Poland.
Last year, the traditionalist Law and Justice party (PiS) was elected to its second term as the leading party in the right-wing coalition government. In July 2020, Andrzej Duda, a former member of PiS, was elected to his second term as president.
Kaja and Emma discuss the impact that party and president have had upon legislation, education and public life in Poland.
They consider the privileges already granted to the Catholic Church in its post-Communist agreement with Poland, and whether these are likely to be reinforced under the current administration. They look at the perilous state of LGBT-inclusive education in schools, the current restrictions on women's reproductive rights, and the different views held about them in Poland. They also discuss what the Polish Rationalist Association has been doing to counter the influence of Catholic organisations.
Emma also joined by Aleksandra Myslek, an NSS council member, to discuss the NSS's latest submissions to the UN on Poland and the impact of the Catholic Church on children's education. Aleks, who is a professional pianist, has also kindly provided the music for this episode.
Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Notes
- Modern Day Crusaders in Europe: Report by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights
- Family, faith, flag: The religious right and the battle for Poland's soul – The Guardian
- Polish Rationalist Association
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Ep 32: Nick Duffy on 'conversion therapy'
Posted: Thu, 20th Aug 2020
In this episode, Emma Park speaks to Nick Duffy, current affairs editor at Pink News, about so-called 'conversion therapy', the type of psychological practices that it can involve, and the harm it can cause to those who undergo it.
They consider the case for banning it altogether along with the difficulties of defining it, and the response of other countries where it is a problem, such as the US and Canada.
Emma is then joined by Megan Manson, head of policy & research at the NSS, to discuss what the society has been doing to oppose the practice of 'conversion therapy', and how faith schools that preach against LGBT identities are implicitly supporting it.
Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Notes
- Stop anti-LGBT 'conversion therapy'
- Tackle charities promoting 'conversion therapy', NSS urges minister
- Review status of charity promoting 'conversion therapy', NSS says
- This is the reality of gay 'cure' conversion therapy taking place in Liverpool – Liverpool Echo
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Ep 31: Graham Smith (not that type of republican)
Posted: Thu, 30th Jul 2020
If you're a secularist, should you also be a republican? How have the two movements been historically intertwined – and how close are the ties between the monarchy and the Church of England today? Why does it matter to ordinary British citizens if our political and religious establishment is still Anglican and monarchical? And will anything change under Charles III?
In this episode, Emma Park discusses these questions and more with Graham Smith. Graham is CEO of Republic, a membership-based pressure group that campaigns to abolish the monarchy. The interview is followed with a comment from the National Secular Society's Alastair Lichten.
Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Notes
- NSS research finds just a third of the public supports royal ties with the Church of England
- The monarch's role as head of the Church of England is unsustainable
- Will Anglicanism reign supreme at the next coronation?
- Republic | campaigning for a democratic alternative to the monarchy
- Find out more about the National Secular Society's republican history
- The Impeachment of The House of Brunswick, NSS founder Charles Bradlaugh's polemic against the hereditary royal family.
Ep 30: Religious freedom in China
Posted: Thu, 16th Jul 2020
On paper, the Chinese constitution permits 'normal religious activities'. In reality, if you try to practise your religion in China independently of the state, you risk prison and worse.
In this episode, Dr Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, speaks to Emma Park about freedom of religion and belief in China – or the lack of it.
They discuss the Chinese authorities' persecution of the Uighurs, the Turkic Muslim minority in the north-west, and the deliberate strategies that are being used to wipe out their culture. In Tibet, Sophie reveals how followers of the Dalai Lama are sentenced to years in prison, and how the Chinese authorities even keep spies in the monasteries. There are similar stories of the suppression of Christians and Falun Gong practitioners elsewhere in China.
The speakers also consider the feebleness of the international community's response to these human rights violations –– and the grim outlook for basic freedoms in the People's Republic.
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark
Notes
- China's religious persecution is a secularist issue
- China and Tibet – Human Rights Watch
- Why do Muslim states stay silent over China's abuse of the Uighurs?
Make a stand for freedom, fairness and human rights by adding your voice to the call for a secular democracy. Join the National Secular Society today.
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Image: Distribution of religions in China, Wikimedia
Ep 29: Scotland’s new blasphemy law?
Posted: Thu, 2nd Jul 2020
Where do you draw the line between safeguarding people's protected characteristics and guarding their right to freedom of speech?
The new Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, introduced in April, purports to protect groups defined by reference to protected characteristics, including 'religion' or 'perceived religious affiliation'. But some have argued that the proposed legislation will chill free speech about religion.
In this episode, Emma Park is joined by Neil Barber, communications officer at the Edinburgh Secular Society, along with the NSS's Stephen Evans, to give a detailed analysis of the language of the bill relating to offences of 'stirring up hatred'. They argue that the bill is likely to make it all too easy to shut down valid debate about religion.
While the bill will abolish the common law offence of blasphemy against Christianity in Scotland, there are good reasons for thinking that the new statutory offences will simply be a multi-faith version of the former.
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Notes
- Help us protect free speech in Scotland
- · Scotland's new hate speech law will be too censorious
- · Does Scotland's justice minister realise the reach of his own hate crime bill?
- · Minister to correct record on hate crime bill after NSS intervention
Make a stand for freedom, fairness and human rights by adding your voice to the call for a secular democracy. Join the National Secular Society today. Support the podcast, share with a friend and leave a positive review everywhere you can.
Ep 28: RE in Wales: a chance for fundamental change
Posted: Thu, 18th Jun 2020
How much progress will the Welsh government make with its proposed reforms to RE? In this episode, Emma Park speaks to Stephen Evans, CEO of the NSS, and Alastair Lichten, head of education, for an update.
Encouragingly the subject's name is to be changed to 'Religion, Values and Ethics', to reflect a more pluralist and critical approach. But the proposed abolition of parents' right to withdraw their children is more concerning. Faith schools will still be able to teach RVE 'in line with the tenets of their faith', but will be obliged to offer a secular alternative if parents expressly choose it.
Do these proposals go far enough? And should religious education continue to be a separate subject that is compulsory for all students up until 16? Join Emma and her guests for comment and analysis.
Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark
Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts
Notes
NSS response to RVE proposals in Wales
Will Wales lead the way in reforming RE? – Stephen Evans, 2 June 2020
Should lessons on sex and religion take parents' wishes into account? –– Emma Park, 12 March 2020
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