Democracy cannot exist without the right to free speech.
Free speech should be robustly defended as a fundamental freedom.
The National Secular Society has defended free speech from religious threats since our founding. We played an instrumental role in abolishing "blasphemy" laws in Britain, but serious concerns remain. Blasphemy laws still exist in Northern Ireland. And throughout the UK, religious fundamentalists seek to impose their blasphemy taboos on others through violence and intimidation.
There are also increasing attempts to categorise offending religious sensibilities as 'hate speech', making criticism, mockery or perceived 'insult' of religion a criminal act akin to racial hatred or inciting violence – in other words, a 'blasphemy law by the back door'.
Without free speech no search for truth is possible; without free speech no discovery of truth is useful; without free speech progress is checked… Better a thousand fold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.
We are further concerned by a developing 'culture of offence' in which any speech or action deemed likely to offend religious sensibilities is considered taboo. Enforced by a toxic mix of terrorism and religious deference, this is chilling free speech through self-censorship.
We also campaign against blasphemy laws around the world, where they continue to be used to target religious and political minorities. These are sometimes described by UK politicians as 'misuse' of blasphemy laws, but we contend there are never any legitimate uses for blasphemy laws.
Being offended from time to time is the price we all pay for living in a free society. Rather than trying to silence those we disagree with, we believe the answer to speech we don't like is more speech – better speech.
We therefore campaign to protect and preserve freedom of expression, including offensive, critical and shocking speech.
What you can do
1. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
2. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
IHEU report reveals extent of global discrimination against non-believers
Posted: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 12:26
The International Humanist and Ethical Union has released its second annual report on the global state of human rights for non-believers, atheists and agnostics. The report found a "trend towards targeting 'atheists'" across the world, and concluded that "the overwhelming majority of countries fail to respect the rights of atheists and freethinkers."
The report draws attention to "hate campaigns against the non-religious" in 13 Muslim-majority countries, and examples of legislation and hate speech designed to curtail the rights of non-believers. These include a law in Saudi Arabia which equates atheism with terrorism and which prohibits "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion."
The report also singles out Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who branded secularism, humanism and liberalism as "deviant" and who dismissed human rights as a danger to Islam.
The Egyptian Ministry of Youth is also cited in the report, for their campaign to warn Egyptians about "the dangers of atheism".
Although the IHEU 'Freedom of Thought' study paints a grim picture of human rights across the globe, the authors do make a case for some positive trends. They write that, "if 2014 has seen something of a surge in hate directed at atheists, it is at least a backlash against a steadily globalising conception of non-religious identities."
"The non-religious are also recognising themselves more, stumbling upon new terms and new arguments through international media and the internet, coming together online, talking, in some countries meeting in secret. The non-religious are raising their heads above the parapet. There is a backlash, but it's a backlash that is a response to a surge of new ideas and new connections, and we can hold onto that."
The report gave every country in the world a "Freedom of Thought" status, with rankings ranging from "free and equal" to "grave violations."
Countries ranked as "free and equal" include Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Province of China, Estonia, Kosovo, Belgium, The Netherlands and Fiji.
Nations with "grave violations" against the human rights of the non-religious include Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The report notes that "19 countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries it is punishable by death. Pakistan doesn't have a death sentence for apostasy but it does for blasphemy, and the threshold for 'blasphemy' can very low; so in effect you can be put to death for expressing atheism in 13 countries."
The United Kingdom is rated as having "system discrimination." The IHEU report finds that "religion has little unwanted influence over most people in daily life, and the number identifying as non-religious in the most recent census has increased dramatically; however some education reforms in the past few years including in 2014 have increased the influence of religion in schools and removed secular options from some courses."
The report cites a number of "systemic issues" in the UK, including "systematic religious privilege" like the control of "some public or social services" by religious groups and the existence of an established church. The research also notes that "religious schools have powers to discriminate in admissions or employment."
New BBC consultation ‘an opportunity to challenge Thought For The Day’
Posted: Fri, 5 Dec 2014 11:17
The BBC has launched a new consultation asking listeners what they like and dislike about its speech radio output. The NSS is calling on its supporters to use the opportunity to again raise the contentious issue of Thought For The Day. The consultation can be completed online here.
Although the BBC is considering editorial standards and impartiality "out of the scope of the review", its Consultation asks listeners for their views on the corporation's "news and current affairs and its documentaries and factual programming".
The National Secular Society is calling on the listening public to use the consultation to challenge the appropriateness of Radio 4's Thought For The Day – a daily slot for religious-only views, broadcast each Monday to Saturday morning during the station's flagship news and current affairs Today programme.
NSS campaigns manager, Stephen Evans, said: "It's important that as many people as possible take this opportunity to tell the BBC that discriminating against the non-religious, and thus giving the impression of promoting religion as the only source of ethics is simply not acceptable in this day in age.
"Offering a privileged platform during its news and current affairs output for religious-only views to be aired without any analysis, criticism or comeback is completely against the founding principles of the BBC. Fairness, balance and impartiality are impossible if only one side of the debate is aired.
"The slot should either be opened up to secular perspectives or scrapped."
The National Secular Society has campaigned against the discriminatory nature of Thought For The Day since the programme started. The Society first lodged a complaint against the programme's predecessor, Lift up your Hearts, in 1962.
In 2009 the BBC Trust rejected a complaint from the National Secular Society, when the society had argued that the programme was "exclusive and discriminatory."
In 2013 the BBC Executive said that "it did not propose to revisit the issue of atheists or humanists" taking part in Thought For The Day, after opting to leave it out of the scope of an "impartiality review of the breadth of opinion".
*Please note that the consultation has now closed.*
