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
Advertising watchdog accused of excessive deference to religion
Posted: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:55
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint from the National Secular Society which had accused the ASA of unreasonably restricting freedom of expression by banning advertisements too readily if they risk offending even a few believers.
In a long justification of its enforcement of the Code of Advertising Practice, the wording of which the NSS also attacked, James Best, chairman of the CAP, refused to accept any of the NSS's points about its banning of ads that poke even mild fun at religion.
The complaint arose from the banning of a series of advertisements from the ice cream company Antonio Federici, which, in the ASA's word were "offensive, because they believed they mocked Catholicism".
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: "When the adverts were banned, the NSS said that the ASA was introducing a new sort of blasphemy law through the back door. This response from the ASA gives us no reason to change that opinion. When did it become illegal to satirise Catholicism?"
Mr Wood said: "We have become increasingly concerned about an unreasonable deference to religion by the ASA. We were particularly irked by the banning of the ice cream ads, one of which (in the ASA's own words) "showed two priests in full robes who looked as though they were about to kiss. One of the men also wore rosary beads and held a spoon in his hand; the other held a tub of ice cream. The ad included text that stated 'We Believe in Salivation'.
The advertisements were ruled by the Authority to have breached the Code of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the number of complainants is often pitifully small, just six in the case of the priests and ice cream ad.
The Code of Advertising Practice includes the ruling that ads "should contain nothing that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care should be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability".
Growing sensitivity is also evident in Italy and France, both of which have banned an ad depicting the last supper.
The NSS complained last year to the ASA, and a high level meeting was arranged between the ASA's chair, Lord Smith of Finsbury (supported by senior executives), and Keith Porteous Wood and NSS senior campaigns officer, Tessa Kendall.
Mr Wood said: "We emphasised the importance of freedom of expression and pointed out that one of their adjudications had recently been overruled by the courts on grounds of freedom of expression. Ironically, the case had been brought by a fundamentalist church, in respect of the banning of its advert criticising Gay Pride parade inBelfast. The ad was headlined 'The word of God against sodomy' and invited those who opposed the parade to meet peacefully.
Mr Wood continued: "We told Lord Smith that the wording of the Code of Advertising Practice, particularly the passage quoted above, was a major factor in the decision to which we objected. We therefore complained again to the ASA, this time about the Code." The NSS is now considering its next step.
Read the original letter from the NSS to the ASA (pdf).
Read the reply from the ASA (pdf).
Students defend freedom of expression at University College London
Posted: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:21
The Atheist Secular Humanist group at University College London (UCLASH) has been asked by the Students' Union to remove a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed (part of the Jesus and Mo series) from one of their events posted on Facebook. The request was made after a complaint from a Muslim student who claimed that he was offended by the image that appeared to show the prophet with a pint of beer - alcohol is strictly forbidden to Muslims.
Speaking to the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS), the UCLASH President said: "That student representatives of the country's first secular university should attempt such an act of censorship is disheartening. The Union officer [I have been speaking with] stated "I have spoken to other faith societies this year about their publicity and, for example, asked them to change it when it contravened UCL's equal opportunity statement" but she did not say we had contravened it ourselves."
The group's President was later invited to visit the Union and discuss the issue further. The NSS supported UCLASH in this issue and advised them before their meeting with the Union. The outcome of the meeting was that the Union have now agreed to meet with ACLASH in future to discuss any problems rather than banning any materials.
UCL was founded in 1826 as a secular alternative to the strictly religious universities of Oxford and Cambridge, despite strong opposition from the Church of England. It was the first higher education institution in England to accept students of any race or religious or political belief and was christened by Thomas Arnold 'that Godless institution in Gower Street'. It is therefore particularly important to support and defend the right to freedom of expression without religious interference and to make a clear distinction between illegal attacks on individuals because of their religion and 'offence' used as a means to stifle this freedom.
A spokesperson from the AHS commented "This is not the first time that an AHS member society has been caught up in a row over published material. In 2008, Warwick Atheists caused controversy with a poster showing religious symbols being put in a bin. Leeds and Southampton Atheists have both experienced intimidation when they proposed showing material that some Muslims took offence to."
There is a petition that you can sign to show support for the students here.
