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
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Latest updates
Government unveils counter-extremism plans
Posted: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:10
The Government has released its long-awaited counter-extremism plan, and set out a host of measures aimed at tackling the spread of radical Islamist ideologies.
Under the plans announced by the Government, convicted terrorists will be automatically barred from working with children and other "vulnerable people", and parents will be able to apply to have their children's passports removed if they fear they may be at risk of travelling to join jihadist groups abroad.
In a move welcomed by the National Secular Society, the Government will "commission an independent review to understand the extent to which Shari'a is being misused or applied in a way which is incompatible with the law."
The strategy says "We will never countenance allowing an alternative, informal system of law, informed by religious principles, to operate in competition with [UK law]."
However, the NSS has urged the Government to be cautious about plans to hand-out £5 million to "moderate Muslim groups" and to a newspaper run by "moderate imams", warning that similar schemes in the past had seen funds get into the wrong hands.
The NSS challenged the Government to account for how "moderate" groups and religious leaders will be selected.
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager of the National Secular Society, said that there are "many groups, such as Inspire and British Muslims for Secular Democracy, doing important work promoting human rights and shared citizenship to counter-extremism and Islamist narratives" but warned that there is a "danger that this funding will instead end up promoting organisations with ulterior motives – as other similar schemes have in the past.
"In 2011 Theresa May strongly criticised the Labour Government's Prevent programme and promised to end state funding for groups with extremist sympathies, after it emerged that hundreds of thousands of pounds found its way into the hands of Islamist organisations. This proposal is potentially open to similar exploitation by groups masquerading as 'moderates'. There must be careful scrutiny of which groups are funded, to make sure that support is given to the organisations which are genuinely making a difference."
The Strategy makes no explicit reference to proposed controversial Extremism Disruption Orders (EDO's), which have been the subject of a joint campaign called Defend Free Speech by the Christian Institute and the National Secular Society.
The Government now says that extremist organisations will be banned, but "strong safeguards" will exist "to ensure these powers are only used in the most serious cases". In addition, the strategy document says that the powers will not be able to be used against "privately held views or people expressing their religious beliefs" or to "curtail the democratic right to protest", "close down debate" or limit free expression, concerns the Christian Institute and National Secular Society shared about the earlier EDO proposals.
Mr Evans commented: "We're hope that this is a sign that our warnings about the potential threat EDOs pose to everyone's free expression are being heeded by the Government. We would certain oppose any new measures that run the risk of curtaining free speech".
Other measures, to come in a new anti-extremism bill, will "restrict access to premises which are repeatedly used to support extremism" and "strengthen the powers available to Ofcom" to sanction channels that broadcast extremist content or give a platform to hate preachers.
The Muslim Council of Britain immediately criticised the strategy and denied that any mosques held extremist meetings. It also said that the strategy was "flawed" and complained that it focused on "Muslims in particular".
The Government says the strategy will "seek to build more cohesive communities, tackling the segregation and feelings of alienation that can help provide fertile ground for extremist messages to take root", but the NSS questioned how this is compatible with the Government's ongoing support for publicly funded religious schools.
Mr Evans commented: "Faith schools are inimical to building cohesive communities. If faith schools are not directly making things worse, they are at best a badly wasted opportunity to promote integration and break down barriers between people from different faith backgrounds from a young age."
"The Government's failure to consider this just goes to show how well-entrenched religious privilege is."
Read the Government's new Counter-Extremism Strategy in full
Combatting anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred is of “existential importance” to Europe
Posted: Sat, 17 Oct 2015 08:00
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans of the European Commission has said that tackling anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic violence is critical to Europe's future.
In a statement released to record the work of the first Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights, which NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood attended along with local, national and EU policy makers and experts in a range of fields, First Vice-President Timmermans said that combatting religious hatred was of "existential importance to the future of Europe".
The Colloquium was held to examine underlying reasons behind "the surge in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents in Europe" and to promote a "culture of inclusive tolerance and respect in the European Union."
At the meeting the National Secular Society stressed the importance of an integrated education system without religious barriers. The NSS argued that separating children by their parents' faith was a wasted opportunity to help tackle religious hatred and sectarianism.
The NSS also discussed the need for schools to actively promote citizenship and appreciation for human rights. The statement released by the European Commission after the meeting acknowledged the "crucial role of education in preventing discrimination" and recognised that participants had "highlighted that schools offer a unique opportunity to transmit the values of tolerance and respect, since they reach out to all children from an early age."
The Commission called on Member States to foster inclusive education and mutual understanding amongst children and young people through initiatives promoting European values, citizenship education and religious literacy.
"Given this, the prospect of even more faith schools in the UK is a deeply regressive policy," commented NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans. "We need to break down barriers between communities, not have children begin their lives in schools segregated by religious identity."
The Commission said that the meeting considered how "the inflow of a large number of persons from diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions, many of whom are Muslims, added a new element of urgency to efforts to ensure tolerance and respect in European societies."
In order to address rising religiously-motivated violence, First Vice-President Timmermans announced that the European Commission would nominate two coordinators, "one for antisemitism and one for Islamophobia, to help ensure coordination of European efforts on antisemitic and anti-Muslim hatred".
It also called on "local, national, European and international authorities, together with civil society, to support community leaders in the breaking of stereotypes and the developing of counter-narratives reaching out beyond their own communities".
While the National Secular Society has criticised the use of the term 'Islamophobia' in official language, it welcomes efforts to tackle both anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic violence.
The NSS has previously called for better monitoring and higher quality data to record information about hate crimes, and the European Commission acknowledged that "the better recording of incidents and the underreporting by victims were also seen as central."
