News
Vatican’s secrecy on child abuse to be challenged by tough new Irish law
Tough new laws to force the disclosure of information on child sexual abuse are to be introduced inIrelandafter another damning report on the failure of the Catholic Church to protect children from abusive priests. Read More »
Rupert Murdoch’s “papal knighthood” questioned
There has been some debate among Catholics as to whether Rupert Murdoch should be asked by the Vatican to return the papal medal he was awarded in 1998. Read More »
European Court says Swiss minaret ban did not violate human rights
The European Court of Human Rights has rejected two cases brought by Muslims against Switzerland's constitutional ban on building minarets. Read More »
End sectarian character of monarchy in Scotland, says NSS
In a letter to Scottish MPs the National Secular Society has stated that the additionally protestant character of the monarchy in Scotland should be ended. Read More »
Rupert Murdoch’s “papal knighthood” questioned
There has been some debate among Catholics as to whether Rupert Murdoch should be asked by the Vatican to return the papal medal he was awarded in 1998. Read More »
BBC devotes yet more time to religion
The BBC’s annual report, published this week, reveals that the amount of broadcast time devoted to religion has risen yet again. Read More »
Faith school bus passes scrapped in Coventry
Free school bus passes for children travelling more than three miles to faith schools or single sex schools in Coventry are to be scrapped. Read More »
Lords meeting raises awareness of sharia law abuses
Lord Carlile QC has expressed concern over the lack of awareness of lawyers and judges of the major human rights implications of sharia law. Read More »
Christianity should dominate all lessons, even maths, says bishop
Church schools should apply a “Christian perspective” to all aspects of the curriculum including mathematics, the Bishop of Southwell andNottinghamhas said. Read More »
Trevor Phillips makes another big mistake – and gay people may have to pay the price
The head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, has been giving out mixed messages about the present campaign by extremist Christians to undermine the equality legislation. Read More »
Equality Commission determined to push religion up the hierarchy of rights
The National Secular Society today accused the Equality and Human Rights Commission of supporting special rights for... Read More »
Global survey shows there are more than twice as many non-religious people as Muslims in the world
A new international survey by Ispos/Mori conducted in 24 countries and involving 18,473 people sought to discover the attitudes to religion around the world. Needless to say, it found vast differences betweenEuropeand the developing and Muslim worlds. Read More »
More shameful revelations on the way for Catholic Church in Ireland
The Cloyne report may be published next week. Prepared by the Murphy commission, it follows an investigation into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations by church and state authorities over a 13-year period in the Catholic diocese of Cloyne. Read More »
The fantastic wealth of Irish Catholic religious orders revealed
When the Irish Government negotiated a settlement of the compensation due to the tens of thousands of people abused and traumatised in institutions run by the Catholic Church, the total came to €1.36 billion. Read More »
Muslim ‘free school’ proposed
Proposals have been put forward to establish a new Muslim ‘free school’ in Brent, north London. Read More »
Embracing the Big Society could destroy religious charities
A Labour MP who has been one of the fiercest critics of the Government’s Big Society idea has warned “faith groups” that they are being used as a cover for cuts. Read More »
Successful debate on Sharia law in Britain at House of Commons
One Law for All and the National Secular Society held a successful debate on sharia law at the House of Commons, chaired by Jim Fitzpatrick MP. Read More »
Religious accommodation will bring its own problems, NSS tells EU Parliamentary meeting
The National Secular Society’s Executive Director, Keith Porteous Wood, represented a secularist viewpoint on the panel of a presentation to lawyers and legal academics from all over Europe about Religious Diversity and Equality in the Workplace. Read More »
Dutch parliament moves to outlaw religious slaughter without pre-stunning
The Dutch parliament has passed a bill banning the slaughter of livestock without pre-stunning, removing an exemption that has allowed Jews and Muslims to butcher animals according to their centuries-old dietary rules. Read More »
Vicar foists religion on children in McDonald’s
The Rev Richard Barron wants to find ‘new ways for people to connect with the church’. So he is parking himself every Friday afternoon at McDonald’s burger restaurant inGreenhithe,Kent. Read More »
British Medical Association Conference ignores circumcision and opposes assisted dying
Dr Antony Lempert, Chair of the Secular Medical Forum, proposed a motion to the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Cardiff this week calling for doctors to stop performing “irreversible, clinically unnecessary surgery on the genitalia of non-consenting minors" – ritual circumcision on boys. Read More »
No discrimination by not releasing worker for Friday prayers
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has ruled that a Muslim man who wanted to leave work on Friday to go to prayers at a mosque was not discriminated against when his employer refused. Read More »
Bishops “pleased" to be included in Lords Reform plans
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, has commented on the proposed changes to the House of Lords put forward by the Government, reducing the number of bishops from 26 to 12, in an 80-per-cent elected House. Read More »
Minister reinforces role of faith groups in local communities
At a recent meeting of the Cinnamon Network, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles,... Read More »
NSS calls for end to state-funded religious schools in Scotland
The National Secular Society has called for an end to state funding for religion-based education in Scotland. Read More »
