Services funded by public money should be open to all, without alienating anyone.
The recent drive to contract out public services to faith groups risks undermining equal access.
Help us keep public services free from discrimination and evangelism.
The government is increasingly pushing for more publicly-funded services to be provided by religious organisations.
Many faith-based groups have carried out social service without imposing their beliefs. But religious groups taking over public service provision raises concerns regarding proselytising and discrimination.
65% of people have no confidence in church groups running crucial social provisions such as healthcare with only 2% of people expressing a lot of confidence.
Any organisations involved in delivering public services should be bound by equality law and restrictions on proselytisation.
Those advocating for faith organisations to take over more public services risk undermining these restrictions, which exist to protect both the public and third sector.
"We have concerns that some religious groups that seek to take over public services, particularly at local level, could pursue policies and practices that result in increased discrimination against marginalised groups, particularly in service provision and the employment of staff. Non-religious people and those not seen to confirm to the dominant ethos of a religious body, such as being in an unmarried relationship or divorced and being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered, could find themselves subject to discrimination."
Unitarian Church (Submission to the Parliamentary Public Administration Select Committee about the Big Society agenda)
There are also concerns about faith-based mental health and pastoral care in public institutions, including chaplaincy programmes in the NHS and the armed forces. Where such services are funded by the state, they should not be organised around religion or belief.
Religious commentators are often keen to document the contribution of religious organisations to the third sector and social activism. But they fail to demonstrate why it should be the state's role to build this capacity or why local authorities shouldn't have legitimate concerns about religious groups running services.
Take Action!
1. Write to your MP
Ask your MP to protect secular public services.
2. 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.
3. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Hospital chaplains largely unaffected by cuts to NHS frontline services
Posted: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 05:47
New research into the number of hospital chaplains being paid for out of the National Health Service funds shows that since 2009 the number of chaplains has remained largely the same.
The research carried out by the National Secular Society contradicts research released by the BBC claiming that chaplaincy posts have been cut by 40% in England.
The BBC approached 171 Acute Trusts for its survey, whereas the NSS put in Freedom of Information requests to all of England's 230 Health Trusts. The BBC had a 97% response, and the NSS has had an 85% response to date.
The NSS conducted previous research on NHS chaplaincy numbers in 2009. At that time NHS Trusts employed 546 Whole Time Equivalent chaplains. The latest research reveals that among the 85% of the Trusts that have so far responded, there are 485 Whole Time Equivalent chaplains.
Although some Trusts have made small cuts, the full results of the NSS survey are likely to show that overall numbers remains largely the same. The full results so far can be seen here.
According to the Royal College of Nursing, there has been a reduction in nurse staffing of around 5,780 (headcount) and 3,700 (whole time equivalent) between May 2010 and June 2012.
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "While the Health Service is hit on a daily basis by a crumbling infrastructure and huge cuts to frontline services, the chaplaincy service sails on largely untouched.
"We have no objection to the presence of chaplains in hospitals. Our concern is where the funds to pay for them come from.
"Churches, mosques and temples that wish to have religious representation in hospitals, could do so at their own expense. Such services, where valued, could be funded by local charitable trusts, administered local churches or interfaith initiatives. We are aware of hospitals that are already using volunteers or keeping a call-out list of available clergypeople in the community for patients who request them."
"There can be no possible reason for the NHS's dwindling resources to be used to pay the salaries of clergypeople when nurses and frontline staff are being dispensed with.
"Our previous research suggests that around £29m of healthcare money is used annually to pay the salaries of religious chaplains, but this sum increases when you take into consideration the upkeep of office space, chapels, prayer rooms which also come out of hospital budgets. It is time that the religious bodies stepped up to the plate and relieved the public purse of this expense."
NSS launch legal challenge to worshippers' free parking permits
Posted: Sun, 2 Jun 2013 20:42
A legal challenge has been launched against Woking Borough Council's policy of offering free parking to worshippers while charging everyone else.
The challenge has been issued by National Secular Society lawyers in response to complaints from residents in Woking borough. The NSS alleges that allowing free parking for worshippers – which costs local tax-payers over £50,000 per year – constitutes direct discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief contravenes the Equality Act.
Woking has sought to justify its preferential treatment of worshippers in a policy statement which stated: "Places of worship, and the faith communities that they serve, play an important role, both in society in general and Woking in particular. They encourage people to participate in society, thereby promoting social inclusion."
However, an Equality Impact Assessment commissioned by the Council in response to a previous complaint from the NSS, urged the Council to also consider that secular activities also promote social inclusion and are as important as religious observance to building and maintaining the social as well as the economic fabric of communities.
One local resident, Aidan Griffin, said: "As someone who doesn't attend church, I should not be treated any less favourably than anyone else parking their car in Woking town centre on a Sunday morning. As a taxpayer I'm also concerned about the loss of revenue to the Council arising from this policy".
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society said: "The equal treatment of all, regardless of belief or non-belief, is a key secular principle. We have launched this challenge to preferential treatment of worshippers because it is neither legitimate nor lawful for local government to subsidise the activities of any particular religion and belief group.
"It would be fairer if the Council either charged worshippers for parking, as they do everyone else, or provided free parking for all."
