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.
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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
Parking privileges for churches challenged in Nottingham
Posted: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:27
Last year, Nottingham City Council decided to introduce charges for on-street parking on Sundays and evenings in the city. As soon as the councillors announced their intention, the city centre churches began demanding exemptions.
The charges were introduced in November 2011 and church members were offered a £50 prepaid permit book, representing savings of around £70 per year. Other discounts, not as generous, were offered to patrons of some (but not all) city centre restaurants and of two cinemas.
In a BBC radio interview last week, Nottingham Secular Society's president, Dennis Penaluna, criticised the city council's decision. He said: "We believe that if there has to be a law, a regulation or rule; then those laws, etc. should be applied equally to everyone. It is a simple and basic principle. So when you get self-serving and self-interested groups coming along, they should not be given exemptions and privileges purely on the basis of having a religious belief."
On the same show the previous day, the Dean of Nottingham's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Rev. Geoffrey Hunton, claimed that the church had lost 10% of its congregation since the introduction of the scheme and continued to demand free parking for churchgoers.
This week, in a complete volte face, the same Rev. Hunton is asking the City Council to repeal the extension. He feels the vouchers, or permits, have had little effect.
Mr. Penaluna commented: "It appears the Cathedral has concluded that the only way it can get free parking is if everyone is treated equally. "That must be quite a novel concept for the Roman Catholic hierarchy."
He added that he has sent a Freedom of Information request to the City Council asking if the same discounted privileges would be extended to the City's Muslim and Jewish communities on Fridays.
CofE takeover of schools progresses rapidly
Posted: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:12
A new secondary free school with a "Christian character" is being proposed in Hove,Sussex. It is apparently being promoted by a group of parents who think there aren't enough "faith schools" in the area and want to ensure that the children who've been to religious primary schools continue their indoctrination until they are 16.
The parents behind the school say they are looking at sites inHovebut are keeping details under wraps until they have heard the result of their application to the Department for Education.
Sue Worthing, a solicitor and one of the parents behind the proposal, said there was a shortage of Christian secondary places in Brighton and Hove.
She told the Telegraph & Argus newspaper: "We wanted to see a C of E senior school. It is ridiculous that in a town of our size there is only one Christian school. Site wise we are restricted in the city because obviously you could not produce something as large as Newman or even the others because within our geographical area there are simply not the sites."
Mrs Worthing said the group had been in contact with the Diocese of Chichester about the proposed school and is investigating possible links to an existing C of E primary school. She said the school would be focused on celebrating Christian festivals such as Easter and Christmas.
The King's School website said it will aim to "inspire" Christian values through "the teaching of high moral standards, a discussion-based RE curriculum, collective worship and a full-time chaplaincy."
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "Yet another chaplain potentially being funded by taxpayers' money. How exactly can the salary of a chaplain be justified when the money is being provided for education? We can expect to see this pattern repeated all over the country as the CofE steps up its evangelising in schools. If we thought the cost of chaplains in hospitals, prisons and the army was a scandal, wait until the school chaplains start mushrooming."
Meanwhile, in Brentwood, Essex, the local diocese is celebrating the approval of a new secondary school, Becket Keys, which will open in September. On its website the school is advertising for a headteacher – the primary qualification for which is being a "committed Christian".
