Tag Archives: secularism

Laura Willoughby

Opinion: Down with marriage

By Laura Willoughby | Sat 26th January 2013 - 12:00 pm

bouquetIt’s always the smallest things that seem to end up creating the biggest noise. Take the current debate over marriage: I know it seems like a big issue, but if you really look, it’s a debate about semantics and contracts that’s become complicated by the fact that history is so unclear about its origins.

The Church thinks that marriage is theirs and that therefore they have a right to dictate who gets to do it. I used to be partly persuaded by the fact that marriage was the Church’s brand and that those of …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 13 Comments
Keith Porteous Wood

Why won’t the Government get rid of this pesky threat to free speech that nobody wants?

By Keith Porteous Wood | Fri 6th July 2012 - 10:51 am

On Wednesday evening, Lord Mawhinney tabled an amendment (no.155) in the House of Lords to remove the word “insulting” from Section 5 of the Public Order Act to flush out the Government’s attitude on this catchall provision with a very low prosecution threshold that tarnishes our reputation for freedom of expression.

Section 5 has served to nobble those engaged in mischievous, but harmless, pranks, street preachers, and those pouring scorn on religion, but, worse, also those speaking truth to power. Of even greater concern is the chilling effect: what, for fear of prosecution, has not been said but should have …

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Parliament and The Independent View | Also tagged | 11 Comments
Nick Hollinghurst

Opinion: An Unlikely Defender of the Faith

By Nick Hollinghurst | Fri 24th February 2012 - 9:00 am

Eric Pickles recently sent forth an encyclical and counterblast to the “illiberal and intolerant secularists” seeking to overturn “the right to worship  a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty” and reverse “the fight for religious freedom in British history, deeply entwined with our political freedom”.

Our Town Clerk at once e-mailed us all a copy – on the very day, as it happened, that I went to Hertford for a County Council Meeting.

As usual, the meeting started at 10 30 a.m. And as usual those councillors who wished to pray met in the Council Chamber a little earlier at 10 20 a.m. Nothing wrong with that - their Prayer Meeting is not part …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 21 Comments
Andreas Christodoulou

Opinion: Secularism is a friend to Religion, not its enemy

By Andreas Christodoulou | Tue 21st February 2012 - 9:36 am

Baroness Warsi’s recent comments about secularism showed her ignorance about how it can be religion’s greatest friend, and should always be. Secularism, at its heart, represents a separation between religion and the state, which benefits both the atheist and the believer.

For atheists, secularism gives us assurance that religion will not be an officially supported part of our government system. That we will have no direct religious influence over our Government, no bishops in the House of Lords, and no official religion. Of course, we can’t stop people being elected who have religious beliefs, and their beliefs will affect their …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 36 Comments
Helen Duffett

LibLink: Education, not indoctrination – Evan Harris’ 10 commandments for RE teaching

By Helen Duffett | Tue 31st August 2010 - 4:41 pm

Evan Harris, writing in the Guardian today, shares his blueprint for better RE teaching. He says that the evolution-creationism debate in schools should take place in RE lessons as well as science lessons:

Secularists like me believe that RE is a valid subject for study in the curriculum but should be about what different religions (and other world views like humanism) believe; it should not be about what ought to be believed. So Catholic schools should be allowed to use RE lessons to teach that the Catholic church opposes contraception and believes that homosexuality is a sin, but not that

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 24 Comments
The Voice

Evan wins Secularist of the Year 2009

By The Voice | Sun 8th February 2009 - 6:46 pm

We may be only five weeks into 2009, but Lib Dem MP Evan Harris has already won an award – Secularist of the Year. The BBC reports:

The Liberal Democrat was named joint winner, with Lord Avebury, for their work in abolishing the blasphemy libel law in England and Wales. Dr Harris called the law “ancient, discriminatory and illiberal” as well as not compliant with human rights and against free speech. The offences of blasphemous libel and blasphemy were abolished last summer. …

Dr Harris has also campaigned to separate religion and the state claiming the current system has a number

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 2 Comments



Recent Comments

  • User AvatarPaul Pettinger 21st May - 6:09pm
    Do I think MPs who vote against the same sex marriage bill are being homophobic? I don't see what Party they happen to be a...
  • User AvatarPeter Chivall 21st May - 6:07pm
    It would be useful to consider why, with so many brits of all ages travelling and holidaying in continental Europe, why the Europhobes have so...
  • User AvatarDavid Allen 21st May - 6:04pm
    “Trust the people – when you think they’ll give the answer you want!" I am afraid that is the principle of all the parties, and...
  • User AvatarCaron Lindsay 21st May - 5:50pm
    James, I think you are being unreasonable. I asked after a discussion had developed on my Facebook wall, if people would mind if their comments...
  • User AvatarLouise Shaw 21st May - 5:32pm
    Thanks for your help. Will email to ask for specific contact names.