September 19th, 2019
Pakistani human rights defender and humanist Gulalai Ismail has arrived safely in the US after spending several months in hiding from Pakistani authorities who had been trying to arrest her for her human rights activism. Gulalai was first arrested last October, after flying back from speaking at a Humanists UK fringe at the Conservative Party […]
September 18th, 2019
Brunei’s re-introduction of the death penalty in 2019 for so-called ‘crimes’ including blasphemy and homosexuality have been condemned by Humanists UK at the 42th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva. In Humanists UK’s intervention at the UN, representative Farah Mohammed raised serious concerns about Brunei Darussalam’s new Syariah Penal Code […]
September 18th, 2019
Humanists UK has provided evidence of alarming cases of persecution faced by non-religious people around the globe, including accounts of humanists being murdered after they declared on their social media profiles to have no religious beliefs. In its evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on the state of freedom of religion and belief globally, Humanists […]
September 13th, 2019
Humanists UK has urged all countries to abolish the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy at the 42th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Humanists UK’s representative Farah Mohammed told the UN, ‘Fourteen states still impose such punishments, including Pakistan where no evidence is required to prosecute a charge of blasphemy, and […]
September 11th, 2019
Humanists UK is urging the public to oppose a new religiously selective voluntary-aided Roman Catholic school that is being proposed in Peterborough. Humanists UK, which campaigns for an inclusive education system with no religious discrimination, is encouraging locals in Peterborough to register their opposition to the plans for Hampton Waters Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided School, […]
September 11th, 2019
Humanists UK has expressed concern over comments by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson who this week said the Government was ‘looking closely’ at opening more voluntary aided faith schools in England and its position on the 50% cap on faith admissions in free schools. In a response to a question in the House of Commons on […]
September 10th, 2019
Update, 10:45, 10 September: GoFundMe has now contacted Humanists UK to say they have removed the page. Job done! Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Dr Ruth Wareham said: ‘We’re delighted GoFundMe has removed the page, though we regret that they did not do this until we resorted to the media, some two months after our […]
September 5th, 2019
Around 50 of the UK’s leading scientists and science organisations have urged the Welsh Government to ensure that students are taught evolution at primary school and to explicitly ban the teaching of creationism as science in all Welsh schools, in an open letter published today. In the letter, 46 scientists and educators including Sir David […]
August 29th, 2019
Humanists UK has submitted case studies to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) which is carrying out an investigation into the Home Office’s use of translators and interpreters, highlighting alleged incidents of bias against non-religious people accessing the asylum system. The ICIBI is an independent body that monitors and reports on the […]
August 29th, 2019
Humanists UK has welcomed a new report on the changing face of UK funerals which shows that traditional religious funerals are in decline, with more people choosing to have a personalised, bespoke funeral for their loved ones. Co-op Funerals’ report released today, Burying Traditions: The Changing Face of UK Funerals, found that three quarters (77%) […]
August 28th, 2019
A number of Irish state schools have dropped their religious ethos in favour of being integrated schools that welcome children from all religion and belief backgrounds, in a positive move towards inclusive education in Ireland. Humanists UK, which campaigns for an inclusive education system with no religious discrimination, has described the schools’ moves as ‘welcome’ […]
August 15th, 2019
Humanist marriages are on the rise in Scotland, with new official figures showing 6,117 humanist marriages (22% of total marriages) took place in Scotland in 2018, up from 5,702 marriages (20%) in the previous year. Humanists UK has welcomed these latest statistics, which show that more couples are choosing to have a humanist marriage, reflecting […]
