April 7th, 2021
Southampton Council has agreed to retake a decision blocking humanists from becoming full members of the local RE committee following a threat of legal action. The Council made the original decision following consultation with religious members of the committee, which saw a Church of England representative refer to the possible inclusion as ‘a Trotskyist move’. […]
April 7th, 2021
The NASUWT teachers’ union voted ‘overwhelmingly’ at their annual conference this weekend to end the exemption to equality legislation that allows for discrimination against teachers in Northern Ireland based on their religion. The motion called on the NASUWT to lobby the Northern Ireland Assembly to remove Article 71 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern […]
April 1st, 2021
In a departure from its previous approach, the UK Government has said that if it is made aware of English schools breaching a requirement to carry out a daily act of worship, they will be ‘investigated’ and ‘reminded of their duty on this matter’. Humanists UK – which has long campaigned for compulsory school worship […]
April 1st, 2021
An urgent review of school safeguarding by school inspectorate Ofsted must consider the role faith-based relationships and sex education (RSE) and the resources used to teach it play in exacerbating rape culture, Humanists UK has said. Humanists UK has recently raised repeated concerns about one particular Catholic RSE resource – called A Fertile Heart – […]
April 1st, 2021
The latest British Social Attitudes Survey has shown that the share of the population belonging to no religion has continued to grow, now standing at 53%, with 12% Anglicans, 7% Catholics, 18% other Christians, and 9% all other religions. More than that, it also shows that the share of non-religious people will continue to rise […]
April 1st, 2021
Do you agree with Henry and the 56 MPs and peers? Then please write to your MP today to ask them to support an inquiry into assisted dying. Acclaimed neurosurgeon and bestselling author Dr Henry Marsh has revealed he may well have only a short time left to live, after being diagnosed with advanced prostate […]
April 1st, 2021
Humanists UK is launching season three of its hit-podcast What I Believe, bringing listeners the life philosophies and worldviews of well-known humanists including Richard Dawkins, Carol Smillie, Jim Al-Khalili, and many, many more. Each week, host Andrew Copson speaks to a humanist in the public eye about what they believe, to understand more about the […]
March 31st, 2021
The UK and Welsh Governments have failed to condemn an RSE resource saying that men were ‘created to initiate sexual relationships’ and women to be ‘receiver-responders’, with the UK Government saying they don’t want to get involved in commenting on individual resources. The Catholic Education Service (CES), which oversees Catholic schools in England and Wales, […]
March 30th, 2021
The Government has confirmed that it intends to launch a consultation later this year into the introduction of labelling for meat products to indicate if the animal was stunned before slaughter. Humanists UK has welcomed the news, as it supports the introduction of such labels. Labelling will enable consumers to make informed ethical choices about […]
March 26th, 2021
A faith-based RSE resource saying the contraceptive pill is dangerous, that gay and lesbian people cannot marry and must entirely abstain from sex, and that men were ‘created to initiate sexual relationships’ and women to be ‘receiver-responders’ has been defended by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff on the grounds it ‘authentically reflects Catholic teaching’. […]
March 26th, 2021
Controversy has erupted after a teacher showed pupils an image or images of Muhammad in a lesson at Batley Grammar School on Monday. This led to Muslim parents protesting outside the school yesterday and today. The teacher in question has been suspended by the school, which has apologised ‘unequivocally’. Reports from parents say the cartoons […]
March 25th, 2021
Yesterday, the States of Jersey approved legislation, spearheaded by Channel Islands Humanists committee member and Deputy of the States of Jersey Louise Doublet, to abolish the requirement for women and girls to wait seven days between two medical consultations when accessing abortion services. The States of Jersey voted in favour of the legislation by 40 […]
