January 13th, 2021
MPs raised the plight of humanists in India in a debate in the House of Commons yesterday. Many humanists have been seriously persecuted in India. Several have been murdered in recent years for blasphemy, and people can be imprisoned for the same supposed crime. Humanists UK has welcomed their interventions. Freedom of religion or belief […]
January 13th, 2021
Over 20 MPs and peers from across both Houses have written to the Prime Minister regarding his recent appointment of Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The letter, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, calls on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure Ms Bruce adopts an inclusive […]
January 12th, 2021
Marking three years since the publication of Secularism: Politics, Religion, and Freedom (right), by Andrew Copson, Humanists UK will on 18 January host an expert panel to discuss the themes laid out in the book, developments since publication, and what these trends might mean for the future of secularism. The event, chaired by award-winning journalist […]
January 11th, 2021
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA), an independent but statutory safeguarding organisation that regulates and registers professionals working in the fields of health and social care, has suspended accreditation of the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) after repeated concerns were raised about the practices of some of its members. This suspension, which comes into force from today, […]
January 11th, 2021
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has started legal action against the Department of Health for Northern Ireland, the NI Executive, and Secretary of State, over Department’s failure to commission abortion services following its decriminalisation in Northern Ireland almost one year ago. Abortion was removed from criminal law in Northern Ireland on 31 March 2020. […]
January 8th, 2021
Humanists UK has responded to a consultation on reviewing hate crime legislation run by the Law Commission in England and Wales. In its response, it has argued that it should be made explicit that hate crime legislation protects humanists as well as religious people, that existing hate crime laws should be replaced with a single […]
January 7th, 2021
More than 4,500 residents have been invited to take part in Jersey’s citizens’ jury on assisted dying, as part of the island’s initiative to investigate the merits of a change in the law. Channel Islands Humanists has welcomed the announcement as a positive step forward towards a change in the law. The jury, announced last […]
January 7th, 2021
The first study into the worldwide experiences of apostates – individuals who leave coercive or high-control religious groups or cults – within religious households has revealed a widespread culture of abuse hidden within the home, including intra-familial violence, domestic abuse, and honour-based shunning. The study was published last year and more recently has been made […]
December 21st, 2020
The Federal High Court of Abuja, Nigeria has ruled that the President of the Nigerian Humanist Associaiton, Mubarak Bala, must be released immediately. Humanists UK has welcomed the ruling, and has urged Kano State to comply with it. Bala has been held in Kano since April, after being accused of blasphemy. Kano operates under Sharia […]
December 20th, 2020
Humanists UK has expressed alarm and disappointment at the appointment of Fiona Bruce MP as the new Prime Minister’s global envoy on the human right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Fiona has been a committed opponent of FoRB for the non-religious at home – for many years, the most committed and active opponent […]
December 18th, 2020
Governments across the UK should repeal compulsory collective worship, children’s rights bodies from all four nations have told the United Nations. Humanists UK, Wales Humanists, and Northern Ireland Humanists all contributed evidence to national reports compiled by key children’s rights bodies in each country, with partner organisation Humanist Society Scotland contributing to a similar report […]
December 18th, 2020
The EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice, has upheld a decision by Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, to require all farm animals are stunned before slaughter, following a challenge by Jewish and Muslim groups. The ruling is binding case law in the UK, which means that EU law that will apply in […]
