News and Opinion

A large proportion of religious groups have beliefs that contradict British values. They often promote  homophobia , misogyny and intolerance towards other religious groups and yet still qualify for charitable status under the lawful purpose of "the advancement of religion". This can be particularly problematic with some of the more fundamentalist Muslim groups as highlighted in this article by Megan Manson of the National Secular Society. Image by Gemini AI

Leicester Secular Society supports the call by the National Secular Society urging the Government to refrain from setting out a formal definition of "Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia". Defining islamophobia will do more harm than good. Image by Martin Foskett from Pixabay

(From left) Megan Manson, Sat Pal Muman, Sahdaish Pall, Elizabeth Joy, Santosh Dass, Annapurna Waughray Campaigners highlighted the need to ban discrimination based on perceived 'caste' during a National Secular Society event in Leicester . Caste systems are rooted in religious and cultural beliefs and are upheld in some Hindu and Sikh communities. There are an estimated 50,000 – 200,000 people in the UK who are regarded by some as 'low caste' (sometimes known as 'dalits') and are at risk of caste discrimination. But unlike discrimination based on race, sex, sexuality or religion or belief, caste discrimination is not explicitly prohibited in UK law. The panel discussion on caste discrimination, co-hosted by Leicester Secular Society ( LSS ) and held at Leicester Secular Hall, aimed to bring together campaigners and experts to explain how caste discrimination and prejudice affect the lives of people in the UK, and why some religious groups have opposed laws...

 The Church of Scientology has attempted to prevent a talk by Apostate Alex. He outlines the situation in this video.  

The Society's Summer Programme can now be downloaded.  

  Leicester Secular Society condemn the police raid on the Quaker Meeting House (27/3/25) which is a direct result of stricter protest laws that remove virtually all routes to challenge the status quo. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 have gone too far in criminalising many forms of protest and allowing the police to halt actions simply deemed to be disruptive. These need to be repealed or amended to remove these restrictions on freedom of expression. One of the principal aims of Leicester Secular Society is "Defending rationalism and free speech. We believe people should be free to express and publish their beliefs, however controversial, without fear of prosecution, persecution, or physical harm, as long as they accord the same rights to others." Indeed Leicester Secular Hall was established to enable radical speakers to set out their ideas. Kropotkin and H.M. Hyndman, the Marxist founder of the Social Democratic Federation...