News and Opinion

Having visited the Occupy London protest camp yesterday, I was impressed. The protestors were organised, articulate and had genuine concerns. These are not the pot smoking hippies that some of the media make out. In fact, drugs and alcohol are specifically banned on the camp - no doubt the organisers are keen to cultivate a positive media image. The protestors themselves are a disparate group of people. I met some (from the extreme end) who wanted a total destruction of the capitalist system and others who demanded more modest reforms, such as greater checks and balances in the banking system. A common concern of the protesters is the growing inequality between the rich and poor in society. Many I spoke to were concerned about the v ast sums of wealth being taken out of the real economy and hidden away in tax havens, where wealth is held by a few. Inevitably, this hording of wealth has a negative impact on the government’s ability to fund public services, like the NHS. Are the 99% of...

From pre-history until today we know all too well that many people have had and will continue to have their lives ended by brutal and inhuman means as the result of wars, torture by oppressive regimes and other forms of violence. Causing the deaths of others is not at all unknown to civilisation and in some societies where such deaths are not infrequent it is commonplace to say that human life is cheap. However, in recent times using the notion of human rights that civilised societies have devised we emphasise the value of human life and this is institutionalised through laws and conventions as a means of collectively protecting ourselves as individuals from arbitrary slaughter. This is one of the foundations for our potential to live lives worth living, free of misery, terror and anxiety. Placing such a high value on human life means a decision to end it is of considerable significance for the individual and those around him or her. Historically the Christian churches, espec...

The letter below is my response to the details of the Church of England Inspection report relating to Rawlins Community College in Quorn. If you agree with me that the Church of England should not be allowed to take control of these schools in this way, please bring this to the attention of your MP and Councillors. Whilst academy status may or may not be desirable, the issue I am attempting to address is the national one, where the academy legislation allows the C of E to effectively take control of the old Voluntary Controlled C of E schools (which were controlled by the local authority) and  standard community schools. See http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/905 Dear Mr. Orr, Rawlins Community College - Church Inspection I was very concerned to read about the Church of England inspection in Raw Release (7/10/11) - page 3 - and the proposed changes to the way in which the college will work. First of all, I think I should make clear that I am a member of bot...

Shaikh Raed Salah heads the Northern branch of The Islamic Movement in Israel. As a secularist, I am of course concerned about his party’s intended policy to create an Islamic state in the region. However, I am also concerned about the current Israeli Jewish state and its discrimination against Palestinian Arabs. As secularists, we should point out the advantages of supporting a secular state, one which would fairly represent and protect both groups. Whether we dislike some of his views or not, the fact is that Salah is head of a legitimate political party, which has renounced terrorism. Simply disliking the man’s views should not automatically be a reason to bar him from entering the UK. One does not have to agree with someone to allow them the right to speak. The man himself appears to have spent much of his time standing up for the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel who face daily discrimination . He has also spoken up for the millions of refugees, who wish to return to...

I posted the following as a comment following a Leicester Mercury article about our Census Campaign and the ads we have placed on 6 Leicester buses . My comment appeared on the Mercury web page briefly but was then removed wiithout explanation . We members of Leicester Secular Society had quite a debate before settling on the 'For God's Sake' wording for our bus ad campaign, and like other advertisers we plumped for something that would provoke interest and controversy. We're not wealthy like the major religions, and need to use our limited campaign funds effectively. I think the discussion [following the article on the Leicester Mercury website - see above] shows we were right. We're a pretty diverse group of opinionated people however, and I dare say we still have some members who wince whenever they see our ad on the buses. But I'd like to address two issues that the debate so far hasn't touched. First, the effect of religion being an OPTIONAL question o...

The voice of the young people of Gaza is rarely heard. Their opportunities for interaction with the outside world are few. Their statement below is offered as a token of solidarity against the crushing effects of two diametrically opposed religious manias: Zionism and Islamic fundamentalism. " Fuck Israel. Fuck Hamas. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN. Fuck UNRWA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, Fatah, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community! We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16’s breaking the wall of sound; scream with all the power in our souls in order to release this immense frustration that consumes us because of this fucking situation we live in; we are like lice between two nails living a nightmare inside a nightmare, no room for hope, no space for freedom. We are sick of being caught in this political struggle; sick of coal dark nig...

Our President Emma Chung responded to a letter in the Leicester Mercury fromDr Clive Marsh, Director of Learning and Teaching at the Institute of Lifelong Learning , University of Leicester ( www2.le.ac.uk/departments/lifelong-learning) who stated: Behind the headlines created by Baroness Warsi's talk at the University of Leicester recently was a basic concern which many, religious or not, might agree with: the need for a better understanding of religion in society. It is widely accepted by people across the political spectrum, and with widely differing views about religion, that you don't really understand British culture without grasping religion's place within it. Even if you think religion's a bad influence, and the Church should be kept well apart from the state, it is vital to know something about Britain 's Christian past, and about the many different religions which feature in British society. But how do we develop our knowledge of faith traditio...

The Society with the support of Skeptics in the pub recently announced the launch of this campaign and achieved good coverage in the Leicester Mercury . The article began: People who claim to be Christian when they do not practise the religion are creating a "misleading" picture of Britain , it has been claimed. Leicester Secular Society is calling for non-believers to tick the 'no religion' box on this year's census. The society says that during the 2001 census, many people felt compelled to answer 'Christian' when it came to their religious belief, either out of habit or because they felt they ought to. But it says that doing so leads to inaccurate figures, which are then used to justify policies that "do not reflect the real demographics of our society".  The piece attracted 45 comments, but unfortunately many concentrated on accusing the Society of targeting Christianity and ignoring Islam. Kulgan began:   I wonder what would be...

The speech by Baroness Warsi at Leicester University provoked several letters from members of the Society and comments in the Letters area of the Mercury. The first comment published was from Harry Perry "Some Muslims are extremists" on 26 January. His main point was made at the beginning of the letter: You report (Mercury, January 21) Baroness Warsi saying that making a distinction between "moderate" and "extremist" Muslims fosters prejudice against Muslims as a whole. This is surely nonsense. We make these same distinctions in respect of all political and religious groups. For example, her own government has just barred the American Christian pastor Terry Jones from Britain because he holds "extremist" views! Click here for the full letter. The only comment this raised was "Excellent letter". The next letter " Confrontation will not create a better society " from Allan Hayes  on 28 January began: I came away f...