All posts filed under: Secular

Atheism

Indian rationalist at risk

Indian rationalist at risk

Pictured: Narendra Nayak, TEDxPSPU, ‘The importance of scientific Temper’, 2019. Credit: Flickr Jinal Patel, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED Humanists UK has voiced its concerns about the safety of prominent Indian rationalist, Narendra Nayak, as the rise of Hindu nationalism in India continues unabated. In an intervention delivered to the UN Human Rights Council, Humanists UK highlighted how Hindu nationalism facilitates intercommunal violence and increased persecution of non-religious and religious minorities. Freedom of religion or belief in India India has a long tradition of rationalism as a belief system dating back to the 6th century BCE. Its Constitution is famously secular, protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as well as the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. Nonetheless, a de facto ‘blasphemy’ provision in the Indian Penal Code allows up to three years imprisonment for the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging religious feelings, and insults or attempts to insult religion or religious beliefs. Since his election in 2014, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted a Hindu nationalist agenda. Several …

Isle of Man public call for bishop’s removal from Tynwald

Isle of Man public call for bishop’s removal from Tynwald

In a recent consultation on the Isle of Man to remove the Bishop of Sodor and Man from Tynwald, the Manx parliament, the public has called for the removal of the bishop’s right to vote. The consultation released earlier this year, had one of the largest response rates on the Isle of Man with nearly 3000 replies. The initial results of the consultation show a narrow victory for secularists with 51% of respondents supporting the removal of the bishop’s vote from Tynwald. Lawrie Hooper MHK, who proposed the initial bil which led to this consultation, has said support for the removal of the bishop’s vote may even be higher than the consultation suggests. He said the consultation faced a significant and coordinated effort from supporters of the bishop’s vote, “As nearly 50% of the paper submissions were delivered by 5 people, all of which expressed the same view.” He also notes that the initial release of data included all responses, and that his further analysis, which he has presented to the House of Keys, which …

Call for ceasefire in Gaza

Call for ceasefire in Gaza

As the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council sits in Geneva, Humanists UK’s representatives are using our platform at the session as an accredited NGO to draw attention to issues within our specialist remit of freedom of thought, freedom of choice, and free expression. The session is focusing on topics such as religious hatred and incitement to violence, the rights of children and people with disabilities, and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Although not the theme of the session, the context for all debates and reports has been the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The session began with a minute of silence in commemoration of the victims of human rights violence worldwide and the victims in Israel and Gaza, together with those in Sudan, North Korea, Ukraine, and in so many – too many – places in our world that have been on everybody’s minds. The current armed conflict began in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. Since then, the scale of death and destruction, …

Tell Your Representative to Support the Abortion Justice Act

Tell Your Representative to Support the Abortion Justice Act

There’s a lot of abortion legislation out there—understandably so. The Policy team at the American Humanist Association (AHA) makes sure we’re on top of supporting legislation that furthers the strength of abortion protections in the United States, so that EVERYONE can access and receive the care they need. That’s why today, we ask that you urge your Representative to cosponsor and support the Abortion Justice Act. The right to abortion, and reproductive freedom generally, must be strongly safeguarded from all infringement in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and decimated federal abortion protections. As humanists, we strongly believe that all individuals must have unfettered access to safe abortions and the ability to engage in healthy family planning, regardless of economic status, immigration status, or geography. The progressive Abortion Justice Act (H.R. 4303), sponsored by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), does just that. Going further than just codifying Roe v. Wade’s former federal protections, this legislation would provide funds to help increase abortion access or to …

Celebrating Norooz, the Persian New Year

Celebrating Norooz, the Persian New Year

This week, millions of people around the world, particularly in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and across ethnic groups in Western, Central, and South Asia, will celebrate Norooz or the Persian New Year! The word “Norooz” translates literally to “new day” in Farsi, and the holiday marks both the beginning of spring and the start of the new year in the Solar Hijri calendar, a calendar based on earth’s movements around the sun. Norooz corresponds with and is celebrated at the exact moment of the vernal or spring equinox. It is celebrated with music, dancing, an abundance of sweets and food, and gatherings with loved ones. Norooz has been celebrated across Asia for over 3,000 years and comes from the robust traditions and cultures of the ancient Iranian peoples. While originally a holiday associated with the ancient Zoroastrian religion that once dominated Iran, over the millennia Norooz has evolved into a largely secular holiday where people of all faiths and no faiths joyfully participate across the Iranic world. While Norooz is a time of renewal, joy, and …

Humanist politicians say parliament must act on assisted dying

Humanist politicians say parliament must act on assisted dying

The All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) met on Tuesday evening to discuss assisted dying and the campaign for choice at the end of life around the British Isles. Parliamentarians at the meeting agreed that it’s time for parliament to act on assisted dying and discussed the Assisted Dying Coalition’s recent report on UK residents who have an assisted death at Dignitas. Attending parliamentarians heard from: Emma Cooper, Convenor of Friends At The End (FATE) in Scotland; Silvan Luley, team member at Dignitas; Senator Annie Hoey, Irish Senator on the Oireachtas committee on assisted dying; and Nikki Davey, whose husband was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and was unable to travel to Dignitas. The meeting also showcased the release of the Assisted Dying Coalition’s new report which showed the inequality in access to assisted dying due to the affordability of travelling to Dignitas.  Nikki Davey told parliamentarians about the story of her husband Alan. Alan suffered from MND and wanted to go to Switzerland. Nikki supported his wishes, but he needed to make his …

Irish committee recommends assisted dying legalisation

Irish committee recommends assisted dying legalisation

The special Oireachtas committee in the Republic of Ireland published its report which recommends that legislation should be introduced to allow for assisted dying. Humanists UK welcomes this move by the Irish committee and urges Westminster to take note. Read the report here. Disappointingly, just last month the UK Health and Social Care Committee released its lacklustre report on assisted dying which didn’t deliver any conclusions at all, possibly reflecting the pre-existing anti-assisted dying views of many of the committee’s members. The Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying made 38 recommendations, including that legislation be introduced to allow for assisted dying. People with incurable, irreversible, progressive and advanced illnesses that will cause death within six months will be eligible. This time limit is set at 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions. The report recommends that Irish citizens or ordinary residents for twelve months be eligible, which means that Northern Irish people under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1956 will be able to travel to Ireland for an assisted death. Bangor Humanists will be hosting an …

Equality for non-religious refugees, Humanists tell UN

Equality for non-religious refugees, Humanists tell UN

Humanists UK has raised its concerns about the treatment of non-religious asylum seekers at the 55th session of the UK Human Rights Council. Having been forced to flee their home due to violence and persecution, non-religious asylum seekers, including humanists, frequently faced further barriers when claiming asylum because of their non-religious beliefs. Humanists at Risk The position of most non-religious people around the world is perilous. As Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from 2016-22, said: ‘In my observations, humanists, when they are attacked, are attacked far more viciously and brutally than in other cases.’ Some 13 countries have the death penalty for blasphemy or apostasy; a number more have seen people murdered for the same. At least 89 countries have blasphemy laws on the books. More generally, some 30 countries are classified by the Freedom of Thought Report as guilty of grave violations against the non-religious. The number of non-religious people in the world is consistently underestimated and there is simply no reliable data outside of the West. …

NSS welcomes Network Rail decision to remove religious messaging

NSS welcomes Network Rail decision to remove religious messaging

The National Secular Society has welcomed Network Rail’s decision to remove religious messaging from the departure board at King’s Cross station. The decision follows widespread criticism, including from the NSS, after the departure board displayed an Islamic “Hadith of the day” calling for ‘sinners to repent’. In a recent photograph widely circulated on social media, the departure board displays Islamic prayer times and the hadith: “The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: All the sons of Adam are sinners but the best of the sinners are those who repent often”. Another photograph shared on Instagram last week shows a different hadith saying: “The gates of Hellfire are closed, and the devils are chained”. The hadith is a collection of the sayings and actions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Network Rail said the hadith had been displayed to mark the Islamic month of Ramadan, which runs from March 10 to April 9 this year. A spokesperson for the organisation said: “We value the feedback of our passengers and while these messages were intended to celebrate the beliefs and …