Tag BHA

Warwick University Student Union bans atheist human rights activist from speaking

The BHA reports this annoyingly insane story. Please tweet them or email a complaint:

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has reacted with alarm at news that a non-religious human rights activist, Maryam Namazie, has been denied the opportunity to speak at a student society event, seemingly because she is an advocate of secularism who is critical of religious extremism.

Welsh Government wishes to replace ‘Religious Education’ subject in schools with ‘Religion, Philosophy and Ethics’

This news comes from the British Humanist Association:

Taking questions in the Senedd, the Welsh Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis, has announced that he wants to see a transformation of the way in which Religious Education is taught in Wales. Under the new proposals, and in a significant break from the current system, the subject would be renamed and incorporated into a new ‘Religion, Philosophy and Ethics’ syllabus

House of Lords discuss persecution of humanists

Peers in the House of Lords have discussed the persecution of humanists around the world in a debate on freedom of religion and belief.

Lord Alton’s motion had asked that the Lords take note of Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights – which stipulates that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion – and called upon the Government to make upholding freedom of religion and belief a greater priority.

The Young Atheist’s Handbook sent to every school library in Northern Ireland

Today the British Humanist Association (BHA) is sending every state-funded secondary school library in Northern Ireland a copy of The Young Atheist’s Handbook: Lessons for Living a Good Life without God. The initiative, funded entirely by public donations, is part of the BHA’s work to ensure that young people have access to resources that enable them to come to their own decisions about their values and beliefs.

BHA President Jim Al-Khalili delivers 2014 Voltaire Lecture

The room was heaving in Conway Hall last night as British Humanist Association (BHA) President, physicist and broadcaster Professor Jim Al-Khalili gave this year’s Voltaire Lecture on the theme of ‘Lessons from the past: science and rationalism in medieval Islam.’ The lecture was chaired by his predecessor as President, and current BHA Vice President, the journalist Polly Toynbee.