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The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.

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Michael Gove concludes Catholic schools did not break the law in promoting anti-same sex marriage petition

An investigation by the Department for Education (DfE) ordered by Michael Gove, Secretary of State, has concluded that St Philomena’s Catholic High School for Girls in Carshalton did not break any law in promoting a petition against same-sex marriage. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has expressed bafflement at the conclusion, which appears to be at odds with the Welsh Government’s separate investigation  on the matter.The DfE’s investigation concluded that St Philomena’s, which read out 

Religious Education is important – But it must be relevant and comprehensive

Good quality 'Religious Education' (RE) in schools is seen as important and valued by the public, research commissioned by the Religious Education Council (REC) has indicated. The research has been welcomed by the British Humanist Association (BHA), which restated the importance of all major beliefs – both religious and non-religious—being objectively explored.According to the research, 53% of adults in England and Wales think that RE should remain a compulsory subject in state funded schools. A greater number (58%) think it is beneficial for pupils to study RE.  The research also indicates

BHA signs letter expressing concern at pseudo-scientific Maharishi and Steiner Free Schools

A letter in yesterday’s Observer  expressing concern about pseudo-scientific Free Schools has been signed by the British Humanist Association (BHA). Amongst others, the letter was also signed by Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter; David Colquhoun, Professor of Pharmacology at University College London; and the science writer Simon Singh, and is specifically directed at Maharishi and Steiner schools.The letter reads: Sir – Since the formation of the

Welsh Government investigation concludes Catholic schools likely broke the law in promoting anti-same sex marriage petition

A Welsh Government investigation into recent news that the Catholic Education Service (CES) encouraged schools to promote a petition against same-sex marriage has concluded that this led to schools breaking laws on political balance. The Government has also asked that any schools which promoted the petition now make pupils aware of ‘the converse view’. The British Humanist Association (BHA), who were the first to suggest  these laws may have been broken, has welcomed the findings.Sections 406-7 of the Education Act 1996 

New survey on Collective Worship and RE in Wales finds most support legislative reform

A new survey of Welsh adults carried out by YouGov has revealed that more people support the replacement of laws requiring Collective Worship in schools than support retaining them, and more support fully opening up Religious Education (RE) to non-religious beliefs than oppose it.On Collective Worship, respondents were informed that ‘Some people have proposed that the laws which require state funded schools to provide daily collective worship should be replaced by a requirement that they hold assemblies which consider moral and ethical issues shared by a range of different religious and non-

New BHA research reveals most new ‘faith’ schools opening ‘by the back door’

Every single ‘faith’ school proposed to be fast-tracked through the opening process without competition in the last five years was approved. This 100% success rate contrasts with the results of other schools trying to open outside of competition, when fewer than half of proposals were successful. When ‘faith’ schools faced competition from non-religious proposals, barely one-third succeeded. These are the main findings of a new report  published today by

BHA welcomes Welsh government probe into Catholic schools promoting anti-gay marriage petition

The Welsh government have today announced that they are investigating whether the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CES) broke laws on equality and against political indoctrination. The British Humanist Association (BHA) wrote earlier to both Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews and Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove to address the matter, and has welcomed the announcement.Last month, the CES wrote to all Catholic secondary schools and asked them to draw attention to a letter against gay marriage from the Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark which was

BHA: Catholic Education Service has likely broken multiple laws in pushing anti-gay marriage petition on pupils

The Catholic Education Service (CES) has written to every state-funded Catholic secondary school in England and Wales and asked them to urge pupils to sign a petition against gay marriage, it has been reported today in PinkNews.co.uk . The British Humanist Association (BHA) has branded the revelation as ‘absolutely outrageous’, and believes that the CES has likely broken multiple laws in pushing such a petition in pupils.Last month, the CES wrote to all Catholic

Even the government don’t know which Academies and Free Schools are religiously discriminating ‘faith’ schools

A new Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the British Humanist Association (BHA) has revealed that even the Department for Education (DfE) do not know which Academies and Free Schools have a ‘faith ethos’ and which do not. The BHA has branded the revelation ‘unbelievable’.‘Faith ethos’ schools are a growing but largely hidden type of state-funded school. In the state-maintained school sector (i.e. community, voluntary and foundation schools), if the authority or foundation that runs the school wants to appoint any governors on the basis of their religion, then the school must

Legal action against state-funded religious schools opening ‘by the back door’

The British Humanist Association (BHA) and Richmond Inclusive Schools Campaign  (RISC) have joined forces to bring legal action against Richmond Council, which is seeking to open state-funded, selective Roman Catholic schools outside of competition.New rules  that came into force on 1 February state that ‘If a local authority in England think a new school needs to be established in their area, they must seek proposals for the establishment of an Academy’ [i.e. a Free School].

Methodists risk giving up all their education principles on a wing

This weekend saw the Methodist Church hold a meeting aimed at ‘re-invigorat[ing] its engagement with the education sector’. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has expressed dismay at the related Education Committee Report  with its calls for expansion and increasing evangelisation of Methodist schools, and expressed concern at the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) role in instigating this development.Earlier this year, following the passage of the Education Act, the DfE gained the power to force

New Church of England report seeks expansion and evangelisation of state-funded schools

A new report by the Church of England is set to call for an increase in the specifically religious character of its state-funded schools, as well as the setting up of 200 more state-funded Church schools. It follows a call by the Church of England Bishop responsible for education for church schools to be used to combat ‘aggressive secularism’. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has labelled the report insular and tainted by self-interest. The BHA also says the contents of the report undermine the Church’s claim that its schools are genuinely open to all.Proposals found in the Church

Groundbreaking new research reveals ‘faith’ schools exclude poorest pupils

New, highly significant research  carried out by the Guardian and published today for the first time has revealed the huge extent to which English ‘faith’ schools exclude pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). The British Humanist Association (BHA) has urged the government to end faith-based selection in state schools.It has long been known that ‘faith’ schools take fewer pupils eligible for FSM than average, but always been retorted that this is because ‘faith’ schools are typically in more

Groups submit bids to open 2013 Free Schools as BHA lists applicants

Today is the deadline for submitting a bid to open a Free School in 2013 , as part of the ‘third wave’ of applications. 337 groups have indicated  to the New Schools Network that they intend to bid. The British Humanist Association has been able to identify 38 proposals for ‘faith’ or pseudoscientific schools, out of 99 identified in total.Free Schools are a type of Academy, used to refer to Academies that are brand new

Baroness Warsi gets it wrong again

At a speech to be given during a visit to the Vatican, Baroness Warsi will once again criticise 'militant secularisation' as 'intolerant' and 'illiberal' and call for Christianity and 'Christian values' to be reaffirmed in Europe. It is not the first time that the minister has called secularism ‘intolerant and illiberal’. She has also said that religious people contribute more to society than the non religious, has championed religious groups as being at the heart of the ‘Big Society’, and even tried to amend the Equality Bill in a way which would leave humanists unprotected against

New rules on setting up schools in England come into force

New rules on setting up English schools introduced by the Education Act 2011 have come into force today. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has called the changes a ‘regressive step in further entrenching favouritism enjoyed by “faith” school proposals in the school creation process’.Where a local authority recognises a need for a new school, the changes strongly give preference to all new schools being Free Schools, whilst only allowing new local authority-run foundation and community schools to be proposed once all other options have been exhausted. However, they also make it even

Largest proposed Free School attempts to increase religious discrimination by circumventing faith-based admissions and employment laws

Becket Keys Church of England School in Brentwood, Essex, the largest Free School to have been pre-approved to open by the Department for Education, has been accused today of attempting to circumvent the 50% faith-based admissions requirement imposed by the Department for Education (DfE), and also of breaking the rules on religious requirements in employing teachers. The accusations come in correspondence from the British Humanist Association (BHA) to the DfE asking the DfE to pay closer attention to the behaviour of the school, which is due to open in September.If oversubscribed, Becket

Change in Free School model funding agreement requires promotion of democracy, equality of opportunity, respect, tolerance and the rule of law

Additional changes recently made by the government to Free School model funding agreement  include requiring schools to promote democracy, equality of opportunity, respect, tolerance and the rule of law. The changes, which promote values supported by the British Humanist Association (BHA) and emphasise that there is one law for all, represent a ‘significant victory’ in the campaign against extremism, and in favour of citizenship education.The new requirement is one of

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