Faith vs Secularism?

Introduction My name is Andrew Edmondson I am the local development volunteer for the British Humanist Association I run West Sussex Humanists which is an umbrella organisation for local Humanist groups and a local source of information about Humanism The purpose of my talk is to explain what secularism is, why we need it, and how the UK would change if it were to become fully secular

What is Secularism? We live in a diverse society comprising different religion and belief groups Full inclusion can only be achieved if the state is neutral with respect to religion and belief We are fortunate to live in an open society, where people are free to express their beliefs Secularism then is a neutral state in an open society

Secular society: public values In a secular society, we can distinguish between public and private values Shared public values are needed for us to live together in harmony: Tolerance Respect Autonomy Mutual care and concern Cooperation Freedom of speech Equality of access to resources Freedom to pursue personal goals And so on

Secular society: private values Of course, people also have their own personal values In a secular society, people are free to pursue their own vision of well-being This may include: Relationships Art and creativity Physical exercise Nature Meaningful work Religion Knowledge & self-knowledge Acquisition of wealth and possessions And so on

The case for secularism There are 3 main arguments supporting secularism The argument of Autonomy People would be free to decide their own beliefs The argument of Fairness No belief group would dominate in a diverse society, or have special privileges, or be discriminated against The argument of Pragmatism (or practicality) Society would be organised so as to minimise conflict between religion and belief groups

How would the UK change if it were to become fully secular?

Disestablish the Church of England We now live in a diverse society where arguably the majority are not members of the C of E It is clearly unfair for one belief group to be written into the constitution of the UK

Bishops would not have an automatic right to sit in the House of Lords The C of E has the unique privilege of representation in the House of Lords, which it uses to influence UK law, e.g. blocking the Assisted Dying Bill; obtaining religious exemptions from the Equality Bill Membership of the House of Lords would depend on individual merit or democratic election, and so may still include Bishops

All publicly funded schools would be fully inclusive community schools Public funds would not be used to promote a belief Children from all backgrounds would grow up together and learn to respect their differences. Faith schools are, by definition, divisive and tend to frustrate social cohesion Children would receive unbiased education, including beliefs and Sex and Relationships Education (especially important as the UK has a high rate of teenage pregnancy) Schools would not be allowed to discriminate in employment & admissions, e.g. non-religious teachers in Catholic schools have limited promotion opportunities Children would not be forced to attend a faith school, e.g. Balcombe C of E primary school Most people do not want publicly funded faith schools

No collective worship in publicly funded schools Compulsory worship in schools breaches the human rights of the child Most people want the law repealed, e.g. Nick Clegg’s online consultation Most secondary schools break the law Most primary schools comply with the law School assemblies would be fully inclusive

Schools would teach religion and belief in an unbiased way Across the UK, standards of Religious Education (RE) vary Each county council draws up its own RE syllabus Most of these are biased in favour of religious beliefs, including the one for West Sussex West Sussex County Council has deliberately excluded non-religious involvement in RE Local RE syllabuses would be replaced by an inclusive academic subject as part of the national curriculum The Religious Education Council stated: If RE is 'open' it is necessary for pupils to learn that there are many who do not believe or practise a theistic or religious world-view. Indeed if pupils did not learn this, it could be said they were victims of indoctrination.

There would be no discrimination in the provision of public services Public welfare services would be delivered by organisations that do not discriminate against their clients and employees Most people want secular services of high quality Replacing a good secular service by a faith based service may have negative social consequences, e.g. Salvation Army supporting sex workers There is no evidence that religious organisations provide better services than secular organisations Religious organisations receive disproportionate government interest, e.g. consultations, InterFaith

One law for all The law underpins society Different laws for different subgroups of a society clearly undermines the national law, e.g. Sharia law Every member of society would have equal access to the law

Changes to other parts of UK law In a secular society, we would need to: Improve the Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Education Bill Allow the marriage of same sex couples Include evolution in the national curriculum Exclude creationism/intelligent design from science lessons Reintroduce an Assisted Dying Bill opposed by bishop Lords Make hospital and army chaplains voluntary Make charity law recognise Humanism as a charitable cause Protect free speech, still under threat after abolition of blasphemy law End ritual animal slaughter considered cruel by RSPCA Include unbiased census questions on religion and belief Provide balanced BBC broadcasting of religion and belief

Dispelling a few myths Secularism is not anti-religious. It is neutral regarding religion and belief Secularism is not an atheist position. It is supported by the majority of people around the world

In conclusion For there to be a healthy and harmonious society, people would have autonomy over their beliefs, be treated fairly, and not discriminated against This can only be achieved in a secular society Rather than Faith versus Secularism, the title of this conference, we would have faith in secularism The more debates like this, the closer we will move towards a fully inclusive society