The British Humanist Association (BHA) has today welcomed a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that found deep concern about the damage that religion does to British society. The study consulted 3500 people about their views on modern Britain and found that alongside poverty, consumerism and drug abuse, religion is thought of as a social evil. While some respondents thought that the decline in religion has weakened morality, most were worried about religious irrationality, the influence of religion on politics or the ways in which religion undermines social cohesion.
Andrew Copson, Director of Education and Public Affairs for the BHA said: ‘It comes as no surprise to us that the public are angered when they see faith schools separating their communities or unelected bishops sitting in the House of Lords. We agree with dominant opinion in the survey which argued that it is not just a tiny minority of extremists who do damage in the name of religion; it is all those who seek to exempt religion from the rules which govern the rest of society.’