The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has supported amendments made to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill by BHA Vice President Dr Evan Harris MP. The amendments seek to end the religious and gender discrimination in the rules governing royal marriages and succession to the Crown.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Naomi Phillips, BHA Head of Public Affairs, said, ‘The BHA’s work for an open and inclusive society, leads us to fight against religious privilege and unjust, unnecessary discrimination. It follows that it is our position that no church or other religious body should have any connection with our constitution, far less an officially established church.’
‘Our commitment to equality, freedom of belief and expression and human rights, therefore also leads us to support reform aimed to tackle the inbuilt gender and religious discrimination in succession to the Crown. Such discrimination is clearly antagonistic to secular, liberal principles and, until such time as our vision for a secular state is realised, it is important to tackle the religious privilege and other discrimination ingrained at the heart of our constitution.’
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For further comment or information, contact Naomi Phillips on 020 7079 3585.
The British Humanist Association represents and supports the non-religious. 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.