Yesterday, in the House of Lords, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Lord McKenzie of Luton, welcomed the contribution of the British Humanist Association (BHA) to the public debate around the case for greater secularism in government and society.
The Lords were reviewing two reports published by the BHA, The Case for Secularism: A Neutral State in an Open Society and Quality and Equality: Human Rights, Public Services and Religious Organisations. In an open and lively debate the case for secularism was put forward by BHA distinguished supporter Lord Harrison, who argued that in the run up to the election and inevitable House of Lords reform, the reserved 26 seats in the chamber for the clergy presented a rather ‘odd face to the outside world’.
He continued that ‘The BHA case for secularism argues that we can no longer base society on a shared religion, but rather on shared values. A secular state seeks to protect the rights of all citizens to hold their own beliefs, religious or otherwise’.
Baroness Massey of Darwen turned the debate onto the issue of faith schools in an increasingly multi-cultural society, stating that ‘What worries me is the notion that faith schools encourage community cohesion. I cannot see this to be the case when children are divided up and removed from their communities. Equally, a school whose intake is of one religion only, as some are, cannot promote cohesion and respect for other communities in society because they are exclusive.’
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston talked about the contribution of Humanists in parliament, and that through humanist research, together with religious research, a better understanding of key ethical debates can take place, both in the House and outside of it.
Lord Taverne made the case for a full separation of church and state arguing that ‘neutrality requires the separation of Church and state, which was one of the most important consequences of the Enlightenment, which I regard as one of the best and most hopeful episodes in the history of mankind.’
Baroness Turner of Camden wished to draw attention to the government policy of contracting out to religious organisations, which it can be argued, may discriminate in their provision of public services. She then went on to make it quite clear that ‘secularism does not pose a threat to anyone, quite the contrary. It enables religions and beliefs to exist and flourish. It seeks only to protect against. That is what secularism is all about and we should all support it.’
The government representative in the debate, Lord McKenzie of Luton, concluded the debate with the government’s position that, although they fully endorse the work faith communities do in our society, ‘It is important to ensure that people from all religious backgrounds-and those with no religion-enjoy the same life opportunities and feel confident in working with people who have different beliefs, but shared values, towards common goals. Today’s debate has contributed to the ongoing conversation on how we can foster such a fair society and has shown that the principle of a secular state, as described by the Humanist Philosophers’ Group, is not necessarily one which threatens religion.’
Notes
For further comment or information, contact Naomi Phillips on naomi@humanists.uk, 020 7079 3585 or 07540 257101.
Read the text of the full debate here.
Read the BHA’s briefing on the debate, with links to the reports.
Read more about the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, which now has 120 members from both Houses of Parliament and across all main Parties.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing the interests of the large and growing population of ethically concerned, non-religious people living in the UK. The BHA is deeply committed to human rights and advocates an open and inclusive society in which individual freedom of belief and speech are supported by a policy of disinterested impartiality on the part of the government and official bodies towards the many groups within society so long as they conform to the minimum conventions of the society.