‘If a religious group’s views are to be a genuine contribution to public debate, they have to be translatable into terms which others can understand and give rational weight to.’
Can religion be restricted to one’s private life? Would a truly secular society place intolerable restrictions on religious believers? These questions and many more were raised during the Humanist Philosophers’ conference on ‘Religion in Public Life’ held on Saturday 16 July at Conway Hall by the British Humanist Association and the South Place Ethical Society.
The aim of the conference was to bring together humanists philosophers, Muslims and Christians to present their reflection on the topic, and end with a panel debate.
The case for secularism was advanced by Professor Richard Norman and BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson, who both argued that a truly secular society is the most tolerant model that successfully accommodates a range of individuals’ personal views on religion and belief, without imposing strictures beyond peaceable toleration on the community.
Contrasting experiences from an Islamic perspective were explored by Nasreen Rahman, Chair of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, and Dilwar Hussain, of Head of Policy and Research at the Islamic Foundation. Nasreen Rehman pointed to the importance of separation of church and state, and how in particular secularism benefits from those of minority religions, who do not feel actively excluded from society. Ms Rehman also raised the contradiction inherit in the education policies of successive governments between promoting divisive ‘faith’ schools and encouraging community cohesion. Dilwar Hussain took an opposing view, arguing that it is all parents’ right to have their children educated in a faith-based framework but conceded that whether this should be funded by the state was a much more difficult question to answer.
The most heated exchange occurred between the Research Director of the theology think-tank Theos, Nick Spencer, and the religion and society think-tank, Ekklesia’s Co-Director, Simon Barrow. Nick Spencer, previously in the publication Neither Private nor Privileged: The Role of Christianity in Britain Today had led with questioning what constitutes privledge: ‘Should religious people have a privileged position in society? The question is all but rhetorical. Privilege is anathema to us today. It is, almost by definition, something of which we disapprove. Of course religious people should not have a privileged position in society. Nobody should have a privileged position in society. The real question is: what constitutes privilege?’
While Simon Barrow of Ekklesia argued that ‘a proper distinction between the institutional interests of particular belief communities and the functioning of an enabling or preserving state is necessary – but not sufficient – for the renewal of civil society as a place of mutually beneficial cooperation, discussion, dialogue, disagreement and negotiation.’
The event concluded with a panel discussion where all parties put across their final arguments and were challenged by members of the audience in a final question and answer session.
Notes
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.