We frequently achieve success in our campaigns as we work to tackle discrimination against the non-religious and to bring about fair and equal treatment for all.
Here are some wins that we’re most proud of:
Abolishing blasphemy laws in England and Wales
Legalisation of same-sex marriages across the UK
Decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland
Banning creationism in schools
Humanists taking part in Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph
Making Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in English schools
Non-religious pastoral care in NHS hospitals
Non-religious worldviews equal to major religions in RE
Shutting down illegal religious schools
Legal recognition of humanist marriages
Saving the lives of non-religious asylum seekers
Other recent and ongoing successes
Other recent and ongoing successes which have come about as a result of our campaigning, or in coalition with partner groups, include:
- 2022
- The Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill passed through its final stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly, introducing a system of soft opt-out organ donation.
- 2021
- Wales changes the law on RE to make it fully inclusive of humanism, and to introduce inclusive RE in all schools
- 2020
- We advised governments across the UK on moral and ethical decision-making during the pandemic. Our funeral celebrants and pastoral carers were designated key workers
- We supported six couples taking a court case to secure legal recognition of humanist marriages in England and Wales. The result was the judge ruled the present law gives rise to discrimination’
- The introduction of an opt-out organ donation system in England which will save more lives
- 2019
- We worked to save Hamza bin Walayat, the humanist asylum seeker who was finally granted asylum after humanists rallied to save his life. Now we’re training Home Office staff on humanist and non-religious asylum applications
- The first ever legally recognised humanist marriage in Jersey
- 2018
- First humanist head of a pastoral support and chaplaincy team at an NHS Trust, allowing more people to receive humanist pastoral care
- Government decides to keep 50% cap on admissions to religious free schools after our campaigning
- Protecting free speech on university campuses by prompting parliamentary guidance on free speech
- 2017
- First ever legally recognised humanist marriage conducted in Northern Ireland
- Welsh Government holds first ever humanist state funeral for ex-First Minister Rhodri Morgan
- 2016
- Ministry of Defence sponsors first ever national Remembrance event for non-religious people who died serving their country
- United Nations calls on UK governments to urgently extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland, and repeal ‘collective worship’ law
- Wales adopts new evidence-led, humane opt-out law on organ donation
- 2015
- NHS England guidelines require humanist pastoral support in all hospitals for the first time
- 2012
- Scout Association and Girlguiding UK work with us to change their Promises to enable non-religious young people and adult volunteers to join for the first time
- 2011
- Our campaign to allow the advancement of non-religious beliefs for the public benefit to be a charitable object – which became the case in 2011
- Our 2011 Census Campaign, encouraging people who are not religious to tick the relevant box on that year’s Census form. The number of those who ticked ‘No religion’ rose from 15% in 2001 to 25% that year.
Historically we’ve had even more achievements since 1896 which have come about as a result of our work either alone or in coalition, including:
- 1896 – Union of Ethical Societies formed with focus on ‘right living’ without religion
- 1911 – First ever global conference against racism hosted by us in London
- 1945 – Founding of UNESCO by our President Julian Huxley, originally intended to promote humanism and peace internationally through arts and culture
- 1955 – Humanist Housing Association founded to ensure fair access to housing to non-religious people
- 1965 – Agnostics Adoption Society founded to open adoption to the non-religious
- 1967 – Abortion made generally legal in Britain, homosexuality decriminalised in England and Wales, death penalty brought to an end, and Family Planning Act makes the pill widely available for the first time
- 1968 – First campaign for ‘Moral Education’ launched, predating modern subjects like PSHE and Citizenship
- 1979 – Gay Humanist Group (now LGBT Humanists) founded to help organise and support LGBT community activism in response to Gay News blasphemy trial
- 1998 – Human Rights Act makes freedom of religion or belief and freedom of speech and expression a legal right in the UK
- 2006 – The UK Equality Act protects people from discrimination on grounds of ‘religion or belief’ in employment and the provision of services. We sat on the Government steering group for the new law
- 2006 – We secured an amendment to the then Equality Bill to ensure that young people could no longer be expelled from their school on account of their religious opinions (for instance, if they attend a faith school and decide they do not share the religion of the school)
- 2006 and 2010 – We helped with the passing of the 2006 and 2010 Equality Acts, bringing comprehensive equality legislation into English, Welsh, and Scottish law
- 2009-10 – Our Atheist Billboard Campaign, which promoted the message ‘Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and decide for myself’ – opposing the labelling of children with religious or non-religious beliefs
- 2010 – Equality Act 2010 outlaws discrimination in employment and services on grounds of ‘religion or belief.’
These are just a handful of examples – many more can be found throughout the campaigns’ pages of our website.