Tag: secularism

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We support the Fair Admissions Campaign

A new campaign has launched which wants all state-funded schools in England and Wales to be open equally to all children, without regard to religion or belief. The Fair Admissions Campaign has support from a wide coalition of individuals and national and local organisations, including theBritish Humanist Association (BHA). We are affiliated to the BHA and fully support the aims of the Fair Admissions Campaign.

Our position

Labour Humanists advocates an inclusive and accommodating education system, and we oppose religious discrimination in admissions and employment by state-funded faith schools.

Schools selecting pupils on the basis of the professed faith of the parents are segregating children and young people along religious, socio-economic, cultural, and even ethnic lines. As such, discriminatory faith schools pose a big threat to social cohesion in this country. They also play their part in increasing social inequality, often taking the highest achieving students from their local areas, becoming what are in effect grammar schools by a different name. Their admissions policies also tend to favour those from more affluent backgrounds over children from poorer backgrounds.

Labour Humanists would like to see:

  • No new faith school being allowed to select in its admissions
  • Faith schools’ existing discriminatory admissions policies to be abolished and they cannot apply in future

 

Find out more about the Fair Admissions Campaign and how you can get involved.

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Sorry Archbishop, equality before the law is a ‘general social good’

Despite an organised and concerted effort led by Conservatives, Bishops, and other religious Peers, to stop the equal marriage Bill in its tracks, a wrecking amendment was overwhelmingly defeated in a vote last night. The Bill is now likely to make swift progress through the House of Lords before becoming law.

Speaking in the debate, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is the principal leader of the Church of England and who sits in the parliament by ‘right’ simply because of his position in the Church, opposed equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

He stated, ‘The majority of faith groups remain very strongly against the Bill, and have expressed that view in a large number of public statements. The House of Bishops of the Church of England has also expressed a very clear majority view.’

He also referenced the issue of faith schools, referring to religious concerns that they would have to teach that same-sex marriage is equal to marriage between a woman and a man. A third of state-funded schools are faith schools and we firmly believe that they should not have opt-outs to allow homophobic teaching based on religious perspectives.

After setting out the strong opposition to equal marriage from his own church and other religious groups, Archbishop Welby went on to say, ‘It is not, at heart, a faith issue; it is about the general social good.’

Well, we firmly believe that valuing and enshrining people’s equality before the law is unquestionably a social good. We are pleased to campaign in favour of the equal marriage Bill alongside others including humanist groups, many religious people and groups such as Quakers and Unitarians, LGBT rights campaigners, and those from across the political spectrum.

The Church of England has tried to stop this important move for equality right from the off, even opposing equal civil marriage for same-sex couples let alone religious marriage. Through its representative in the House of Commons it also strongly opposed popular moves to legalise humanist marriage. Although it gained some wins – no same-sex Anglican couples will ever be allowed to marry in their own Church – ultimately it will lose. The Church should never have been in the position to wield so much influence in the first place. Disestablishment of the Church of England and abolishing the reserved seats for Bishops of the Church of England is long overdue.

Naomi Phillips

Chair, Labour Humanists

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Letter to Ed Miliband on Bishops in the Lords

Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP

Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

                28 June 2012

I am writing on behalf of Labour Humanists to request that, as you consider Labour’s position on – and parliamentary strategy towards – the House of Lords Reform Bill, you will settle on a secular approach. That is, that the Parliamentary Labour Party will oppose government proposals to retain reserved places for Church of England bishops in a partially elected chamber.

As you know, Labour’s policy to have a 100% elected Lords would have meant abolishing the Lords Spiritual, and Labour Humanists can see no good legal, practical or ethical reason why in a partially elected chamber we should not similarly end the undemocratic ‘right’ for the Church of England to sit in our parliament.

Despite the Liberal Democrats’ clear policy against reserved seats for bishops in any reformed chamber, their leaders in parliament have introduced a Bill which retains that unjustifiable religious privilege, and those on the government payroll may be whipped to support that provision.

Labour has a real opportunity to take a more principled position – let us now take the lead in working for secular reform which privileges nor discriminates against any member of the Lords on the basis of religion or belief.

By all means let Church of England bishops, and any other clergy or religious representatives, stand for election or be eligible for appointment to a reformed Lords but let that be on the same basis as everyone else.

Promoting equality and campaigning against privilege in our democratic arrangements is not just a secularist position, it should be the Labour position. We are convinced that many in the Party, religious and non-religious, would fully support moves by the PLP to amend the government’s Bill in a way to get rid of the bishops’ bench. Indeed, former minister for constitutional reform Chris Bryant MP, who is ordained in the Church of England, has been one of the most outspoken advocates of ending the right of bishops to sit in parliament, and has spoken alongside prominent humanists on the issue.

Should you wish to discuss this important issue further, we would be delighted to meet with you or your staff at your convenience.

Yours sincerely

Naomi Phillips

Chair, Labour Humanists