Category: Education

Humanist Society has its say on fair school votes for East Lothian
November 14, 2023
Humanist Society has responded to a local council consultation, arguing that religious reps’ voting rights on the local education committee should be removed. Our CEO Fraser Sutherland also spoke to The National about the need for elected officials to be…

Humanist Society comments on links between evangelical pastor and charity working in primary schools
November 13, 2023
An article in The National reveals that Dave Brackenridge is the CEO of Rookie Rockstars, a charity operating in several Scottish primary schools. He was recently recorded making comments about the First Minister, Rishi Sunak (whom he mistakenly calls a…

Humanist Society Conference 2023: chair’s opening speech
November 1, 2023
On Friday 27 October 2023 at Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh, our chair Jennifer Buchan delivered the opening remarks for our annual conference, on the future of abortion rights in Scotland. We are delighted to publish Jennifer’s speech here. In it, she…

Edinburgh Council removes voting rights from religious reps on education committee
August 31, 2023
Humanist Society Scotland is delighted that Edinburgh Council has voted to remove voting rights from unelected religious representatives on its education committee. Since the start of May, five councils (Edinburgh, Stirling,* Fife, Highlands, and Orkney) have voted to remove these undemocratic…

Humanist Society interview series: James Calder, Fife councillor for fair school votes
August 22, 2023
One of our most important campaigns is about removing undemocratic voting rights from religious representatives on local education committees. Due to a historic piece of legislation all local councils have to include three religious representatives on their local education committees….

Humanist Society interview series: Kendal Delaney
July 24, 2023
Our Humanist Society interview series is about meeting inspiring people. This includes members of our community bringing humanist values into their daily lives. We can’t think of a better example of this than Humanist Society-trained celebrant Kendal Delaney. Kendal is…

We launch our new education guides for non-religious young people, parents, and carers
July 17, 2023
We are delighted to launch our updated education guides for non-religious young people, parents, and carers. The guides, which you can access via our education resources page or using the buttons below, provide comprehensive information on when and how religion…

Stirling Council will remove education votes from religious reps after next election
We are delighted that Stirling Council has voted to remove voting rights from religious representatives on its education committee. The change will take effect after the next local council elections in 2027. Conservative and Unionist councillor Bryan Flannagan proposed the…

Fife Council removes voting rights from unelected religious advocates on education committee
June 22, 2023
We are delighted that Fife Council has voted by 36 to 32 to remove voting rights from unelected religious representatives on its education committee. This follows on from the identical votes passed in the Highlands and Orkney last month and…

Our CEO interviewed in The National on religious rep education votes
May 29, 2023
Our CEO Fraser Sutherland spoke to The National‘s Steph Brawn in an interview published on Sunday 28 May. He outlined our opposition to the “historical hangover” of religious representatives having voting rights on local education committees. Fraser and Steph also…

Humanist Society interview series: Gemma Clark, abortion rights campaigner
May 22, 2023
At Humanist Society Scotland, we love talking to inspiring campaigners. We got to know abortion-rights activist and primary schoolteacher Gemma Clark through her awareness-raising work on the need for buffer zones around abortion services. Scotland is the last part of…