Category: Religion
2023 in campaigns
January 27, 2023
2023 looks set be a pivotal year for humanism in Scotland. We look forward to the passing of a law to protect women from harassment outside abortion clinics and we hope that new rules will follow to ensure dignity in…
Does religion still matter in politics?
September 21, 2022
Join us on Monday October 3rd for an online event as Edinburgh Humanists host guest speaker Sir John Curtice FRSA FRSE FBA as he explores the question, does religion still matter in politics?
Sir John is a British political scientist, senior research fellow at NatCen, and Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University. This event is hosted by the Edinburgh Humanists and will be followed by a Q&A facilitated by Humanist Society Scotland CEO, Fraser Sutherland.
OMG you can’t write that!
September 15, 2022
Join us for an online event to marked Banned Book Week 2022 on Thursday 22nd September. Fraser Sutherland, Emma Wadsworth-Jones, Professor Maggie Kinloch, Terry Anderson, and Terry Greig will explore the topic of book banning, censorship and religion during the online talk, OMG you can’t write that!
Humanists attend First Minister’s summit on abortion care
June 27, 2022
Scottish Humanists have reacted to today’s abortion care summit hosted by the First Minister. Humanist Society Scotland chair, Professor Maggie Kinloch attended the summit alongside other campaigners who have called for urgent action to improve abortion care and protection for…
Humanists call for bold action on children’s rights in Scotland
May 24, 2022
After John Swinney MSP made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the future of the UNCRC bill and vowed to ‘bold’ on children’s rights in Scotland, Humanist Society Scotland have questioned why progress has been glacial on reforms highlighted to be needed by the committee.
We urge local councils to scrap church voting rights
May 11, 2022
We have written to all of Scotland’s local councils urging them to end voting rights for non-elected church representatives sitting on local education committees.
2020 Scottish humanist of the year jailed for blasphemy
April 5, 2022
Humanist Society Scotland and humanists across the globe have reacted with dismay after Mubarak Bala was sentenced to 24 years in prison in relation to social media posts that were deemed to be “blasphemous”. Dr Leo Igwe, Board member of…
Non-religious people encouraged to ‘be honest’ about their beliefs in 2022 Census
March 9, 2022
New research carried out by YouGov published today by Humanist Society Scotland reveals how the 2022 Scottish census is potentially expected to show a vast decline in religious identity when compared to the 2011 census. The poll findings reveal how…
Scottish blasphemy law repealed following humanist campaign
March 11, 2021
Today members of Scottish Parliament voted to pass the Hate Crimes and Public Order (Scotland) Act which (amongst other things) repeals Scotland’s common law offense of “blasphemy”. Humanist Society Scotland has been at the forefront of the campaign to repeal…
Three quarters of Scots reject church Covid lockdown exemptions
February 17, 2021
New polling released today by Humanist Society Scotland shows that an overwhelming three-quarters of Scots reject the view of a number of churches that they should be exempt from lockdown, as church leaders lodge a judicial review appealing for places of worship to be exempt from coronavirus restrictions.
Humanists welcome hate crime bill amendments
February 9, 2021
Humanist Society Scotland has welcomed amendments to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill agreed by MSPs this morning. The amendments agreed today remove the specific sections in the draft bill that targeted theatres and owning ‘inflammatory material’. In…