Category: Religion

Large majority of religious people in Scotland support assisted dying, new poll shows
September 19, 2023
A new poll from Yougov shows that most religious people in Scotland support legalising assisted dying. The evidence, commissioned by Dignity in Dying and gathered during July 2023, reveals that 64% of people who identify with a particular religion support…

No higher power has the right to dictate the terms of our death
September 15, 2023
Humanist Society Scotland has today refuted religious arguments put against the right to an assisted death by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland. On the 13th September a representative on behalf of the leadership of the Catholic Church in Scotland wrote…

Our CEO talks Danish blasphemy laws on BBC Scotland
September 11, 2023
Our CEO Fraser Sutherland talked about the danger of “back-door blasphemy laws” when he joined Cathy MacDonald on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Morning show last week (9 September). Discussing the issue alongside him were Aman De Sondy, Head of Religious Studies…

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…

Far more humanist weddings than Christian ceremonies in 2022: National Records of Scotland
July 20, 2023
The Humanist Society has welcomed new figures showing that far more humanist weddings were conducted than Christian ceremonies in 2022. The National Records of Scotland (NRS) released the figures as part of a larger set of data, showing a huge rise…

Stirling Council will remove education votes from religious reps after next election
July 17, 2023
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…

Humanist Society interview series: Ali Kerr (Pride Month special)
June 13, 2023
In a special Pride Month instalment in our Humanist Society Scotland interview series, we speak to a member of the humanist community whose work combines two causes very close to our hearts. Firstly, Ali Kerr is a humanist celebrant, who…

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…