Episodes

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. Helen Nicholls reviews The Reluctant Gay Activist, the revised memoir of former NSS president Terry Sanderson. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/10/terry-sandersons-memoir-shows-that-gay-and-secularist-activism-often-go-hand-in-hand

It’s that time of year again, when we look forward to a break and reflect on the year that’s been. Read the full message: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/12/a-message-from-the-chief-executive

A ground-breaking case on the right to a pluralistic education in Northern Ireland is currently being considered by the High Court. Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/12/ep-63

An interview with journalist Kunwar Khuldune Shahid on Islamist ideology and jihadism, blasphemy, and the importance of free speech. Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/12/ep-62

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. The Armed Forces must dismantle their institutional Christian privilege if they are truly committed to inclusivity, says Megan Manson. Read this original opinion piece: ‘Inclusive language’ in the army is meaningless without inclusive culture – National Secular Society (secularism.org.uk)

Looking to explore the currents of thought behind secularism? Here are nine books to begin with. Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/11/ep-61

In an increasingly secular country, why does the British army retain its exclusively Christian practices? Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/11/ep-60

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. A new government fund exclusively for faith groups threatens to embed religious privilege into public services, warns Megan Manson. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/09/beware-the-governments-new-normal-of-faith-based-public-services

Should organisations be entitled to tax breaks and other privileges solely on the basis that they ‘advance religion’? Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/10/ep-59

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. As a bill to reform collective worship progresses in parliament, Stephen Evans argues that the time has come for lawmakers to recognise that laws mandating worship have no place in modern Britain. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/09/schools-should-be-liberated-from-the-compulsion-of-worship

What’s wrong with marriage law in England and Wales, and how can it be made fit for purpose in the twenty-first century? Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/10/ep-58

How far has Viktor Orbán’s illiberal Christian regime undermined secularism in Hungary? Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/09/ep-57

The Assisted Dying Bill 2021 is likely to have its second reading this autumn. But how far should the law permit those who wish to die to be assisted by others in doing so? Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/09/ep-56

A spoof religion devised to mock creationism has attracted a global following. But what does ‘religion’ mean anyway? With Derk Venema (03:20), Tanya Watkins (28:35), and Tony Meacham (43:17). Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/08/ep-55

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. The Church of England’s new evangelical missional strategy should lead us to question its entitlement to proselytise in schools, argues Stephen Evans. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/07/schools-arent-there-to-save-the-church

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. A parliamentary group has removed provisions in its ‘faith covenant’ that prevent faith groups from proselytising when delivering public services. This leaves vulnerable people open to exploitation, says Megan Manson. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/07/helping-the-public-shouldnt-mean-pushing-religion-on-people

“Not one single residential school was ever built with a playground. But every single residential school had ample space for a cemetery.” Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/07/ep-54

The history of LGBT rights in the UK has been one long struggle against prejudice, entrenched views – and organised religion. Full shownotes and subscriber information: www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/07/ep-53

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. UN efforts to challenge violations of human rights should consider both oppressive laws which theocrats uphold in former colonies and efforts to impose similar agendas further afield, says Keith Porteous Wood. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/05/the-religious-threat-to-global-human-rights-must-be-taken-seriously

A new Catholic primary school is about to be constructed in Hampton Water, Peterborough, despite local opposition. It will be the first state-funded Catholic school in England for a decade. Full shownotes and subscriber information: https://www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/06/ep-52/

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. Every child has been withdrawn from sex education classes at an independent faith school. Megan Manson says the parental right of withdrawal is incompatible with children’s right to an education that keeps them safe. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/05/parents-religious-wishes-must-not-trump-childrens-safety-and-education

Satire is “the oxygen of a democracy,” according to Caroline Fourest, writer, filmmaker, anti-extremist and former Charlie Hebdo journalist. She speaks to Emma Park in the latest episode of the NSS podcast. Full shownotes and subscriber information: www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/06/ep-51

Opinion Out Loud brings you a selection of the National Secular Society’s opinion pieces in audio format. Read this original opinion piece: https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2021/04/women-leaving-islam-the-rights-of-those-who-leave-religion-must-be-protected The film Women Leaving Islam shows the risks facing those who stand up for the fundamental right to leave religion and the ongoing neglect of minorities within minorities in public life, says Helen Nicholls.

What does it mean for a school to be ‘C of E’? And how far does the Church of England’s influence extend over state-funded education? Full shownotes and subscriber information: www.secularism.org.uk/podcast/2021/05/ep-50