You are browsing: Human Rights & Ethics

  • Secularism in Singapore

    Large numbers in this thriving South East Asian state profess no religion beliefs, yet a dated colonial Penal Code means atheists do not enjoy equal rights under the law. John van Wyhe and Huifen Zheng on the trouble with religious freedom in Singapore

  • Should humanists support nuclear disarmament?

    With David Cameron arguing that Britain needs the Bomb, Paul Sims asks whether it's time for humanists to get political

  • An unnatural persecution

    The media hounding of Lucy Meadows, the transgender teacher who took her own life in March, was fuelled by a reductive notion of what makes us human, says Tony McKenna

  • What will the US Supreme Court do about gay marriage?

    With two landmark cases up before America's highest court, it's a pivotal moment for gay rights. Given the religious affiliations of the majority of Justices, what can we expect? Aaron Rosen and Isaac Rosen report

  • Many paths to salvation

    Atheists should acknowledge that religion can provide a spiritual narrative for violent offenders to take responsibility for their crimes and change their lives. But it's certainly not the only way, and Joanna Jepson's celebration of Angola's evangelical project is naive and lacks an understanding of the violence, and racism, of the system itself

  • Anglican in Angola

    Atheists may be reluctant to admit it but religion can help to save souls – at least according to the Reverend Joanna Jepson who saw for herself the effects of Warden Burl Cain's Bible seminary on the inmates of one of America's most notorious prisons

  • Drop blasphemy charges against Sanal Edamaruku

    One year after blasphemy complaints were filed against him, Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku remains at risk of imprisonment. We now call on the Indian Prime Minister to intervene in his case

  • Why reason really matters

    The case of Margaret Wisele in Malawi, a woman who had her leg hacked off because she was accused of witchcraft, reminds us of the vital importance of campaigning for reason.

  • Book review: Christianophobia by Rupert Shortt

    The idea of Christian persecution may sound like the paranoid ravings of beleaguered believers, but in many countries across the world Christians face very real threats that should concern us all, finds Richard Wilson.

  • Opt-out is the best organ option

    Unjustifiable moral objections mean that healthy organs are routinely wasted because of the need to opt-in to donation. It's time to change the law. If you don’t want your organs harvested then you should have to opt-out, says Craig Purshouse