My Apostasy Story: Clair
As part of our Apostasy Project ex-pastor Clair explains how she went from speaking in tongues to free-wheeling round Europe on a mission of discovery
Human Rights & Ethics
Saudi Arabia’s “atheism = terrorism” law is part of a wider crackdown on dissent
Saudi Arabia is hardly known for moderate policy making. Law in the theocratic kingdom requires that all citizens be Muslims (an overseas national seeking Saudi citizenship must convert), and religious…
How Turkey’s Twitter ban backfired
How do you police the internet? It’s a question that most governments are confronting in one way or another, from America’s mass surveillance programme, to Britain’s sentences for Twitter trolls,…
The strange story of Burkina Faso’s “pleasure hospital” tells us about the difficulties in eradicating FGM
There are currently around 125 million women alive in the world who have undergone some form of female genital mutilation (FGM), a procedure in which female genitalia are altered or…
Has Pope Francis done anything to tackle clerical child abuse?
The National Secular Society's Keith Porteous Wood argues that the widely-hailed Pontiff has failed to address his Church's greatest scandal
Could assisted suicide be legalised?
On Saturday, the Government said that MPs and peers will be given a free vote on an assisted dying bill. The private members bill, introduced by former Labour lord chancellor…
Like it or not, the ritual slaughter debate is about much more than animal rights
They may find it uncomfortable, but opponents of halal and kosher who simply point to the evidence need to acknowledge the context in which the argument occurs, says Paul Sims
European Parliament passes a progressive resolution in support of secularism
In a welcome step, the European Parliament last week adopted a progressive resolution on fundamental rights in the European Union. The resolution addresses a wide variety of topics from citizenship…
Beyoncé is good for feminism
Reactions to the pop megastar tell us much about race and gender. But let's not exaggerate the importance of celebrity voices in what should be a leaderless movement, says Reni…
“Blasphemous” image edited out of Katy Perry video on YouTube following complaints
A pendant depicting the Arabic word for “Allah” has been edited out of the video for “Dark Horse”, the latest single by pop star Katy Perry, following complaints that the…