The Soviet Union, my part in its downfall
How did a mild-mannered British businessman find himself dodging Soviet agents to smuggle dissident Andrei Sahkarov's banned memoirs into Moscow in 1989? Bryan Hamlin confesses all
Politics & Conflict
The TV Ramadan ‘row’ and the question of Islamophobia
News that Channel 4 is to broadcast daily prayer calls during Ramadan has prompted a wave of tabloid outrage. Is it time we started to take anti-Muslim prejudice more seriously?
A bad week for the US religious right
With the Supreme Court ruling in favour of same-sex marriage, and a heroic filibustering effort in Texas, liberals have scored key victories in the culture wars
Why feminists should oppose the burqa
Islamic veiling is a form of sexist patriarchal oppression, and supporters of equality have a responsibility to say so, argues Terri Murray
President Obama criticises faith schools in Northern Ireland speech
In an address to school children in Belfast, the US President suggests that religious schools have a divisive effect on communities
Turkey aflame
From Istanbul, Padraic Rohan reports on the continuing unrest and the challenges facing the Prime Minster and the opposition parties
Iain Duncan Smith wouldn’t last long in the Rationalists’ Parliament
There will be no fiddling with statistics at our new evidence-friendly debating chamber, promises Adam Smith .
Indonesia
The government of the world's most populous Muslim country claims that the country is free from religious strife. But is the appearance of harmony at the expense of freedom of…
Gay marriage passes Commons test
The historic same-sex marriage legislation for England and Wales is over its main Parliamentary hurdle. But humanist marriage is mysteriously jilted at the altar. Anna Vesterinen reports
Introducing the Rationalists’ Parliament
With its focus on reason and evidence, our parallel assembly goes deeper than jeering and groupthink, says Adam Smith