Should burqas be allowed in court?
As a defendant refuses a judge's request to remove her veil at her Hackney trial, Ralph Jones argues that religious sensitivities must not be allowed to obstruct the legal process
Politics & Conflict
A thinking-person’s parliament
The Speaker of the House for the inaugural session of the Rational Parliament, Michael Brooks, explains why we need a new initiative to put some thought into politics
Have your say at the Rational Parliament
The first-ever session of the experimental parallel Parliament is approaching fast. Get ready to debate GM food at the Conway Hall.
India’s second freedom struggle
My friend and colleague Narendra Dabholkar was murdered for standing up to superstition. Let us hope his death inspires Indians to continue his fight for rationalism, says Sanal Edamaruku
Beyond Dawkins
Our incoming editor Daniel Trilling calls for a new approach to discussing religion
Atomic cities
On the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, David Baresch's powerful account of visiting the sites shows that the past is not forgotten
Ramblings of a defeated republican
With the royals more popular than ever, these are dark days for anti-monarchists. Paul Sims gathers his thoughts.
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
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