Policy Areas - Education and Culture

'Secular Sunday Schools' to be launched in US

agency reporter — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:29:58 +0100

The Kochhar Humanist Education Center (KHEC), which was launched yesterday by the American Humanist Association, is to develop a curriculum for the humanist equivalent of Sunday schools. This will include programs in ethics geared to serve the children of atheists, agnostics and freethinkers.

Children should not be made to worship

Press Office — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:42:19 +0100

The Christian think-tank Ekklesia has concurred with the findings of a new report from Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights which says that any child of ‘sufficient maturity, intelligen

Call for children to be able to withdraw from collective school worship

staff writers — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:24:27 +0100

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has called on the government to support the new report from Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights which calls for children to be given the right to withdraw from worship in schools.

Royal Mail stamps out ten of Britain's cathedrals

staff writers — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:01:28 +0100

In a move which belies the anger of some Christian groups complaining at the downgrading of religious imagery on British stamps, the Royal mail yesterday issued a set of ten stamps celebrating ten of Britain's historic cathedrals.

Violence, ethnicity, religion and ancient symbols

Savi Hensman — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:23:50 +0100

A closer look at the Sri Lankan experience may throw some light on other situations where struggles supposedly based on ethnicity or religion turn out to be more complex – and where human rights are of critical importance, says Savi Hensman.

Catholics set up their own social networking website

staff writers — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:56:53 +0100

Following the worldwide success of online social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, the Roman Catholic Church is getting in on the act with a website which hopes to attract more than just the usual faithful.

Religious polemics migrate to cyberspace

Adam Darlage — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:44:52 +0100

New technology has always played a part in religious polemics and in the sense of identity generated through the heated exchange of opinion, says Adam Darlage. Consider Luther and the Catholics, and also what we see happening in cyberspace today.

Community Transformation: dream or reality?: A residential event facilitated by Dave Andrews

Jordan Tchilingirian — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:24:45 +0100

Start: 05/11/2008 - 16:00

End: 07/11/2008 - 13:30

Taking its inspiration and content both from Dave Andrews’ most recent book Compassionate Community Work and the work of Livability (formerly the Shaftesbury Society) and Tearfund with churches in t

Seminary sculptures confront war, torture and suffering

staff writers — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:00:49 +0100

An installation of sculptures responding to the horrors of war, particularly the ongoing war in Iraq, is on display at Union Theological Seminary in New York City until 16 May 2008. It is the work of priest and artist Thomas Faulkner.

Record-breaking Edinburgh sale brings injustice to book

Agencies — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:00:19 +0100

The Christian Aid book sale at St Andrew’s & St George’s Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, began its life on a very small scale in 1974 and has now become a national institution - the largest church development sale of its kind.

Scottish Catholic bishops say morality is going from the media

staff writers — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:10:39 +0100

In a message sent to all of Scotland's 500 Catholic parishes for the 42nd World Communications Day, Bishop Philip Tartaglia claims that "a fundamental disconnection between the provider and the consumer" has occurred in the media

St George hailed as a human rights campaigner

staff writers — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:53:19 +0100

The Patron Saint of England (and a number of other countries) has been hailed a human rights campaigner by fellow activist Peter Tatchell - who backs ideas that his national day should be a public holiday celebrating dissent.

Creationist film not very intelligently designed

staff writers — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:45:37 +0100

Millions of dollars have been spent promoting Ben Stein’s creationist propaganda movie ‘Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed’ to conservative church groups, but that money would have been better spent on fact checkers, say its critics.

St George is no crusader

Press Office — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:53:42 +0100

The religion and society think-tank Ekklesia has welcomed a new painting of St George, the patron saint of England, which portrays him as a man of compassion and challenges the myth of 'the crusade

True faith is always asking questions

Giles Fraser — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:34:36 +0100

Fundamentalism is a 20th-century invention, in many ways a response to the rapid social change brought about by modernity and global capitalism, says Giles Fraser. It is a perversion of religion, and in no way the real thing, let alone its 'heartbeat'.