The British Humanist Association (BHA) has said that the government should close the discrimination loopholes for religious organisations involved in public service provision, and should ensure that all services are fully inclusive.

As the debate on church and welfare continue, the Prime Minister and other senior government figures today host a reception with the winners of the 2008 Faithworks Awards at No 10 Downing Street.

Churches, faith groups, racial justice campaigners and civic and community organisations need to work together more determinedly in the face of continuing serious failures in mental health provision, says Black Mental Health UK.

Religion and culture are abused when they are employed illegitimately to justify the suppression of women and the denial of their equal humanity, human rights lawyer Chrie Booth argued yesterday in a lecture at Chatham House in London.

Controversial new legislation came into force yesterday providing protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as well as on the grounds of religion or belief.

The Church of Sweden, which has been criticised by other Lutherans for blessing civil partnerships, says the state should not redefine marriage.

A major evangelical agency supports full equality in public services, and says this needs to be separated from church rows about sexuality

A report launched yesterday by the thinktank 'Theos', which argues for the retention of Bishops in a reformed House of Lords, has been criticised by humanists and Christians as failing to address issues of ethics, justice and equality.