The British Humanist Association has echoed the Government’s response to a debate in the House of Lords last night on the BBC, Humanism, and broadcasting, saying it ‘hopes the BBC has been listening’.

The recent growth in humanist marriage ceremonies in Scotland means they have overtaken Episcopal ceremonies for the first time. Since they were first made legal their number rose from 82 in 2005 to 710 in 2007.

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.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury believes the Church of England should be disestablished if the government opts for a fully-elected second chamber, claims a leading religion writer.

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.