The Labour Humanist Group

Labour Humanists warn Government on opening up welfare to religious groups

Labour Humanists recognise the desire on the part of the Government to raise standards of service delivery and to make Britain a world leader in welfare provision.

Within this, however, we would warn against the continued drive for religious organisations to take on a greater share of welfare services. Such organisations are currently exempt from sexual orientation equality legislation and are able to discriminate on the grounds of religion or belief. The delivery of welfare services by groups whose primary interest is not the delivery of those services, but rather the promotion of a particular religion, do not accord with the principles of free and fair access to all members of society.

We therefore call upon the Government to ensure these principles will not be compromised. We urge it to ensure our welfare system retains its secular and inclusive character, and take steps as a matter of urgency to remove the rights of religious groupings to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief.

The BHA’s report Quality and Equality: Human Rights, Public Services and Religious Organisations, tackles the issues touched upon above, and is available here: http://tinyurl.com/25w2hb

   

Labour Humanists: ‘faith’ schools triply divisive

It has long been clear that ‘faith’ schools serve to not only segregate children by their parents’ religions but also as a large side-effect of this to segregate them by race.

Research at the Institute of Education now reveals that which has been tacitly understood for many years, that religious schools’ intakes are indeed biased towards middle-class pupils.

With this triple-whammy of segregation by religion, race and social class, we again ask the Government to rethink its approach to the matter of ‘faith’ schools, and to community cohesion more broadly.

Labour Humanists call upon ministers at the very least to prohibit selection of pupils on religious grounds in all state-funded schools.

The Labour Government should also take note of the debilitating effect its education stance has on its core vote. Only when Labour starts to make genuine moves towards dismantling this modern-day segregation will beleaguered members and supporters have something to cheer the government on with as it goes into the fight for a fourth term.

Labour Humanists reject Archbishop sharia stance and give cautious welcome to Government response

Labour Humanists reject the Archbishop of Canterbury's view that some elements of sharia law should, and will, be incorporated into British law. The idea that the law should itself change to accommodate alternative allegiances of religious minorities is unacceptable not only to those professing no religion but to many religious believers too.

The Government's robust response is to be welcomed, but, in the light of the comments, Labour Humanists urge a thoroughgoing rethink of its continued support for 'faith' schools. Their existence strengthens the case for modern-day segregation in other spheres of society: the Government’s belief that ‘faith’ schools will clear the path to social cohesion is strongly echoed in the Archbishop’s notion that a diversity of legal systems will do the same. Separation on the grounds of religion, in any walk of life, is a recipe only for division, not cohesion.

The British Humanist Association also said that “Singling out certain groups for separate treatment will also surely undermine work towards good relations and social cohesion rather than assist it.” The BHA was also active internationally in preventing the (successful) campaign to prevent the introduction of sharia family law in Canada. Labour Humanists urge all members and other humanist groups to remain similarly active.

For more information, please get in touch with Adam Harrison at secretary@labourhumanists.org.uk

Faith Schools and Selection

Labour Humanists exec member has just had this letter published in The Times:

Sir, The tone and content of your leading article ("School for scandal",
Jan 12) were strangely at odds with the facts presented on the front page
("Backlash as more claim religion to get place in top schools", Jan 12).

There is a plenty of statistical research published by the British Humanist
Association and others showing that religious schools perform no better
than non-religious schools when key poverty indicators such as free school
meals are taken into account. In the unlikely event that religious schools
have access to some great educational secret, let them share this with all
schools. Anecdotal evidence from Ofsted inspectors suggests that, far from
being beacons of educational excellence, many of these schools are merely
riding on the coat-tails of middle-class extracurricular activities.

Children are born neither religious nor political. No one would seriously
consider establishing Conservative or vegetarian schools. Society
acknowledges that political institutions want control in order to deliver
the type of world that they believe in. Religious institutions are no
different, and their privileged access to young minds distorts current and
future society in a way that is no longer tolerable or desirable.

Dr Julia Mundy
Labour Humanists

Labour Humanists debate faith based welfare

Labour Humanists hosted another successful event on in the House of Commons, on the hot topic of 'faith-based welfare'.

Speaking were the BHA's Naomi Phillips, the TUC's Richard Exell and Observer columnist Nick Cohen. The event gave the chance to Labour Humanist members and interested observers to cast an eye over the Government's activities in this arena and consider what humanists can do to effect change.

Naomi Phillips spoke about the BHA's new report, Quality and Equality which highlights the continuing desire of the British population for public services to remain secular, the lack of evidence to show that religious organisations provide better services, and the risk of more inequality and discrimination that goes hand-in-hand with increasing contracting out of public services to such groups.

Nick Cohen traced the history of the group identity politics that characterises 21st century Britain, and underlined the threat of sectarianism inherent in such a model. As people of the Left and humanists, he said, we should concentrate not on these things that divide us, but those that unite us. Emphasis on creed and race - ancient causes of war, bigotry and aggression - will only exacerbate divisions.

Meanwhile, Richard Exell highlighted the timeliness of the debate as the Government embarks on what could form the constitutional settlement for the next century. To illustrate, as the Department for Work and Pensions has drawn its ideas from the USA, it has failed to consider the separation of Church and State that obtains there and the particular provisions for alternative welfare arrangements in place there - provisions which have not been installed here. Without acting now we could end up with at best a wholly unsatisfactory arrangement and at worst one which actively partitions communities and instils division...

Questions came flooding in from the members of the audience keen to discuss the issues, ranging from the extent to which employers should be able to demand certain beliefs as prerequisite, to enquiring as to the best ways to confront the sometime 'unholy' alliance of group identity politics and 'progressives' who view the new arrangements as part of the 'choice' agenda.

And as always, the lively discussion was continued with a talk in the pub afterwards!

An Opportunity to Debate "faith based" Public Services

Labour Humanists are pleased to announce that Naomi Phillips of the BHA, Richard Exell of the TUC and Nick Cohen of The Observer will be speaking on the growing place of 'faith-based' public service providers in the UK.

 

This exciting line-up is coming together at a time when the Government is seeking to increase the role that religious organisations play in providing public services, thus putting at risk the fair and inclusive nature these services have hitherto been famed for.

 

This coincides with the BHA's report into the issue released on the day before this event.

 

As Labour people and humanists, now is the time to oppose this development and voice our concern, so please come to Committee Room 14 in the House of Commons at 7pm Thursday 29th November to hear our speakers and make your own contributions.

 

For more information please get in touch with Adam Harrison or for information on the BHA's report please contact Naomi Phillips at naomi@humanism.org.uk

Labour Humanist Patrons

The Labour Humanists’ patrons are Lord Kinnock, and Angela Eagle MP.

Lord Kinnock is a former Leader of the Labour party (1983-92), and was a European Union Commissioner(1995-2004). He is one of the party's great orators and ardent supporters of humanism within Labour.

Angela Eagle is MP for Wallasey and is currently Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. She was a strong and vocal opponent of the threat to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from the requirement to provide adoption services on a non-discriminatory basis.

Fringe Report: Labour Humanists' reception

Labour Humanists' first appearance at Labour conference saw writer and philosopher AC Grayling speak to a fringe reception of Labour Humanist members, conference delegates, and a strong showing from the Dorset Humanists.

Professor Grayling, who is also a distinguished supporter of the BHA, spoke on the subject of civil liberties in modern Britain and the need to defend the progressive heritage the country has enjoyed. A lively debate followed, the crowd seizing the chance to ask questions and afterwards meet and socialise with fellow Labour humanists over a glass of bucks fizz.

The British Humanist Association was also on hand to speak with delegates.Their stall in the conference zone was manned at various intervals by a number of eager Labour Humanists, which undoubtedly drew new members into both the Labour Humanist and BHA fold. Alongside a raft of new members we also saw something of a run on our specially-minted Labour Humanist badges, later often spotted being worn by delegates about conference.

We are already in full swing planning for next year's conference and welcome any assistance and ideas members can offer.

Adam Harrison

Labour Conference Report: Has Ed Balls promised to crack down on faith schools who select out low income children?

Ed Balls has promised to take action against faith schools that pursue covert selection at the Fabian Society question time fringe debate.

According to the Fabians' own report on the debate:

"Schools secretary Ed Balls pledged to put faith schools under pressure to take a fairer social mix of pupils, responding to fears about 'covert selection by faith' at the Fabian fringe question time event on Sunday.

'We are not going to abolish 200 years of history. But many faith schools were set up specifically to give a decent education to the poor. They have a right to educate children in their faith, but they should not be less likely to educate poorer children of that faith', said Balls, agreeing with Anthony Giddens, who said that LSE research provided evidence that some faith schools could 'covert selection', being less representative of the social mix of their catchment areas

'We have a tough admissions code. It is right to say that faith schools – unlike academies, as it happens – currently take a lower number of pupils on free school meals than their catchment areas', said Balls."

Lord Giddens was referring to new research from the LSE which found that 17 per cent of pupils at faith schools are eligible for free school meals compared with 25 per cent at non-religious schools. Faith schools educate just under 20 per cent of lowest-ability pupils compared with 31 per cent of non-religious schools. Faith schools also educate a greater proportion of the pupils who score highest before arriving in secondary education.

Labour Humanists condemn Government’s Faith in the System report

Labour Humanists today maintained their firm opposition to ‘faith’ schools with a clear condemnation of the Government’s recent statement lauding the contribution such schools supposedly make to ‘community cohesion and integration’.

Chair Anthony Burn denounced the document as: “a clear example of the Government’s continuing folly in this area."

“The Government claims such schools will promote community cohesion - yet it stills fails to point to ways in which this will genuinely occur. Requiring ‘faith’ school pupils to have occasional contact with pupils from other schools will hardly equip our children with the skills to get on with those holding different beliefs - or indeed no religious beliefs.

“This is without again highlighting the squeeze on the rights of non-religious parents, caught in a system that assumes all Britons must belong to one religion or another.”

Labour Humanists also highlighted research released this week from the LSE showing ‘faith’ schools take in a far smaller proportion of children from low-income families than do their community school counterparts.

“Snaffling in the most teachable pupils under the guise of religion is wrong in any circumstance. But this creates only a redoubled division within communities – by both alleged religion and by income.

“As Labour people and humanists we can only fear for the shape of our communities in the future. How will out children truly learn to live together unless they first study, grow and become adults together?”