There are a few cases in the U.S that’s sparked the secularism debate. The first is the much debated 40 feet tall cross in Maryland. The justices voted a 7-2 position to allow the cross to remain on public land. The American Humanist society decided that the ‘peace cross‘ erected in 1925 in Bladensburg violated the first amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing an official religion, or favouring one religion over others. The issue here was not all of the soldiers were of a Christian faith, so the peace cross should be replaced by something neutral.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, the cross symbolises the fallen in World War I and to take it down would surely be disrespectful to them and their families? The second case to come up is the 92 year old Ten Commandments plaque that was situated at the Joseph Welty Middle School in Ohio. The freedom from religion foundation (FFRF) said it was a ‘flagrant violation‘ of the first amendment and it made children of other faiths, or non–believers uncomfortable and makes them feel like outsiders.

The (FFRF) said.

”We applaud the district for taking action to remedy this violation, students in our public schools are free to practice any religion they choose — or none at all. In America, we live under the First Amendment, not the Ten Commandments.”

I’ve read many Christians claim that it’s a sin, it’s persecution against Christianity , and America was founded with God in mind. All this is completely disregarding the first amendment which is essentially stating that the U.S is a secularist state and no laws, or priorities shall be given to any one religion. We all know that there are plenty of states that don’t adhere to this, and the removal of the plaque will set the motion for many more future cases.

The meaning behind secularism is often misinterpreted, and the religious seem to think it’s against them, but little do they realise that it also protects their religious freedom. When states are not secular, like Saudi Arabia for example, they obviously value Islam over any other faith. This means that Christians have few rights, if any. This is why secularism is important to all, as it guarantees the freedom of all religions.

Humanists U.K. say this:

”The communal institutions that we share (and together pay for) should provide a neutral public space where we can all meet on equal terms.”

Many religious people claim that giving the LBGT community rights and focus is destroying religious values that they believe their country is based upon, but in essence it’s all about equality and everyone has the right to express themselves. Despite this and other attempts to make the U.K. a secularist society, religion still has a firm grip on some areas. Assisted dying, religious state funded schools or Humanist weddings are a few key areas that need working on.

Below are the areas where Humanism U.K. are campaigning to promote secularism:

• an extension of section 6 of the Human Rights Act to treat religious organisations providing public services on behalf of the state as public authorities
• an end to the exemptions from the Equality Act for religious groups which allow much egregious discrimination on grounds of religion or belief and of sexual orientation to continue lawfully
• no weakening in the UK’s existing human rights settlement, for example as a result of proposals to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a ‘British Bill of Rights’, or pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights
• the realisation of a single equality act in Northern Ireland, as is the case in the rest of the UK, as well as the proposed Northern Ireland ‘Bill of Rights’ to supplement the Human Rights Act
• incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into UK law
• a fair and just balance between the right of one person to express or manifest a religion or belief and the rights of others not to suffer discrimination, where the two may conflict
• defending freedom of speech and expression, including internationally, on campus, and in advertising, while having appropriate limits on harassment and incitement to violence, and the right balance in law on conscientious objection
• Promoting socio-economic rights, for example through our affiliate Humanists for a Better World
• an end to irrelevant religious discrimination in publicly funded postssuch as non-teaching jobs in religious schools or general pastoral support jobs in hospitals and prisons, which are often unfairly reserved only for religious people or people of particular religions
• equal treatment of the non-religious according to need in the limited number of roles that are legitimately reserved to meet a specific and specialist need such as belief-specific pastoral support for patients and staff in healthcare, prisons, or other institutional settings. In these settings, specific non-religious support is often lacking
• an end to the exemption from equality law for non-denominational organisations whose rules exclude non-religious people, as used to be the case for the Scouts and the Guides
• an end to religious privilege in marriage laws, through the legalisation of humanist and same-sex marriage across the UK
• fair and equal treatment of religious and non-religious perspectives in public broadcasting, including, for example, opening up Thought for the Day to humanist perspectives.

Have you, or someone you know ever been in a situation where something could have been prevented if you lived in a secularist society?

More information on secularism can be found at National Secularism Society