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| Alliance of Secular Societies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alliance of Secular Societies |
| Formation | 1980s |
| Type | Non-governmental organisation |
| Leader title | Chair |
Alliance of Secular Societies is a British advocacy network advocating for the separation of religious institutions from public institutions, promoting secularism in public life and policy. It operates within a landscape that includes organisations such as National Secular Society, British Humanist Association, European Humanist Federation, Secular Coalition for America, and interacts with entities like Parliament of the United Kingdom, European Parliament, United Nations Human Rights Council, Council of Europe, and various local authorities. The Alliance engages with debates involving legal instruments such as the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010, and the Education Act 1996.
The Alliance emerged in the late 20th century amid campaigns that involved organisations like National Secular Society, British Humanist Association, Rationalist Association, British Association for the Advancement of Science, and activists associated with figures such as Colin Blakemore, Richard Dawkins, A. C. Grayling, Mary Warnock, and Margaret Thatcher-era education reforms. Early activity intersected with controversies involving faith schools, the Establishment of the Church of England, and debates stemming from cases before the European Court of Human Rights, the House of Lords, and inquiries connected to the Department for Education and Science and the Local Government Association. The Alliance has considered precedents from campaigns led by organisations like Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Amnesty International, Liberty (UK civil liberties advocacy group), and older secular movements tracing to figures such as Charles Bradlaugh and organisations like the 19th-century National Secular Society.
The Alliance is organised as a federation of member societies and affiliated groups, with a governance model reflecting registered charity and company structures similar to Amnesty International, Oxfam, British Red Cross, and other NGOs. Its leadership includes a chair and executive committee drawn from member groups such as National Secular Society, British Humanist Association, Rationalist Association, Secular Student Alliance, and regional bodies resembling Greater London Authority constituencies. Membership ranges from national organisations to local secular societies patterned on groups like Manchester Secular Society, Oxford Union, Cambridge Union Society, and student unions at institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, and University College London. The Alliance liaises with legal counsel experienced in matters like cases before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), and tribunals that handle disputes similar to those involving Christian Institute and Catholic Union of Great Britain.
The Alliance organises public campaigns, legal challenges, policy submissions, and educational events engaging institutions such as Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, and parliamentary committees including the House of Commons Education Select Committee and the House of Lords Constitution Committee. Campaigns have targeted issues associated with faith schools, religious exemptions, chaplaincies in institutions akin to National Health Service, and ceremonial privileges linked to Church of England bishops in the House of Lords. It has coordinated demonstrations and petitions alongside groups like National Secular Society, Humanists UK, Stonewall, and Minority Rights Group International and mounted interventions in public inquiries comparable to those presided over by Leveson Inquiry or Public Accounts Committee. The Alliance issues briefings for media outlets including BBC, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and engages with broadcasters such as Channel 4 and Sky News.
The Alliance advocates for secularisation measures such as removal of religious tests for public office similar to debates around oaths of allegiance, reform of school admissions and curricula influenced by the Education Reform Act 1988, and restrictions on state funding for faith-based institutions akin to controversies involving free schools and academy schools. It supports legal clarity on issues of conscience and non-discrimination intersecting with instruments like the Equality Act 2010 and human rights jurisprudence from the European Convention on Human Rights. The Alliance often aligns with policy arguments made by organisations such as Liberty (UK civil liberties advocacy group), Stonewall, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and academic bodies like Institute of Education and UCL Institute of Education in advocating secular public policy.
Funding sources include membership subscriptions from affiliated societies, donations similar to those supporting Amnesty International and Greenpeace, grants from charitable foundations comparable to Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Wellcome Trust for civic projects, and revenue from events and publications. The Alliance maintains compliance practices resembling those required by the Charity Commission for England and Wales and engages auditors and professional services drawn from firms that service NGOs and charities, with governance procedures paralleling those of British Red Cross and Shelter.
Reception has been mixed: supporters include secularists and humanist organisations like Humanists UK, National Secular Society, and academics from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, while critics include faith-based groups such as the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Church of England, Evangelical Alliance, and religious lobbyists like Christian Concern and The Christian Institute. Public commentary has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, and programming on BBC Radio 4 and ITV. Critics argue parallels with cultural debates involving multiculturalism in the United Kingdom, religious liberty, and controversies reminiscent of cases litigated by organisations such as Christians Against Poverty or referenced in rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, while proponents cite comparative examples from secularising reforms in countries represented in the Council of Europe and reports by UNESCO.
Category:Secularism in the United Kingdom Category:Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom