The National Secular Society

The National Secular Society
Name	National Secular Society
Founded	1866
Founder	Charles Bradlaugh
Headquarters	London
Key people	Keith Porteous Wood; Terry Sanderson; Charles Bradlaugh; A.C. Grayling; Peter Tatchell

The National Secular Society

The National Secular Society is a British advocacy organization promoting secularism, atheism, and separation of religion and state. Founded in the nineteenth century, it has engaged with politicians, courts, and public debates on issues including religious education, blasphemy law, faith schools, and humanist ceremonies. The society has campaigned alongside and against a wide range of political parties, trade unions, religious institutions, and civil liberties groups.

History

The society was established in 1866 by Charles Bradlaugh during a period shaped by figures such as John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, and institutions like the Reform League, Chartist movement, Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, and the Second Reform Act. Early conflicts involved legal and parliamentary episodes including the Oath of Allegiance, the House of Commons disputes, and court cases referencing the Common Law and Judicature Acts. Prominent nineteenth-century allies and opponents included George Eliot, William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Salisbury, Florence Nightingale, and the Ecclesiastical Courts. The society’s campaigns intersected with debates over the Education Act 1870, the Marriage Act 1836, and the later development of Labour Party policy. Twentieth-century interactions brought engagement with figures such as E.M. Forster, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Emmeline Pankhurst, Winston Churchill, and postwar developments involving the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998, and changing roles of the Church of England and Catholic Church in public life. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the society worked alongside organizations like Humanists UK, Liberty (organisation), Amnesty International, South Place Ethical Society, and campaigners including Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Aims and Principles

The society’s founding aim was derived from the freethought and secularist traditions associated with freethought movement, rationalism, and the Victorian secularist press such as The National Reformer. Core principles reference separation of religious privilege in institutions like the House of Lords, British monarchy, state schools, and civil ceremonies governed by statutes such as the Marriage Act 1949 and regulations concerning faith schools. It advocates for policy positions engaged with legislation including the Equality Act 2010, decisions under the European Court of Human Rights, and standards set by bodies such as Ofsted. Philosophical influences include John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, David Hume, and later public intellectuals like Isaiah Berlin and A.C. Grayling.

Campaigns and Activities

Campaigning areas have included abolition of the blasphemy law in England and Wales, reform of the Catholic Education Service and religious instruction in schools, civil marriage and secular ceremonies in legislation affecting the Marriage Act 1836 and marriage registries, opposition to state-funded faith schools, challenges to religious exemptions in employment law such as those in the Equality Act 2010, and advocacy on conscience clauses in health care relating to statutory guidance and cases in the National Health Service. The society has intervened in court cases reaching the High Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal, and appellate cases before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Campaign partnerships and clashes have involved groups including Stonewall, British Humanist Association, National Union of Teachers, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Theos (think tank), Christian Institute, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and think tanks like the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange. Media and public outreach have included events at venues such as the Southbank Centre, debates at Cambridge Union Society, publications in newspapers like The Guardian, The Times, and broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4.

Organization and Leadership

Governance structures reflect a council, trustees, and officers model common to UK charities and societies, interacting with regulators such as the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Notable past presidents and chairs include Charles Bradlaugh, George Holyoake, Moncure D. Conway, Terry Sanderson, Keith Porteous Wood, and associated figures like A.C. Grayling and Peter Tatchell. The society has employed campaign directors, legal advisers, and communications staff who have engaged with parliamentary committees including the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Education Select Committee, and inquiries by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It has taken part in coalitions with Humanists UK, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Alliance of Secular Societies, and international bodies like the International Humanist and Ethical Union.

Controversies and Criticism

Controversies have involved disputes with religious leaders such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, interventions from bishops in the House of Lords, and debates with institutions like the BBC over impartiality and complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. Critics have accused the society of antagonism towards faith communities represented by groups such as the Muslim Council of Britain, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Catholic Truth Society, and evangelical organizations like Care (charity). Tensions have arisen over positions on multiculturalism advanced by the Commission for Racial Equality, relations with the Labour Party and Conservative Party, and disagreements with civil liberties NGOs like Liberty (organisation) on issues of freedom of expression versus protection from hate speech. Legal challenges and public controversies have referenced cases before the European Court of Human Rights, parliamentary debates in Westminster Hall, and protests involving campaigners such as Maryam Namazie and Simon Wiesenthal Center responses to secular campaigning internationally.

Influence and Impact

The society has influenced legal reform and public policy debates on secular education, marriage law, blasphemy abolition, and religious privilege in state institutions, interacting with reforms such as those enacted by successive UK governments including legislation influenced by the Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), and coalition administrations. Its impact extends to civic culture, contributing to wider secularising trends noted by scholars and institutions like the British Social Attitudes Survey, the Pew Research Center, and academic departments at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and University College London. Internationally, the society’s positions resonate with secularist and humanist organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Council of Europe, and United Nations Human Rights Council, shaping debates on religious exemptions, pluralism, and human rights.

Category:Secularism in the United Kingdom Category:Organizations established in 1866