Latest News
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Religion in Schools TV Campaign
The Secular Education Network (SEN) will be taking our message to the wider community in a nation wide television campaign. We are calling on our supporters to help us in two ways. If you are an animator or know one that may be able to help us we would like to hear from you. We plan to make a thirty second animation. We have…
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Complaint against St Heliers School
A parent is complaining to the Human Rights Commission about the Religious Instruction lessons provided for his son’s class at St Heliers School in East Auckland. Roy Warren says his ultimate aim would be to eliminate Religious Instruction from his son’s school entirely, but the HRC hearing, set down to hear his complaint on January 23, is a mediation process so he is willing…
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Gays Outlawed in Uganda
The Government of Uganda has outlawed homosexuality. The law was first introduced into Parliament in 2009. It was condemned for proposing the death sentence for homosexuals. The death sentence has been removed, The law establishes the penalty of life imprisonment for homosexuals who have sexual intercourse, or homosexual sex with minors or the intellectually disabled, as well as repeated sex offences among consenting adults.…
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Marriage Incompatible with Christian Teaching
The Methodist Church in the Pennsylvania has defrocked Frank Schaefer for conducting the marriage of his son, saying that it was “incompatible with Christian teaching”. The Methodist Church does not permit its Pastors to officiate marriages between homosexuals. Somewhat hypocritically the Methodist Church does permit homosexuals to be members, but considers their life choice to be immoral. Many Methodist Pastors openly disagree with this…
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Theft to Support Church Donations
Stuff is reporting that a Judge has been critical of the pressure churches place on Pacific Islanders to donate. In one case a middle aged woman stole $27,000 in order to donate to the church and send back to her family. The Latter Day Saints require that their members give 10% of their gross income to the church. If these donations expectations are not…
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Census shows fewer believers
Statistics New Zealand recently released the first summary figures around religious belief. The decline of religion was even more marked than that projected. John Murphy, President of the NZARH, was quoted in the New Zealand Herald talking about the census results and what it will mean in terms of the point of view of the non religious being accounted for in policy and legislation.…
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Bad day for Gays
Over the last few days there have been some major setbacks for Gay rights around the world. In Australia the High court decided that the Australian Capital Territory’s new law permitting Gay Marriage could not operate concurrently with the federal Marriage Act, which was amended in 2004 to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Meanwhile, in India The Supreme Court has…
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State Schools Reconsider Religious Classes
Over the last two years more than 50 state schools have cancelled religious education. David Hines of the Secular Education Network has conducted a survey of state primary schools in New Zealand. He determined that from the more than 1400 schools that responded, 38 per cent have held some kind of religious instruction during school hours this year. Organisations running religious instruction have not…
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Education Select Committee Presentation
On Friday February 22, 2013, Peter Harrison gave the following speech to the Education and Science Select Committee. Today I am here to represent Rationalists and Humanists. I am here to promote evidence based policy development. I am here to participate in our democracy. As rationalists we agree with Peter Gluckman when he said: Many policies developed in isolation from the available evidence, or…
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Census 2013
Starting Monday the 25th we will be running sponsored radio adverts asking people to Tick No Religion during Timesaver Traffic Reports on Newstalk, Classic Hits, Coast, ZM, Radio Sport, Hauraki, Flava. RadioLive will be running adverts from Wednesday through to Census Day. Listen to the Advert. Sponsors NZARH Humanist Society Atheist Bus Campaign
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Letter to the Minister
The following letter was written by a member of the Secular Education Network to the Minister of Education recommending repeal of section 78 of the education act that permits schools to run religious instruction. To whom it may concern, I am writing to the Ministry in regard to clause 78 of the Education Act (1964) that allows religious instruction to take place in state…
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Charter Schools and Religion
John Banks recently said on Radio Rhema that he believes in the literal truth of the Genesis Story. Some have questioned whether this is appropriate for the Associate Minister of Education. The implied question is, “should a persons religious belief determine whether they can hold office?” Clearly we live in a free country, and everyone is entitled to freedom of religion. As a spokesperson…
