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Your daily media briefing - Friday 18 December

  

In the Media is our daily collection of news and commentary related to secularism, available delivered to your inbox. You can also read the latest news and opinion and listen to our podcasts on our website.

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Secularism in the media

 

'Secular rites' - Letter from NSS president

LGBT people must have the option of a secular union that cannot be subject to religious approval, says NSS president Keith Porteous Wood.

The Tablet*

 

EU court backs ban on animal slaughter without stunning

A Belgian ban on kosher and halal slaughter of animals without being stunned has been backed by the European Court of Justice, which rejected objections by religious groups.

BBC

 

Infant circumcision may lead to social challenges as an adult

Undergoing male circumcision as an infant has delayed psychological complications, according to an international study.

Medical Xpress

 

Liz Truss criticises Equality Act’s focus on protected characteristics

Women and equalities minister Liz Truss has criticised the Equality Act 2010 and said the discrimination debate should not focus solely on race, religion, sexual orientation and disability.

Personnel Today

 

Conversion therapy survivor opens up about undergoing horrifying ‘exorcisms’

A Scottish man has said he "hated everything" about himself after enduring six years of conversion therapy and "exorcisms" to make him straight.

Pink News

 

Woman jailed for sharing Islamic State video of beheadings

A woman formerly married to a hate preacher and who shared terrorist and extremist material has been jailed.

Plymouth Live

 

‘Government and religion’

Government should neither support nor restrict any religion or lack thereof, says Professor John Radford.

The Freethinker (Patheos)

 

‘How the pandemic revolutionised abortion access in the UK’

Since patients have been allowed to take pills at home to terminate pregnancies, major medical complications have dropped by two-thirds.

The New Statesman*

 

Ireland: New hate crime laws to be introduced in the new year, says justice minister

Justice minister Helen McEntee is to bring forward new hate crime laws in the new year, saying existing legislation was "not fit for purpose".

Belfast Telegraph

 

Poland increasingly distrusts Catholic Church

Despite Poland being over 90 percent Catholic, a survey published on Thursday suggested that approximately 41 percent of Poles view the Church favourably.

Catholic Herald

 

Nigeria school attack: Hundreds of boys freed, local authorities say

Hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped last week from a boarding school in north-western Nigeria have been released, local authorities have told the BBC.

BBC

 

Pakistan court acquits Christian man sentenced to life for blasphemy

A court in Pakistan has acquitted a Christian after he was sentenced to life in prison for blasphemy over a decade ago.

Premier Christian News

  

The latest from the NSS

 

MSPs back ‘general principles’ of Scottish hate crime bill

MSPs have approved the 'general principles' of a proposed bill on hate crime, but many have called for stronger free speech protections.

 

RE shouldn’t be a vehicle for the Church of England’s interests

A new study of a widely-used set of RE resources illustrates the way powerful groups control the subject to accommodate the evangelical mission of the Church of England, says Chris Selway.

  

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