On Tuesday evening our policy and campaigns officer, Will Norton, and Chair Ian Rodger, attended a Scottish Parliament event in support of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.  Liam McArthur MSP organised the event alongside us and our campaign partners Dignity in Dying Scotland and Friends at the End. He invited a wide array of his fellow MSPs and medical professionals, including members of his medical advisory group who have been working alongside Mr McArthur to advise on the medical side of the bill.  Dr Sandesh Guilharne MSP spoke on behalf of the medical ..read more

Join us online on Monday October 3rd as  guest speaker Sir John Curtice FRSA FRSE FBA explores the question, does religion still matter in politics? Sir John is a British political scientist, senior research fellow at NatCen, and Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University. This event is hosted by the Edinburgh Humanists and will be followed by a Q&A  facilitated by Humanist Society Scotland CEO, Fraser Sutherland. This a Zoom event and is open to all. When: Monday 3rd October, 7:30pm-9pm.  Follow the link to sign up! Share on: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email ..read more

This year we will be marking Banned Books Week 2022 with a fantastic online event open to all – OMG! You can’t write that: Books, Censorship, and Religion. In light of the recent horrific attack on Salman Rushdie and the increase in book banning in schools in the US driven by Christian fundamentalists, we wanted to create an event that highlights religious censorship of books. Join us online on Thursday 22nd September, 7:30pm-9pm as our CEO Fraser Sutherland and our panel of experts discuss book banning, censorship, and religion. On the panel we have: Emma Wadsworth-Jones from Humanists Inte ..read more

As Liam McArthur MSP for Orkney lodges a final proposal in the Scottish Parliament today for his Members Bill ‘Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland)’,  Humanist Society Scotland declares that the time is now to listen to the Scottish people and urges MSPs to vote with the views of the majority of their constituents. A total of 14,038 consultation responses were received – the highest number of responses received to date for a consultation on a proposed Members Bill – and the majority of responses were fully supportive of the proposal (76%) with a further 2% of respondents b ..read more

This morning Humanist Society Scotland Chief Exec, Fraser Sutherland, and Policy and Campaign Officer, Will Norton, had the honour of meeting Fiona Patten MP, a member of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia.  For years, Fiona has been a champion of liberal causes with her voice being heard not only in the state of Victoria but also across Australia and the world. During her time as an MP Fiona has pioneered on assisted dying, the rights of sex workers, drug reform and LGBTI rights. During our meeting, Fiona told us first hand about her experience in the Victorian legislature and show ..read more

We mark the end of Pride month, with a ‘good news story’ of our own, which also gives us an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come in Scotland. More than 7 years after he officiated the first same sex marriage in Scotland, Humanist Society Scotland Celebrant, Ross Wright, married his own love, Puerto Rican born Efrain Acosta, in Brodick Castle on the beautiful Isle of Arran. https://www.humanism.scot/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Teaser.mp4 Having grown up during a time when it was illegal for him to be gay, Ross was one of the key campaigners for the right to marry the person you love, re ..read more

We mark the end of Pride month, with a ‘good news story’ of our own, which also gives us an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come in Scotland. More than 7 years after he officiated the first same sex marriage in Scotland, Humanist Society Scotland Celebrant, Ross Wright, married his own love, Puerto Rican born Efrain Acosta, in Brodick Castle on the beautiful Isle of Arran. https://www.humanism.scot/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Teaser.mp4 Having grown up during a time when being gay was illegal, Ross was one of the key campaigners for the right to marry the person you love, regardless of ..read more

Scottish Humanists have reacted to today’s abortion care summit hosted by the First Minister. Humanist Society Scotland chair, Professor Maggie Kinloch attended the summit alongside other campaigners who have called for urgent action to improve abortion care and protection for women from anti-abortion activists. Maggie Kinloch (left) Professor Maggie Kinloch said on conclusion of the summit: “We are pleased that the First Minister gave a commitment to take national action on protecting women from harassment rather than rely simply on local authority action. “I also welcome the commitment f ..read more

On World Humanist Day humanist celebrant Angela Johnson had the honour of conducting the daily Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament. Angela made a beautiful speech that looked back at the first lockdown, explained the importance of the arts in growth, and then discussed the fundamental principles of humanism to the chamber. Watch Angela’s Address in the video or read her text below https://www.humanism.scot/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Time_for_Reflection.mp4 ‘Do you remember, two years ago, as the first Lockdown was easing, that there was talk about how – when we were back to normal ..read more

Today John Swinney MSP made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the future of the UNCRC bill after it was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. Humanist Society Scotland have championed the UNCRC and the UN committee on the rights of the child and have questioned why progress has been glacial on reforms highlighted to be needed by the committee. In 2016 Humanist Society Scotland brought a legal challenge on the requirement for children and young people to attend compulsory religious worship during the school day. This requirement had been criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of ..read more