Richard Dawkins backs BHA fundraising appeal to combat ‘faith’ schools

Professor Richard Dawkins has backed a new BHA fundraising campaign to combat the growth of state-funded ‘faith’ schools.

Professor Dawkins has emailed all supporters of the BHA to urge them to support the organisation’s ‘Faith Schools: Just Say No’ appeal.

The major new fundraising drive has the aim of ensuring the BHA can continue to employ a dedicated ‘faith’ schools campaigner for another twelve months, while supporting their work with new publications, research and events examining the key issues in the ‘faith’ schools debate.

Professor Dawkins, a Vice President of the BHA, told supporters:

‘The British Humanist Association has for many years challenged the spread of these divisive and discriminatory schools. For the past three years they have employed the UK’s only dedicated campaigner against faith schools.’

‘The BHA campaigner makes sure that the voices of all those who oppose faith schools are heard – by supporting local campaigns against new religious schools, representing the secularist view in the media, and lobbying government to reform the laws that entrench religious discrimination in our education system.’

‘With the recent introduction of religious free schools, the power and influence of religious groups in our schools system will increase significantly in the next few years. That’s another reason why it’s so important that the BHA’s campaign against state-funded faith schools should continue to grow louder and stronger.’

Professor Dawkins told supporters that the experience of making his ‘Faith School Menace?’ documentary had strengthened his resolve against religious schools:

‘Some faith schools, as I discovered while making my recent television documentary, use their state-subsidised freedoms to undermine the teaching of science. It should be unthinkable in the 21st century to have a state-funded school whose science teachers believe the world is less than 10,000 years old, yet that is what I found.’

BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented:

‘We are delighted that Richard Dawkins has backed our appeal to ensure we have a staff member working full-time on this important campaign for another year. We hope Richard’s message will act as an incentive for all those concerned about the power and influence of religious groups in our schools to support our work. We must act now to ensure a fairer, more inclusive education for our children in the future.’

‘Throughout the BHA’s many years of campaigning on this issue, parents, teachers and pupils themselves have consistently opposed ‘faith’ schools. The reasons are clear – they are divisive, discriminatory and unable to fully recognise the rights of their pupils. Unfortunately, with the coalition government’s massive deregulation of education, the situation is only going to get worse.’

Notes

For further information contact James Gray on 020 7462 4993 / 07976 239 451 or james@humanism.org.uk.

The text of Professor Dawkins’ email is available online at http://www.humanism.org.uk/_uploads/documents/RichardDawkinslettertoBHAsupporters.pdf.

The fundraising appeal page is http://www.justgiving.com/nofaithschools.

Media enquiries for Richard Dawkins should be directed to mediacontact@richarddawkins.net.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the growing population of ethically concerned, non-religious. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for a secular state and an end to discrimination based on religion or belief.