123-404: The National Secular Society ( NSS ) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state . It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Society was founded in 1866 by Charles Bradlaugh . The NSS, whose motto is "Challenging religious privilege", campaigns for a secular state where there
246-570: A Telegraph journalists' reunion at the Garrick and was seen to leave the club with Moore the same evening. In June 2023, The Guardian and other newspapers reported that, following a breakdown in discussions relating to a financial dispute, Lloyds Bank was planning to take control of the companies owning the Telegraph titles and the Spectator and sell them off. Representatives of
369-565: A "hub and spoke" layout for the newsroom to produce content for print and online editions. In October 2006, with its relocation to Victoria, the company was renamed the Telegraph Media Group, repositioning itself as a multimedia company. On 2 September 2008, the Daily Telegraph was printed with colour on each page for the first time when it left Westferry for Newsprinters at Broxbourne , Hertfordshire, another arm of
492-705: A case-by-case basis. Some councillors were critical of the challenge and the amount spent on defending the policy, with one councillor referring to the National Secular Society as 'bullying and intolerant.' In February 2019, the NSS released a 48-page report titled For the Public Benefit? The case of removing 'the advancement of religion' as a charitable purpose . It argues that the advancement of religion should not be 'regarded as an inherent public good', and charities should be required to 'demonstrate
615-502: A circulation of 270,000 in 1856, and 240,000 in 1863. It had a circulation of 1,393,094 in 1968, and 1,358,875 in 1978. It had a circulation of 1,439,000 in 1980, and 1,235,000 in 1984. It had a circulation of 1,133,173 in 1988. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, not including bulk sales. It descended further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2020. The bulk of its readership has moved online;
738-568: A former MP and minister who resigned after it was found that he had breached advocacy rules to lobby ministers for fees. A plan to overhaul the Commons standard and spare Paterson from being suspended and a possible recall petition that follows was leaked to the newspaper and it was "approvingly" splashed across the paper's front page. Boris Johnson flew back from the COP 26 summit in Glasgow to attend
861-569: A global context, and starts with this sentence: "Secularism is a beleaguered doctrine." The Daily Telegraph Defunct The Daily Telegraph , known online and elsewhere as The Telegraph , is a British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier . The Telegraph
984-478: A legal hierarchy on the basis of religious belief or lack of religious belief. It is also associated with a separation of church and state, considering these to be two distinct entities that should be treated separately. State supremacy is a secular principle that supports obedience to the rule of law over religious diktat or canon law, while internal constraint is a secular principle that opposes governmental control over one's personal life. Under political secularism,
1107-610: A letter sent to Hussain's lawyers accompanying the text of their published apology, the newspaper's lawyers wrote: "The article was published by our client following receipt of information in good faith from the Scout Association and the Henry Jackson Society ; nevertheless our client now accepts that the article (using that expression to refer to both print and online versions) is defamatory of your client and will apologise to him for publishing it." In 2016,
1230-475: A major role in public life, while in Europe the impact of the church on public life is declining. Most societies become increasingly secular as the result of social, economic development and progress , rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement. Modern sociology has, since Max Weber , often been preoccupied with the problem of authority in secularised societies and with secularisation as
1353-893: A means of defending their rights against the majority. State secularism is most often associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and it plays a major role in Western society . Some of the most well known examples for states considered "constitutionally secular" are the United States, France, Turkey, India, Mexico, and South Korea, though none of these nations have identical forms of governance with respect to religion. For example, in India, secularism does not completely separate state and religion, while in France, secularism precludes such mutual involvement. Separationist secularism enforces
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#17327654331941476-417: A means to curb tensions in the religiously diverse nation. The Indian model of secularism stressed equality of citizens regardless of faith before the law, along with some separation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948, protecting freedom of religion in international law. In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government, often termed
1599-802: A meeting in the EP sponsored by Catholics for Choice on Religion & Politics in the New Europe, and made a representation in a debate to the EP President about an invitation to the Pope to address the EP. The Society continues to be consulted by politicians seeking information or proposals. Wood spoke about problems with the United Nations Human Rights Commission at a UDHR 60th Anniversary Conference in Brussels, and at
1722-493: A mini-ice age by 2030. Climate change denying journalist James Delingpole was first to use " Climategate " on his Telegraph blog for a manufactured controversy where emails were leaked from climate scientists ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit and misleadingly presented to give the appearance that the climate scientists were engaged in fraud. In 2014, The Telegraph was one of several media titles to give evidence to
1845-540: A new government allowed him to be sworn in. He later brought about a change giving all MPs the right to affirm. He was a very active MP on behalf of the poor, the Irish and Indian independence. Bradlaugh, who died in 1891, was succeeded as president by G. W. Foote , editor of The Freethinker . Foote noted that the death of Bradlaugh brought the "heroic period" of freethought to an end, and he never succeeded in galvanising NSS members as Bradlaugh had done. Foote's successor
1968-465: A periodic fluctuation or a larger trend toward long-term adoption of secularism. The principle of Laïcité , the French notion of strict separation, was enshrined into law in 1905. After the rise to power of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923, Turkish secularism, or laiklik , became a state ideology under Kemalism , aiming to modernise the country. Turkey 's secular tradition prior to Atatürk's reforms
2091-539: A public interest intervention notice on 30 November, preventing the group from taking over without further scrutiny from the media regulator Ofcom over potential breaches of media standards. Conservative MPs also called on Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden to use the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to investigate the Emirati-backed bid. Chairman Andrew Neil threatened to quit if
2214-648: A religious framework. It also opposes the teaching of creationism , or intelligent design as an alternative to mainstream science. In addition, it is against the appointment of teachers and support staff according to religious criteria, as part of a more general campaign against exemptions from anti-discrimination legislation for religious bodies. The Society has successfully campaigned for the legal right of older pupils to opt themselves out of religious assemblies at school. The Society argues that children of families of no-faith and "the wrong faith" are being increasingly discriminated against in admission procedures, because of
2337-457: A sociological or historical process. Contemporary ethical debate in the West is often described as "secular", as it is detached from religious considerations. Twentieth-century scholars, whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters, include Carl L. Becker , Karl Löwith , Hans Blumenberg , M. H. Abrams , Peter L. Berger , Paul Bénichou and D. L. Munby , among others. There
2460-740: A tangible, secular public benefit under one of the other charitable purpose headings'. Each year, the NSS holds the Secularist of the Year award ceremony at which the Irwin Prize of £5,000 is presented. Nominations for the Secularist of the Year are made by members of the National Secular Society; the winner is chosen by the Officers of the Society, along with Michael Irwin , who has donated
2583-455: A virtue. Secularists also support freedom from religion as an extension to freedom of religion. Secularism in practice has existed since ancient times. In societies such as Ancient Greece , a limited secularism was practised in which religion was not involved in governance, though it was still prevalent in public life. In Europe, secularism emerged in the early modern period . Due to functional differentiation , religion changed from being
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#17327654331942706-501: A war correspondent of The Daily Telegraph , named Harry Blount—who is depicted as an exceptionally dedicated, resourceful and brave journalist, taking great personal risks to follow closely the ongoing war and bring accurate news of it to The Telegraph ' s readership, ahead of competing papers. In 1908, The Daily Telegraph printed an article in the form of an interview with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany that damaged Anglo-German relations and added to international tensions in
2829-551: A week for the paper since late October 2005 and is a regular contributor to the news podcast. In November 2005, the first regular podcast service by a newspaper in the UK was launched. Just before Christmas 2005, it was announced that The Telegraph titles would be moving from Canada Place in Canary Wharf , to new offices at Victoria Plaza at 111 Buckingham Palace Road near Victoria Station in central London. The new office features
2952-413: Is no established state religion ; where religion plays no role in state-funded education, does not interfere with the judicial process nor does it restrict freedom of expression; where the state does not intervene in matters of religious doctrine nor does it promote or fund religious activities, guaranteeing every citizen's freedom to believe, not to believe or to change religion. Although the organisation
3075-469: Is a total ban on religion. Under this system, the state enforces laws that do not allow religious practice or the expression of religious beliefs in society. Unlike other secularist frameworks, state atheism does not permit freedom of thought or the separation of government from personal belief. Because of this distinction, state atheism may or may not be considered a form of secularism. It is typically associated with Marxism and Communist states , in which it
3198-503: Is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", was included in its emblem which was used for over a century starting in 1858. In 2013, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph , which started in 1961, were merged, although the latter retains its own editor. It is politically conservative and supports the Conservative Party . It was politically moderately liberal before
3321-476: Is described as " scientific atheism ". In studies of religion, modern democracies are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (religious beliefs generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that surveys done by Pew Research Center show Americans as generally being more comfortable with religion playing
3444-467: Is more common, such as in Western Europe, demographics of secularists are closer to even. How a society considers what is secular may also change, where nominally spiritual beliefs become part of public or private life without being recognized as religious. As secularists are a minority in most communities, secularism is often stigmatized. Proponents of religious society challenge secular society on
3567-411: Is not one singular secular culture, as different people identify as secularists for different reasons and under different belief systems. Secularism is typically associated with progressivism and social liberalism . In democratic countries, middle and upper class white urban males with high education are more likely to identify as secularist than any other demographic group. In societies where secularism
3690-418: Is reflective and critical, publicly intelligible and rational, as a secular argument; [...], Nevertheless, a central feature of political liberalism is that it views all such arguments the same way it views religious ones, and therefore these secular philosophical doctrines do not provide public reasons. Secular concepts and reasoning of this kind belong to first philosophy and moral doctrine , and fall outside
3813-466: Is termed as interventionist secularism, wherein the state intervenes to abolish practices of religion which it considers against constitutional principles, although this equidistance has been constitutionally understood to not exclude the concept of a God. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it is a crucial element of modernization , or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to
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3936-480: Is the nature of morality in a material universe. Secular ethics and secular morality describe systems of right and wrong that do not depend on religious or supernatural concepts. Much of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is developed in response to this issue. Under secular ethics, good is typically defined as that which contributes to "human flourishing and justice" rather than an abstract or idealized conception of good. Secular ethics are often considered within
4059-531: Is the only life we have, and that we should work for its improvement". In 1877 Bradlaugh and Annie Besant were prosecuted for publishing a book containing birth control information, The Fruits of Philosophy by the American doctor Charles Knowlton . They were convicted, but acquitted on appeal. The issue of contraception divided secularists and a breakaway group, the British Secular Union ,
4182-739: The Chicago Sun-Times , the Jerusalem Post and The Spectator . On 18 January 2004, Black was dismissed as chairman of the Hollinger International board over allegations of financial wrongdoing. Black was also sued by the company. Later that day, it was reported that the Barclay brothers had agreed to purchase Black's 78% interest in Hollinger Inc. for £ 245m, giving them a controlling interest in
4305-522: The Daily News and The Morning Post , to expand the size of the overall market. Levy appointed his son, Edward Levy-Lawson, Lord Burnham , and Thornton Leigh Hunt to edit the newspaper. Lord Burnham relaunched the paper as The Daily Telegraph , with the slogan "the largest, best, and cheapest newspaper in the world". Hunt laid out the newspaper's principles in a memorandum sent to Levy: "We should report all striking events in science, so told that
4428-523: The American Revolution , Thomas Jefferson and James Madison incorporated the ideas of John Locke into the government of the United States, including his secularism, though a true secular state was not achieved until the 20th century. French secularism in the Age of Enlightenment was based on Gallicanism , which emphasised state supremacy, as well as anti-clericalism and materialism . Revolutionary France opposed Catholic influence in
4551-473: The Center for Inquiry . Religious fundamentalists often oppose a secular form of government, arguing that it contradicts the character of historically religious nations, or infringes on their rights to express themselves in the public sphere. In the United States, for example, the word "secularism" became equivalent to "anti-religion" due to such efforts. Religious minorities, however, often support secularism as
4674-676: The Council of Europe and the European Parliament . At a Council of Europe conference in San Marino , its interventions caused the closing communiqué to be changed to require consultation on inter-cultural matters, giving much more emphasis to civil society, as opposed to religious bodies. In Strasbourg, the NSS argued against what it saw as undue religious influence on the Council of Europe. Close links have been maintained with
4797-563: The Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph have been criticised by Guardian columnist Owen Jones for publishing and authoring articles which espouse Cultural Marxism, an antisemitic conspiracy theory . In 2018, Allister Heath , the editor of the Sunday Telegraph wrote that "Cultural Marxism is running rampant." Assistant comment editor of the Daily Telegraph Sherelle Jacobs also used
4920-471: The Daily Telegraph , Peter Oborne , resigned. Oborne accused the paper of a "form of fraud on its readers" for its coverage of the bank HSBC in relation to a Swiss tax-dodging scandal that was widely covered by other news media. He alleged that editorial decisions about news content had been heavily influenced by the advertising arm of the newspaper because of commercial interests. Jay Rosen at New York University stated that Oborne's resignation statement
5043-824: The Financial Times reported that the Barclay Brothers were about to put the Telegraph Media Group up for sale. The Financial Times also reported that the Daily Mail and General Trust (owner of the Daily Mail , The Mail on Sunday , Metro and Ireland on Sunday ) would be interested in buying. The Daily Telegraph supported Liz Truss in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election . In July 2023, it
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5166-595: The Hong Kong Free Press reported that The Daily Telegraph was receiving £750,000 annually to carry a supplement called 'China Watch' as part of a commercial deal with Chinese state-run newspaper China Daily . The Guardian reported in 2018 that the China Watch supplement was being carried by The Telegraph along with other newspapers of record such as The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal and Le Figaro . The Telegraph published
5289-480: The House of Commons Select Committee 'Communicating climate science'. The paper told MPs they believe climate change is happening and humans play a role in it. Editors told the committee, "we believe that the climate is changing, that the reason for that change includes human activity, but that human ingenuity and adaptability should not be ignored in favour of economically damaging prescriptions." In November 2023,
5412-526: The Independent Press Standards Organisation , ordered The Daily Telegraph to publish a correction to two "significantly misleading" claims in a comment article published by Toby Young . The July 2020 article "When we have herd immunity Boris will face a reckoning on this pointless and damaging lockdown," which spread COVID-19 misinformation that the common cold provided "natural immunity" to COVID-19 and that London
5535-732: The Libre Penseé Conference at the Senate in Paris. On 2 December 2011, the NSS and an atheist councillor took Bideford Town Council to the High Court over prayers held during council meetings. The High Court ruled on 10 February 2012 that the town council was not acting lawfully, as under Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 councils could not do anything they were not specifically permitted to do by
5658-692: The Murdoch company. The paper is also printed in Liverpool and Glasgow by Newsprinters. In May 2009, the daily and Sunday editions published details of MPs' expenses . This led to a number of high-profile resignations from both the ruling Labour administration and the Conservative opposition. In June 2014, The Telegraph was criticised by Private Eye for its policy of replacing experienced journalists and news managers with less-experienced staff and search engine optimisers . On 26 October 2019,
5781-472: The Telegraph called Oborne's statement an "astonishing and unfounded attack, full of inaccuracy and innuendo". Later that month, Telegraph editor Chris Evans invited journalists at the newspaper to contribute their thoughts on the issue. Press Gazette reported later in 2015 that Oborne had joined the Daily Mail tabloid newspaper and The Telegraph had "issued new guidelines over the way editorial and commercial staff work together". In January 2017,
5904-419: The Telegraph , noting: "On 10 May last year The Telegraph ran a long feature on Cunard's Queen Mary II liner on the news review page. This episode looked to many like a plug for an advertiser on a page normally dedicated to serious news analysis. I again checked and certainly Telegraph competitors did not view Cunard's liner as a major news story. Cunard is an important Telegraph advertiser." In response,
6027-695: The United Arab Emirates and owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan . The bid would see the firm take over The Telegraph , while allowing the Barclay family to repay a debt of £1.2 billion to Lloyds Bank. Conservative MPs raised national security concerns, and pushed the government to investigate the bid, as the United Arab Emirates had a poor reputation for freedom of speech . Culture secretary Lucy Frazer issued
6150-484: The United States Constitution as supporting this system during the 20th century, based on the ideas of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. Laïcité is a secularist framework developed and used in France. Under this system, the state has legal supremacy over religion and enforces the restriction of religion in the public sphere. It was established by a 1905 law , and subsequent laws have restricted
6273-783: The "house newspaper" of the Conservatives in the future. In an interview with The Guardian , he said: "Where the government are right we shall support them." The editorial board endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2005 general election. During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum , the paper supported the Better Together 'No' Campaign. Alex Salmond , the former leader of the SNP, called The Telegraph "extreme" on Question Time in September 2015. In
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#17327654331946396-414: The Barclay family have described the reports as "irresponsible". By 20 October, a sale of the publications had been initiated after bankers seized control. Lloyds appointed receivers and started shopping the brands to bidders. By November, it was revealed that the bid had been agreed upon by RedBird IMI, a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments, a firm based in
6519-639: The England football manager Sam Allardyce , and the Lockdown Files in 2023. The Daily Telegraph and Courier was founded by Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 to air a personal grievance against the future commander-in-chief of the British Army , Prince George, Duke of Cambridge . Joseph Moses Levy , the owner of The Sunday Times , agreed to print the newspaper, and the first edition
6642-1221: The French laique model, advocates a state that is both firmly and officially distanced from all religions and non-religious philosophical convictions in all of its manifestations and official dealings, without exception. A more " humanistic " form is indifferent towards religions per se but also advocates for the states to operate on purely a rational basis of evidence-based policy and a focus on human needs and welfare, entailing non-discrimination between peoples of differing religions and non-religious philosophical convictions throughout society. A third "liberal" or " pillarized " form of secularism holds that governments may in some instances express sympathy to, provide funding to, licence state services to, or otherwise allow unique special treatment of religions (common in German-speaking and Benelux secular states), so long as states nevertheless treat these convictions equally, and are neither hostile nor preferential towards any particular set of religious or non-religious philosophical convictions such as humanists . In these countries, secular humanist organizations typically receive state funding according to
6765-547: The Humanist Heritage website notes, Holyoake provides a definition of secularism "much akin to modern definitions of humanism ... broader than just atheism." More modern definitions of secularism are likely to pertain to separation of church and state rather than personal beliefs. Many Christian countries began to undergo societal secularisation during the 20th century, with levels of belief and practice declining. Sociologists disagree as to whether this represents
6888-459: The Indian tradition of religious and ethnic pluralism. One source of disagreement regarding accommodationism in India is the right of Muslims to live under both the civil code and Sharia simultaneously and the complications that result from this. Accommodationism also has a history in the United States , and the U.S. has increasingly moved toward accommodationism in the 21st century. State atheism
7011-581: The Lords voted in a new law, under which restrictions were imposed on foreign governments regarding the ownership of British newspapers and magazines, including only being allowed up to a 0.1 per cent stake. In April 2024, the UK government effectively banned RedBird IMI from taking over The Telegraph and The Spectator by introducing new laws which prevented foreign governments from owning British newspapers. RedBird also confirmed it would withdraw its takeover plans, saying they were "no longer feasible". It had
7134-544: The NSS instigated a judicial review to test the legality of prayers being part of the official business of Council meetings, as it believes politics and religion should be kept separate. The NSS has campaigned on a number of other issues. These include the successful abolition of the blasphemy law in the United Kingdom ; removal of the 26 bishops from the House of Lords ; exemption of religious organisations from discrimination and equality laws; withdrawal of state funding of chaplains in prisons, hospitals and armed services ;
7257-788: The Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign Office, and Rex Leeper , the Foreign Office's Press Secretary. As a result, Gordon Lennox was monitored by MI5 . In 1939, The Telegraph published Clare Hollingworth 's scoop that Germany was to invade Poland . In November 1940, Fleet Street, with its close proximity to the river and docklands, was subjected to almost daily bombing raids by the Luftwaffe and The Telegraph started printing in Manchester at Kemsley House (now The Printworks entertainment venue), which
7380-434: The Telegraph Media Group had a higher number of upheld complaints than any other UK newspaper by its regulator IPSO . Most of these findings pertained to inaccuracy, as with other UK newspapers. In October 2017, a number of major western news organisations whose coverage had irked Beijing were excluded from Xi Jinping 's speech event launching a new politburo. However, the Daily Telegraph had been granted an invitation to
7503-456: The Telegraph Media Group reported a subscription number of 1,035,710 for December 2023, composed of 117,586 for its print edition, 688,012 for its digital version and 230,112 for other subscriptions. The Daily Telegraph supported Whig, and moderate liberal ideas, before the late 1870s. The Daily Telegraph is politically conservative and has endorsed the Conservative Party at every UK general election since 1945. The personal links between
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#17327654331947626-459: The act. As prayers were not mentioned by the act, they could not be held as a formal part of the meeting. However, the judge tempered this ruling by rejecting Councillor Bone's argument that his human rights had been breached, stating that prayers could be held as long as councillors were not summoned to attend and they did not appear as an item on the agenda. Mr Justice Ouseley declared that the fact that atheists might feel uncomfortable during prayers
7749-449: The basis of morality, saying that secularism lacks a meaningful way to incentivize moral behaviour among its members. Secularism is considered in political philosophy and philosophy of religion . As a philosophy, secularism is closely associated with naturalism and materialism, rejecting consideration of immaterial or supernatural substances, such as a soul, in favour of a material universe. This secular materialism and rationalism forms
7872-543: The basis of most modern empirical science. During the Age of Enlightenment, liberal European philosophers such as Baruch Spinoza , John Locke , Montesquieu , Voltaire , David Hume , Adam Smith , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all proposed various forms of separation of church and state. The work of well known moral philosophers such as Derek Parfit and Peter Singer , and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, have been described as explicitly secular or non-religious. A major issue considered by secular philosophy
7995-426: The build-up to World War I . In 1928, the son of Baron Burnham, Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 2nd Baron Burnham , sold the paper to William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose , in partnership with his brother Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley and Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe . In 1937, the newspaper absorbed The Morning Post , which traditionally espoused a conservative position and sold predominantly amongst
8118-439: The claim that it is the only guarantor of free religious exercise. Secularism takes different forms with varying stances on where and how religion should be separate from other aspects of society. People of any religious denomination can support a secular society, or adopt the principles of secularism, although secularist identity is often associated with non-religious individuals such as atheists. Political secularism encompasses
8241-424: The company saw the launch of sister paper The Sunday Telegraph in 1960. Canadian businessman Conrad Black , through companies controlled by him, bought the Telegraph Group in 1986. Black, through his holding company Ravelston Corporation , owned 78% of Hollinger Inc. which in turn owned 30% of Hollinger International . Hollinger International in turn owned the Telegraph Group and other publications such as
8364-429: The company, and to buy out the minority shareholders later. However, a lawsuit was filed by the Hollinger International board to try to block Black from selling his shares in Hollinger Inc. until an investigation into his dealings was completed. Black filed a countersuit but, eventually, United States judge Leo Strine sided with the Hollinger International board and blocked Black from selling his Hollinger Inc. shares to
8487-552: The country, and it briefly replaced Christianity with the deistic Cult of Reason . The first to use the already-extant word "secularism" in a modern sense, was the British agnostic writer George Holyoake , in 1851. Finding " atheism " too aggravating, he sought a term that would describe a stance advocating to conduct life based on naturalistic (secular) considerations only, but without necessarily rejecting religion, thus enabling cooperation with believers. Holyoake's definition of secularism differs from its usage by later writers. As
8610-713: The democratic to the authoritarian, such governments share a concern to limit the religious side in the relationship. Each state may find its own unique policy prescriptions. These may include separation, careful monitoring and regulation of organized religion such as in France, Turkey, India and others. In accord with the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons. In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like abortion , contraception , embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage , and sex education are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations such as
8733-640: The domain of the political. Still, Rawl's theory is akin to Holyoake's vision of a tolerant democracy that treats all life stance groups alike. Rawl's idea it that it is in everybody's own interest to endorse "a reasonable constitutional democracy" with "principles of toleration". His work has been highly influential on scholars in political philosophy and his term, overlapping consensus , seems to have for many parts replaced secularism among them. In textbooks on modern political philosophy, like Colin Farrelly's, An Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory , and Will Kymlicka's, Contemporary Political Philosophy ,
8856-598: The downing of the passenger jet Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 . These had featured on its website as part of a commercial deal, but were later removed. As of 2014, the paper was paid £900,000 a year to include the supplement Russia Beyond the Headlines , a publication sponsored by the Rossiyskaya Gazeta , the Russian government's official newspaper. In February 2015, the chief political commentator of
8979-583: The end of tax exemption for churches ; and stopping public funding of religious broadcasting (the NSS has long argued, for example, that Thought for the Day is religious propaganda broadcast by the BBC at licence-payers' expense). Further campaigns are concerned with the conscientious objections by doctors and pharmacists to refuse to administer certain procedures or treatments; the religious exemption from laws requiring stunning of animals before slaughter and for
9102-486: The event. In April 2019, Business Insider reported The Telegraph had partnered with Facebook to publish articles "downplaying 'technofears' and praising the company". The paper published premature obituaries for Cockie Hoogterp, the second wife of Baron Blixen , Dave Swarbrick in 1999, and Dorothy Southworth Ritter , the widow of Tex Ritter and mother of John Ritter , in August 2001. Editors for both
9225-621: The first stage of a major redesign of the website took place, with a wider page layout and greater prominence for audio, video and journalist blogs. On 10 October 2005, The Daily Telegraph relaunched to incorporate a tabloid sports section and a new standalone business section. The Daily Mail ' s star columnist and political analyst Simon Heffer left that paper in October 2005 to rejoin The Daily Telegraph , where he has become associate editor. Heffer has written two columns
9348-399: The focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns. There are distinct traditions of secularism in the West, like the French, Benelux-German, Turkish, and American models, and beyond, as in India , where the emphasis is more on equality before law and state neutrality and equidistance from all religions rather than a complete blanket separation. The latter in the case of India,
9471-517: The frame of humanism. It can be seen by many of the organizations (NGOs) for secularism that they prefer to define secularism as the common ground for all life stance groups, religious or atheistic, to thrive in a society that honours freedom of speech and conscience. An example of that is the National Secular Society in the UK. This is a common understanding of what secularism stands for among many of its activists throughout
9594-441: The funds which underpin the award. Previous prize winners include former Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) Evan Harris , Lord Avebury , Sophie in 't Veld MEP and Peter Tatchell . Secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion . It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and
9717-436: The government can enforce how people act but not what they believe. Similarly, freedom of thought is supported by secularism. Order is supported by secularists, specifically in that one's beliefs should not be permitted to disturb the civil peace. Religious tolerance is supported both for people of other religions and for a lack of piety demonstrated by members of one's own religion. Political secularism also supports reason as
9840-543: The government or outside bodies: its campaigning is wholly supported by membership subscriptions and donations. Membership numbers are not included on the NSS website, although an article in The Daily Telegraph on 13 February 2012 stated that the society had about 7,000 members. Education is one of the NSS's prime concerns, and it continues to campaign against public funding of faith schools. It holds that morality, ethics and citizenship should be taught outside
9963-524: The high number of religious schools. Together with City Technology Colleges (which also have admissions privileges), the Society would like to see these schools become community schools, although it accepts the need for a transition period to achieve this goal. The NSS has drawn attention to recent statistical research supporting its claims of discrimination in faith schools, based on selection of pupils from wealthier families. Specifically, religious schools take in 10% fewer poor pupils than are representative of
10086-474: The intelligent public can understand what has happened and can see its bearing on our daily life and our future. The same principle should apply to all other events—to fashion, to new inventions, to new methods of conducting business". In 1876, Jules Verne published his novel Michael Strogoff , whose plot takes place during a fictional uprising and war in Siberia . Verne included among the book's characters
10209-470: The interests and viewpoints of atheists , the NSS is often critical of what it sees as the damaging effects of religion. The National Secular Society was founded in 1866 with Charles Bradlaugh as president and Charles Watts as secretary. There were a number of secularist groups around the UK and they joined up to coordinate and strengthen their campaigns. The word secularism was coined by George Holyoake in 1851. The NSS's principles asserted that "this
10332-506: The journalist and climate activist group DeSmog published its judgments for coverage of environmental topics in 171 of The Telegraph 's opinion pieces from April to October 2023. DeSmog stated that of these 171 pieces, 85 per cent were categorized as "anti-green", defined as "attacking climate policy, questioning climate science and ridiculing environmental groups." The Daily Telegraph , in particular its columnist and former editor Charles Moore , were staunch supporters of Owen Paterson ,
10455-483: The labelling of meat produced without stunning (much of it is currently sold to the general public unlabelled, both in shops and in restaurants); and the reform of the Scouts movement to remove references to God from their promise. The NSS is frequently invited to submit consultation documents to Government and major UK organisations. For example, it has written about faith-based welfare; doctors' conscientious objections;
10578-447: The landmark work of John Rawls ' A Theory of Justice in 1971 and its following book, Political Liberalism (1993), would rather use the conjoined concept overlapping consensus rather than secularism. In the latter Rawls holds the idea of an overlapping consensus as one of three main ideas of political liberalism . He argues that the term secularism cannot apply; But what is a secular argument? Some think of any argument that
10701-430: The late 1870s. The Telegraph has had a number of news scoops, including the outbreak of World War II by rookie reporter Clare Hollingworth , described as "the scoop of the century", the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal – which led to a number of high-profile political resignations and for which it was named 2009 British Newspaper of the Year – its 2016 undercover investigation on
10824-679: The local area. However, both representatives from the Church of England and a separate Parent Association denied the existence or evidence of selection to their own schools being based on social background, and a spokesman for the Centre of Economics has indicated that the bias in social background may stem from those more likely to apply to a religious school, not the selection process. The NSS has claimed that faith schools exacerbate religious, ethnic and cultural divisions, by separating children from those of other faiths and cultural backgrounds. In 2010,
10947-624: The paper's editors and the leadership of the Conservative Party , along with the paper's generally right-wing stance and influence over Conservative activists, have led the paper commonly to be referred to, especially in Private Eye , as the Torygraph . When the Barclay brothers purchased the Telegraph Group for around £665 million in late June 2004, Sir David Barclay suggested that The Daily Telegraph might no longer be
11070-794: The politicians and secretariat. The NSS started assisting Roy Brown on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and continues on a broader front, raising awareness of its problems with a growing list of international bodies. In the European Parliament (EP), the NSS is involved with the Separation of Religion & Politics Working Group, and attended the launch of the Brussels Declaration. The organisation's president, Keith Porteous Wood , also spoke at
11193-484: The practice of some local authorities in granting parking concessions to churchgoers. In 2011, the NSS announced its intention to take forward a legal challenge against Woking Borough Council , which allowed those attending services in churches close to the town centre to claim a refund of their parking charges. The policy was retained following a review, but the council indicated the scheme could be extended to members of all religious communities or voluntary organisations on
11316-540: The predominant lens through which reality was interpreted to providing only an alternative explanatory approach. In 1636, Roger Williams founded the Providence Plantations as a settlement with total freedom of religion, in present-day Rhode Island . Secular ideas were strongly challenged by religious leaders and the Catholic Church in particular, causing a religious culture war . During
11439-469: The price climbed above £600m, as did Daily Mail and General Trust plc a few months later on 17 June. In November 2004, The Telegraph celebrated the tenth anniversary of its website, Electronic Telegraph , now renamed www.telegraph.co.uk . The Electronic Telegraph launched in 1995 with The Daily Telegraph Guide to the Internet by writer Sue Schofield for an annual charge of £180.00. On 8 May 2006,
11562-661: The prosecution of racist and religious crimes; the census; organ donation; and equality issues. It co-sponsored the launch of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and a conference for International Women's Day – Women's Rights, the Veil and Islamic and Religious Laws. As well as its activities in the UK, the NSS has been active in Europe and at the UN, often as a representative for the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). Most notable have been interventions at
11685-432: The recruitment of code-breakers for Bletchley Park . The ability to solve The Telegraph ' s crossword in under 12 minutes was considered to be a recruitment test. The newspaper was asked to organise a crossword competition, after which each of the successful participants was contacted and asked if they would be prepared to undertake "a particular type of work as a contribution to the war effort". The competition itself
11808-599: The retired officer class. Originally William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, bought The Morning Post with the intention of publishing it alongside The Daily Telegraph , but poor sales of the former led him to merge the two. For some years, the paper was retitled The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post before it reverted to just The Daily Telegraph . In the late 1930s, Victor Gordon Lennox , The Telegraph ' s diplomatic editor, published an anti- appeasement private newspaper The Whitehall Letter that received much of its information from leaks from Sir Robert Vansittart ,
11931-448: The sale was approved, saying "You cannot have a major mainstream newspaper group owned by an undemocratic government or dictatorship where no one has a vote." Fraser Nelson , editor of The Spectator , which would be included in the sale, also opposed the move, saying, "the very reason why a foreign government would want to buy a sensitive asset is the very reason why a national government should be wary of selling them." In March 2024,
12054-536: The same funding formulas used to provide state funding to religious groups. In Indian political discourse, the pejorative term pseudo-secularism is also used to highlight instances where it is believed that while the state purports to be secular, indifferent, or impartial towards religions, its policies in reality favour a particular religion over others. There are many principles that are associated with all forms of political secularism. It typically promotes legal equality between people of different religions, opposing
12177-461: The schools of thought in secularism that consider the regulation of religion by a secular state . Religious minorities and non-religious citizens in a country tend to support political secularism while members of the majority religion tend to oppose it. Secular nationalists are people that support political secularism within their own state . Scholars identify several variations of political secularism in society. The strictest form, associated with
12300-464: The separation of church and state. This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a state religion , replacing laws based on scripture (such as Halakha , Dharmaśāstra , and Sharia ) with civil laws , and eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion . This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities. Separation of church and state is one possible strategy to be deployed by secular governments. From
12423-425: The separation of church and state. Under this system, the state does not support any religious group and does not enforce religious laws. Challenges facing separationist secularism include how the government should regulate secular activities of religious groups and how to govern separately from religion when citizens, including government employees, are religious. The federal judiciary of the United States interpreted
12546-430: The state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere. Secularism may encapsulate anti-clericalism , atheism , naturalism , non-sectarianism , neutrality on topics of religion, or antireligion . As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts
12669-544: The subject of climate change as a subject of active scientific debate when there is a scientific consensus on climate change . It has published columns about the "conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth", described climate scientists as "white-coated prima donnas and narcissists," and claimed that "global warming causes about as much damage as benefits." In 2015, a Telegraph news article incorrectly claimed that scientists predicted
12792-520: The supplement once a month in print, and published it online at least until March 2020. In April 2020, The Telegraph removed China Watch from its website, along with another advertisement feature section by Chinese state-run media outlet People's Daily Online . The paper had run many pieces critical of China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic . In January 2021, the British press regulator,
12915-412: The term in 2019. The Daily Telegraph also published an anonymous civil servant who stated: "There is a strong presence of Anglophobia, combined with cultural Marxism that runs through the civil service." In January 2019, the paper published an article written by Camilla Tominey titled "Police called in after Scout group run from mosque is linked to Islamic extremist and Holocaust denier" in which it
13038-431: The term secularism is not even indexed and in the former it can be seen only in one footnote. However, there is no shortage of discussion and coverage of the topic it involves. It is just called overlapping consensus, pluralism , multiculturalism or expressed in some other way. In The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory , there is one chapter called "Political secularism", by Rajeev Bhargava . It covers secularism in
13161-527: The twins. On 7 March 2004, the twins announced that they were launching another bid, this time just for The Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister paper rather than all of Hollinger Inc. The then owner of the Daily Express , Richard Desmond , was also interested in purchasing the paper, selling his interest in several pornographic magazines to finance the initiative. Desmond withdrew in March 2004, when
13284-591: The use of religious iconography in public or by children. Kemalist secularism, or laiklik , is an adaptation of laïcité that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established in Turkey in the 1920s and 1930s. Accommodationism is a system of actively supporting religion in general without favouring a specific religious sect. Under this system, the state applies few restrictions to religion and often provides religious organizations with financial support. India uses this system, incorporating Western ideas of secularism in combination with
13407-506: The use of the media to put across secularist views. In the twenty-first century, the NSS continues as an organisation campaigning in the UK and EU against what it regards as religious privilege in public life. The NSS is incorporated as a UK Company Limited by Guarantee, no. 01418145. The Society's income in the year 2006–2007 was £232,149, as quoted in the Accounts submitted to the authorities at Companies House . It receives no funding from
13530-446: The world. However, many scholars of Christianity and conservative politicians seem to interpret secularism more often than not, as an antithesis of religion and an attempt to push religion out of society and replace it with atheism or a void of values, nihilism . This dual aspect (as noted above in "Secular ethics") has created difficulties in political discourse on the subject. It seems that most political theorists in philosophy following
13653-483: Was Chapman Cohen (president from 1915 to 1949), a prolific pamphleteer and author of books on religion and philosophy for a popular audience. In the first half of the twentieth century the NSS campaigned against the BBC's religious broadcasting policy, for disestablishment and for secular education. Notable presidents in the second half of the twentieth century were David Tribe and Barbara Smoker , who did much to increase
13776-550: Was "one of the most important things a journalist has written about journalism lately". Oborne cited other instances of advertising strategy influencing the content of articles, linking the refusal to take an editorial stance on the repression of democratic demonstrations in Hong Kong to the Telegraph 's support from China. Additionally, he said that favourable reviews of the Cunard cruise liner Queen Mary II appeared in
13899-526: Was "probably approaching herd immunity". The regulator said that a correction was appropriate rather than a more serious response due to the level of scientific uncertainty at the time the comment was published. At the time of the ruling, the Telegraph had removed the comment article but had not issued a correction. The Telegraph has published multiple columns and news articles which promote pseudoscientific views on climate change , and misleadingly cast
14022-409: Was announced that Lloyds Banking Group had appointed Mike McTighe as chairman of Press Acquisitions Limited and May Corporation Limited in order to spearhead the sale of The Telegraph and The Spectator . In July 2014, the Daily Telegraph was criticised for carrying links on its website to pro-Kremlin articles supplied by a Russian state-funded publication that downplayed any Russian involvement in
14145-478: Was asserted to have restored the ability of councils to hold prayers as part of the meeting should the majority of them wish to do so. To remove any remaining confusion, in March 2015 the Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Act 2015 was granted Royal Assent , explicitly restoring the right of councils to hold prayers as a formal part of meetings should they wish. The NSS has campaigned against
14268-435: Was explicitly created for those who reject the supernatural , the NSS does not campaign to eradicate or prohibit religion, arguing that freedom of religion, as well as freedom from religion, is a human right and that state sponsorship of selected religions encroaches upon that right. It holds that belief should be a private matter for the home or place of worship and does not belong in the public sphere. In seeking to represent
14391-549: Was formed. It closed after a few years. Bradlaugh's struggle to enter Parliament became an important moment in the development of nineteenth-century secularism. He was elected for Northampton in 1880. He believed he had the right to affirm rather than swear on the Bible, but when refused, said he would take the oath. He was told that since he did not believe in the Bible he could not swear on it. For six years he struggled to overcome this problem, by legal and electoral methods. In 1886
14514-454: Was limited, and 20th century Turkish secularism was initially modelled after French laïcité . Turkey remains virtually the only Muslim-majority nation with an effective secular government, though secularism remains a controversial ideology in Turkey, and the country's ruling party AKP is more anti-Kemalist than anti-secularist. India became a secular state after it achieved independence in 1947; Mahatma Gandhi supported pluralist secularism as
14637-568: Was not a reason for them to be granted the protection of the state under human rights law, which had been the argument of the NSS's counsel. At the time of the case, the 1972 act was being superseded by the Localism Act 2011 , which gave councils a general power of competence 'to do anything individuals may generally do.' In light of the ruling, the law was brought into force ahead of schedule in February 2012, and its general power of competence
14760-435: Was published on 29 June 1855. The paper cost 2 d and was four pages long. Nevertheless, the first edition stressed the quality and independence of its articles and journalists: "We shall be guided by a high tone of independent action." As the paper was not a success, Sleigh was unable to pay Levy the printing bill. Levy took over the newspaper, his aim being to produce a cheaper newspaper than his main competitors in London,
14883-645: Was reported that the police were investigating Ahammed Hussain, the Leader of the Scout Group at the Lewisham Islamic Centre, because he had links to extremist Muslim groups that promoted terrorism and antisemitism. In January 2020, the paper issued an official apology and accepted that the article contained many falsehoods, and that Hussain had never supported or promoted terrorism, or been antisemitic. The paper paid Hussain damages and costs. In
15006-555: Was run by Camrose's brother Kemsley. Manchester quite often printed the entire run of The Telegraph when its Fleet Street offices were under threat. The name Kemsley House was changed to Thomson House in 1959. In 1986, printing of Northern editions of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph moved to Trafford Park and in 2008 to Newsprinters at Knowsley, Liverpool. During the Second World War , The Daily Telegraph covertly helped in
15129-506: Was won by F. H. W. Hawes of Dagenham who finished the crossword in less than eight minutes. Both the Camrose (Berry) and Burnham (Levy-Lawson) families remained involved in management until Conrad Black took control in 1986. On the death of his father in 1954, Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose assumed the chairmanship of the Daily Telegraph with his brother Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell as his editor-in-chief. During this period,
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