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Religion or Belief

We aim to support strong and active communities in which people of all races and backgrounds are respected. We recognise faith communities as an important part of the local community and value the experience, skills and diversity they bring to wider society.

Changes in the law and policy

Recent equality law has made discrimination between those with religious beliefs and those with non-religious beliefs such as humanists illegal.  Part two of the Equality Act 2006 prohibits discrimination against a person because they do not hold a religion or belief and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) guidance on the law warns against unintentional 'indirect discrimination which occurs when provisions, criteria or practices, that are applied generally, result in people of a particular religion or belief (or lack of religion or belief) being put at a disadvantage.  Humanism is an example of a 'belief' under this law and the non-religious generally are also explicitly covered.

The Equality Standard for Local Government states that 'legislation now covers six strands-race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, relgious/belief and age-recognises the role and responsibility of public sector organisations as being at the heart of improving life chances for people who experience disadvantage.  The legal framework is still based on anti-discrimination provisions but there has been a major shift towards the creation of positive duties for public bodies, which require them to promote good equality practice.

These instruments make it clear that humanists and the non-religious in general are included within the equality remit of any local authority.  In addition, the importance of including those with non-religious beliefs is also reflected in the Commission for Equality and Human Rights' duty to promote understanding of the importance of good relations 'between members of different groups, and between members of groups and others.  Importantly, 'group means a group or class of persons who share a common...religion or belief'.  These equality provisions all support the principle of the Human Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination by public bodies on grounds of religion or belief.

In addition to principles of equality, there is a growing need to include humanists and the non-religious in work around community cohesion and intercultural dialogue.  The Commission on Intergration and Cohesion stated in its report, Our Shared Future, that there is a need for more constructive conversation between those who are religious and those who are not.  The report also suggested that 'forms of engagement with non-religious belief groups, such as Humanists' should be a part of any review of the engagement of government with religion and belief groups.

Inter faith co-operation
The traditions of all major faiths contain teachings commending the fundamental values of equality and respect, which are so important to community cohesion. There are now a large number of inter faith and multi faith local bodies in the UK. These bodies play a key role in bringing people of different faiths together to:

• increase trust, mutual understanding and respect;
• help defuse inter-community tensions; build community cohesion; provide advice and information on religious issues;
• foster co-operation on local issues and;
• work jointly on social and educational projects.

The Inter Faith Network for the UK links representative bodies of the faith communities; national, regional and local inter faith organisations; and educational and academic bodies with a focus on inter faith and multi faith issues. It works with its member bodies to contribute to community cohesion through deepening inter faith understanding and cooperation at all levels.

Associated documents:

• Guidance on New Measures to Outlaw Discrimination on Grounds of Religion or Belief  (0.15 MB)

• Local Authority Guidance-Equality for the Non-Religious  (0.10 MB)

More on Religion or Belief Equality

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