Northern Ireland humanists called on non-religious equality by government

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Northern Ireland humanists has urged the Executive Office (TEO) to make sure its equality work means equality for everyone in Northern Ireland, including the non-religious, religious minorities, and LGBT people.

“Ekklesia” reported in response to a consultation on its draft Equality Scheme, Northern Ireland Humanists highlighted that the draft scheme does not adequately address equality and good relations between all of Northern Ireland’s communities.

Northern Ireland Humanists highlighted that the exclusive wording throughout TEO’s draft equality scheme risked excluding the non-religious by referring to equality and good relations between people of ‘different religious beliefs’.

This excludes the non-religious. Northern Ireland Humanists recommended TEO adopt the more inclusive phrase ‘religion or belief’. This is particularly important in light of Northern Ireland’s growing non-religious population.

Northern Ireland Humanists also raised the persistent use of the category ‘other’ to describe anyone who stands outside of the dominant Catholic and Protestant community groupings.

Such broad labelling fails to acknowledge the existence of, much less address the interaction between, the diverse and varied communities.

It highlighted that equality can only be measured if meaningful data is collected, and recommended a broader approach is necessary to effectively monitor equality.