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Humanist Celebrant Margaret Nelson will be talking about baby-naming ceremonies on BBC Radio Suffolk. Not sure how long for – tune in before 11.30 to be sure. If you’re not in Suffolk or N Essex you can listen online. Note: This has been changed from Tuesday 13th.

IHEU is seeking donations to its Human Rights Defense Fund to help cover legal fees for Leo Igwe, IHEUs Representative in West Africa. Mr. Igwe and members of his family have been subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment by local police involving multiple arrests on unsubstantiated charges since he began a campaign to bring to justice a powerful local man accused of raping a ten year old girl. Read more here and please donate if you can.

I have a feeling that Eric Pickles, our Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (heaven help us!), probably isn’t one of Nick Clegg‘s favourite cabinet colleagues. Here’s why: Mr Pickles wants us all to go back to Church – Terry Sanderson. To let Mr Pickles know what you think, go to his website.

Just did a radio interview about baby-naming or welcoming ceremonies. Didn’t get a chance to say a lot but was asked how much we charge. I said 130. One of the other contributors, a clergyman, said theirs are free. Of course they are – he’s paid a salary by his church. We’re self-employed. I asked the presenter, James Hazell, to point this out. To hear the item, wait until the programme is available on Listen Again on the BBC website, and listen from about 11.

Muslims deficient in a sense of humour or proportion are upset about a scene from BBC TV’s Eastenders in which a gay Muslim character handles his copy of the Qur’an rather roughly, upset about his love life. He probably didn’t even say “Oops!”, though I wouldn’t know because I never watch it. Oh please! Taking offence has become a full-time occupation for some people.

Thank you if you emailed your MP about the Academies Bill in response to an urgent appeal a few days ago, but it doesn’t look as though we’ve had much success. One of our members had an email from his MP, as follows: Thank you for your email … and I note your concerns. However, I have a different view to you on this matter and am a great advocate of faith schools.

According to The White Roses, Islam is incompatible with secularism, no matter what “moderate” British Muslims might say.

Throughout the current debate about faith schools and the Conservatives’ determination to muck about with our education system so that we have more “academies” run as faith-based independent schools at public expense, the example of Northern Ireland has been conveniently ignored. One of the main reasons why the Troubles lasted so long was because of religious segregation. Those of different faiths or no faith were largely invisible. Several generations of children went to segregated schools, continuing to demonize each other and never mixing.

Phillip Hollobone MP has said that he expects niqab wearing constituents to remove them before he’ll talk to them. Liberty has warned him of potential legal action under the Equality Act 2006, because this would constitute religious discrimination. Maybe Mr Hollobone is right. It would be reasonable to ask someone wearing a crash helmet with tinted face shield to remove it, or a paper bag, so why should a niqab be different?

A Protest the Pope march and rally will take place in Central London on 18 September. See the Protest the Pope website for details. If anyone from Suffolk is planning to go could they please let us know? Ekklesia, the liberal Christian organisation, has published a report on the BBC’s Thought for the Day that “challenges the terms of the current controversy over BBC Radio 4s flagship God slot by actually analysing its content with some surprising results.

Guest speaker Michael Lawrence introduces his presentation as follows: Just suppose is a one hour production, which is an expos on the link between primitive astronomy/astrology and religious theology. It aims to demonstrate how all theology is inexorably linked with ancient astrological perceptions, and ultimately, the folly of theological worship. Its purpose is not to discredit the benefit many people gain from following a theological belief, but to provoke lively debate on the future role of religion in the public realm of politics and education given theologys demonstrably fictitious foundation.

While Michael Gove’s Academies Bill offers more opportunties for people to set up faith schools or to make existing ones less accountable, the Labour leadership candidates all say they’re pro-faith schools. Faith schools are a part, a rather large part, of the problem of “multiculturalism”, about which so much nonsense has been spoken and written by ignorant politicians. Rumy Hasan’s book, Multiculturalism: Some Inconvenient Truths, ought to be on every MP’s holiday reading list.