The newly appointed government minister responsible for equality is facing controversy after she refused to say whether she believed homosexuality was a sin. Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities, a committed Catholic and member of the Opus Dei group, was embroiled in a renewed row over her religious beliefs yesterday. Link: Independent Online Edition > UK Politics – Scene_1 Kelly’s last job was Minister for Education, where she favoured faith schools.

THE Church of England has debunked the widely held view that young people are spiritual seekers on a journey to find transcendent truths to fill the “God-shaped hole” within them. A report published by the Church today indicates that young people are quite happy with a life without God and prefer car boot sales to church. If they think about church at all, the images young people come up with are “cardigans”, “sandals and socks”, “corrupt”, “traditionalist” and “stagnant”.

I’ve been trying to avoid joining things because I’m already a member of too many organisations to give them all the attention they probably deserve. By joining an organisation you might feel obliged to participate in some way, so if you don’t, you feel guilty. However, I’ve recently joined an organisation that won’t make me feel guilty because I’m already doing what it stands for, every day. I’ve joined the Cloud Appreciation Society.

Jesus – The Musical and more Jesus – The Musical and more It’s the weekend, so it’s time for the near-weekly roundup of the stimulating and the stupid on the Interweb. “Intellectual infancy”: the phrase reminds one that religions survive mainly because they brainwash the young. Three-quarters of Church of England schools are primary schools; all the faiths currently jostling for our tax money to run their “faith-based” schools know that if they do not proselytise intellectually defenceless three and four-year-olds, their grip will eventually loosen.

Suffolk College affirms that minority ethnic individuals are entitled to the same equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities as the majority population. This is outlined within the College’s Equal Opportunities Policy. The College strives to ensure that, whatever the heritage and origins of members of the College community, everyone is equally valued and treats one another with respect. This policy serves to remind us all that diversity in our society is a strength and we must ensure equality and equity having regard to issues of gender, age, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and culture.

Link: Biography – Alan Johnson MP – Labour MP for Kingston Upon Hull West and Hessle Having lost nearly 300 local council seats in yesterday’s elections, Blair has shuffled his cabinet and Alan Johnson’s in charge of education. Will he be a better Education Secretary than the very religious Ruth Kelly? Will it make a difference to the faith schools issue? Probably not. Johnson voted against a rebel amendment requiring faith schools to take 25% of their pupils from ‘other backgrounds’, which doesn’t bode well.

From all we hear about Christianity in America – creationism, intolerance, ignorance and so on – it appears to be devoid of rational Humanism. Not so. Among others, there’s a local Humanist group in the Greater Sacramento area, California. HAGSA’s President and newsletter editor is Bill Potts, who was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. Bill says he didn’t discover Humanism until 1963, while he was living and working in Canada. He recently joined the BHA and takes a keen interest in British Humanism.