Northern Ireland has been changing in recent years, and SELHuG member Tony Brewer was interested in how diverse and progressive the country is becoming, how much richer than the sectarian battleground narrative.
Tony invited Boyd Sleator, the full-time coordinator of the Northern Ireland Humanist Section, to speak to us. Boyd, seven years in post, has been a catalyst, building alliances and leading campaigns together with volunteers in pursuit of a society where people can live full lives irrespective of their belief or faith.
Some of the campaigns have been specifically humanist, such as legal recognition of humanist weddings – achieved in 2018 – or introducing humanist pastoral carers into hospitals and prisons. But many have been about challenging the grip of conservative religious values on the way people live their lives. Abortion was a criminal offence until 2019 when an alliance of civil society groups succeeded, after a long campaign, to shift public opinion and win MPs’ support for full abortion services.
Boyd says the decriminalisation of abortion showed that change can happen in Northern Ireland. The introduction of same-sex marriage followed in 2020, allowing humanist celebrants to offer meaningful weddings to the whole demographic – giving them an edge on the competition!
Humanist weddings became legal after Humanists UK supported a High Court challenge arguing that couples were being denied their right to a wedding reflecting their humanist beliefs. That in turn has established anti-discrimination principles that can be applied to other areas, such as the appointment of teachers on faith grounds.
Boyd, who describes himself as an “old raver”, was frustrated by the lack of nightlife in Northern Ireland, primarily due to restrictive licensing laws. The dance floor and other entertainment venues are such good places to mix and meet people from all backgrounds. Eighteen months ago he founded ‘Free the Night’, a charity working collaboratively with other organisations to make the case for a progressive night time economy. He says, “I want to see inclusive places, not humanist spaces. People want to move away from talking about religion etc and move to inclusive spaces and experiences.”
Education is the biggest nut to crack. Schools are still divided into a Catholic sector and a Protestant sector, with a tiny integrated sector, still Christian. That means no recognition of non-religious people or other religions. It is also a huge barrier to an inclusive society. So for Northern Ireland Humanists it is the biggest and most long-term campaign. Interestingly, the interfaith community has welcomed humanists and Boyd is now secretary of the NI Interfaith Forum. The Muslim community in particular is progressive and young. So humanists may find allies in unexpected places for their drive to make schools discrimination-free.
Review by Hester Brown
