A Humanist response

From Lawrence Woolf.

I ALWAYS thought that Jersey was a civilised and tolerant place to live. Maybe I was wrong. A recent news item in the JEP told us that an acting magistrate had threatened to send a man to prison for not standing for prayers in the court. The full circumstances were not explained but it does seem strange that compulsory prayers were demanded in a location that is not designated as a place of worship.

We do not know if the man followed another religion that forbids him from taking part in such a service or maybe he was not religious at all. Either way, the demand from the magistrate could have been seen as a personal insult. It could also be seen as an insult to those who do follow the religion that was invoked by insisting that someone who is not a member of that faith should participate.

If there is actually a law that demands such a practice it must be time that it was repealed so that people can follow their own conscience. Any person, such as that acting magistrate, who demands that others follow their own choice of religious practice would seem to be very insecure in their own belief.

There are organisations, such as the National Secular Society, that exist for the purpose of separating religion from other aspects of public life. The British Humanist Association is for those of us who are not religious. I would define a humanist as someone who follows a moral and ethical lifestyle without accepting a supernatural cause for our existence. We have a local group called Jersey Humanists and we welcome new members who want to join us. We have an internet discussion group on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jersey-Humanists or we can be contacted by e-mail at JerseyHumanists@gmail.com for those interested.

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