Intriguing lecture on how ‘everything we think we know about religion is wrong’ by @ekwilson.bsky.social at @uoyevents.bsky.social 👏🏻
Looking forward to reading the book when it’s out
🔴NEW PUBLICATION🔴
"Becoming Non-Religious: Exploring the Emotional Experiences of Apostasy and Refugee Status Determination" by Lucy Elizabeth Potter.
Read the Open Access paper here:
🔗 secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10....
#NonReligion #RefugeeStudies #HumanRights #Sociology #AcademicSky
To save typing everything out, I have done a quick video on how Labour's latest attack on people seeking asylum, by halting work and study visas for Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Cameroon undermines its own arguments defending why they have cancelled other previously remaining resettlement routes.
Paying millions to re-check claims while refusing refugees the basic security they’ need to put down roots, work and rebuild their lives.
We'd love the Government to explain how exactly this lose-lose plan is going to make anything better for anyone.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Temporary refugee status poses 'constant threat' to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers: 'Horribly inhumane' https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/03/02/temporary-refugee-status-poses-constant-threat-to-lgbtq-asylum-seekers-horribly-inhumane/?utm_content=1772604001&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
Spotted two of my favourites in the latest copy of @newhumanist.bsky.social 👏🏻 excellent stuff @zoejardiniere.bsky.social @davidolusoga.bsky.social
Informative video discussing the nuances between non-religious identification and beliefs in the 'Arab world', much of the discussion resonates with my research on non-religious refugees in and beyond this context:
👁️🗨️ youtu.be/Oy3JuwGJWBE?...
Join us for a discussion on the barriers people face when claiming asylum on grounds of their non-religious identity: tinyurl.com/5eedhknf
Asylum reforms proposing reassessments raise questions about how credibility is judged over time.
My research on non-religious & apostasy claims shows credibility often relies on fixed ideas of identity that are hard to sustain when beliefs and safety change over time.
More at our report launch ↓
British dual nationals risk imminent refusal of travel to UK, Home Office affirms
How do you prove who you are when your identity is still evolving? 🌀
Leaving religion in contexts with blasphemy laws is complex.
The UK asylum system lacks the tools to recognise this reality. We’re launching our new report on 24th/3 to bridge this gap.
Register here: tinyurl.com/5eedhknf
'Most of us in Britain aren’t Christian in our beliefs, practices, or identity. Although Christianity has contributed to our heritage, pre-Christian, non-Christian, and post-Christian influences have been just as important.' @andrewcopson.bsky.social
www.politico.eu/article/nige...
The Equality Act needs to be strengthened, not scrapped.
It brings together decades of anti-discrimination law.
It protects you at work and in public life.
It safeguards society's most vulnerable.
Reform UK want to repeal it.
humanists.uk/2026/02/19/t...
Thanks for sharing Michael! 😊
For anyone interested in the intersection of religion, identity, and human rights, the full paper is here: doi.org/10.5334/snr....
I found that the asylum system’s demand for 'credible' narratives can clash with the messy, emotional reality of leaving faith.
These emotions are exacerbated when seeking protection. As another participant explained: 'We're talking about very traumatic things and then getting safety depends on [asylum interviewer] believing them'.
Take, for example, one participant who explained: 'I went into some sort of a depression when I became an atheist because I started to feel lonely. I started to feel like I don’t
have anyone around me who I can communicate'
Refugees who leave their religion experience intense fear, isolation, grief, as well as positive emotions like relief. These emotions shape not only their identity but also how they navigate the asylum process.
Just out: my new research on apostasy and non-religion among asylum seekers in the UK. It explores what it’s like emotionally to leave a religion in countries where it’s dangerous, and seek refuge here. 🧵
A smug picture of Matthew Goodwin from the metro captioned METRO MATTHEW GOODWIN INTERVIEW "Reform will give incentives to women who have more children and will penalise those who don't. Change is coming"
to be clear, Matthew Goodwin has one (1) child and should thus be penalised for failing to meet the replacement rate under the incentive scheme that he’s established here
Thrilled to share my *first* academic paper has been published in Secularism and Nonreligion! 🎉
I talk about the emotional journeys of leaving religion & navigating the British asylum system. Read it here 👉 secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/232...
Jim Ratcliffe, a tax resident of Monaco who has legally avoided an estimated £4 billion in UK taxes, says,
"The UK is being colonised by immigrants, isn't it?"
Ed Conway, "You met recently with Nigel Farage, didn't you?"
Jim Ratcliffe, "I did"
So nice to finally have my research turned into something tangible and accessible in hand! A report ready to be read, shared and used 📄✨
Launch coming soon 📆
@humanists.uk @annastrhan.bsky.social @uoy-sociology.bsky.social
‘Raciological thinking’: Poland’s narratives of race, eugenics, and nation-formation'
From our Special Collection commemorating #HolocaustMemorialDay, with #OpenAccess:
doi.org/10.1080/1070...
@nasarmeer.bsky.social Aaron Winter Taylor & Francis Research
Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting "They killed my wife," the distraught woman says, adding, "They shot her in the head." An ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman who was driving an SUV in Minneapolis on Wednesday. / Screenshot/@Breaking911
"They killed my wife. I don't know what to do," the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. "We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head," the woman cries. "We have a six-year-old at school," she says, almost unable to breathe, as a chaotic scene in which federal officers prevented at least one doctor who was on the scene from assisting the shot victim unfolds. "We're new here," the distraught woman says in despair.
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
Any other ECRs feeling pressured to become a kind of influencer? 🤔
It’s what these authors call ‘post or perish’, interesting read! journals.humankinetics.com/view/journal...
Reminder:
📣 Women’s rights are human rights
📣 Refugee rights are human rights
📣 Either we all have rights, or none of us do
#HumanRightsDay
1/🧵
We must also remember that asylum is a human right! The UK’s growing barriers to refuge threaten the safety of people fleeing persecution for their beliefs, including non-religious individuals. #HumanRightsDay
The UN must do more to ensure states protect the rights of non-religious people and apostates. I’ve been proud to intervene this year to highlight the dangers they face.
humanists.uk/2025/10/23/u...
