MSP Maggie Chapman spoke out on behalf of Scotland's young people at the recent Holyrood debate about the Religious Observance Bill. While it passed to the next stage, it does not yet give young people an independent right to opt in or out of religious worship at school.

The Religious Observance Bill has passed a first-stage vote in the Scottish Parliament, but there’s still crucial work to do to persuade Holyrood that school pupils deserve an independent right to opt out of religious worship.

We were honoured to welcome reproductive rights campaigner Lucy Grieve to our Festival of Humanism in Glasgow.

Lucy spoke about young women in Scotland who find themselves in unthinkably difficult situations simply because our NHS stops providing most abortion care after 20 weeks.

🌈 "The approach we have in Scotland is world-leading. We are the only country to currently have a national policy (of LGBT-inclusive education)."

We loved hearing from Time For Inclusive Education Scotland co-founder Jordan Daly at our recent Festival of Humanism.

"To give them that right (to opt in), but not the right to unilaterally withdraw? There’s just no clear, principled explanation for that."

At our Festival of Humanism, MSP Patrick Harvie didn’t mince his words about the proposed Religious Observance Bill, and he’s right:

This incredible quote by playwright and #humanist George Bernard Shaw (recited here by Jeff Goldblum) feels like the perfect way to start a new week:

Shaw’s words remind us that life isn’t something to be cautiously preserved or merely endured: it’s something to be lived with purpose✨

🌍 A Better World Is Possible – Join Scotland’s Climate March this Saturday 🌍

📅 Saturday 15 November 2025
📍 Glasgow Green (assemble from 11am)
👉 Sign up : www.climatemarch.scot

Video credit: CBS News (Footage from Nov 2021)