The British Columbia Humanist Association supports a secular society that affirms:
- the right of every individual to practice any religion or none, free from coercion by the government, private institutions or their community and
- that the state has a duty of religious neutrality, meaning it must neither endorse nor prohibit any belief or non-belief.
Open secularism is the best way to fully guarantee the freedom of religion and conscience of all citizens in a plural society. Secularism is the principle that the government should not privilege or disadvantage any religious or non-religious belief over any other.
We oppose government funding being given preferentially to religious organizations and tax exemptions that only benefit the religious (for example, permissive exemptions for houses of worship or the Clergy Residence Deduction). We call on the federal government to remove "the supremacy of God" from the preamble of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and to create a secular national anthem.
Latest news
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· April 15, 2024
The BC Humanist Association applauds Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's recent proposal to update the provincial legislature's opening prayers.
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· April 12, 2024
In a letter sent yesterday, counsel for the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) advised the City of Parksville that the BCHA will be commencing legal proceedings against the City for its breach of the duty of religious neutrality.
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· January 08, 2024
The BC Humanist Association (BCHA) welcomes today's decision by Justice Wilson of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to dismiss a petition claiming the province's privacy act infringed the religious liberties of two Jehovah's Witnesses congregations.
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· December 18, 2023
The third edition of Legislative Prayer Across Canada includes the new inclusion of Indigenous Land Acknowledgements in Manitoba's Legislative Assembly, references to the new monarch and updated endnotes.
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· December 13, 2023
We're ramping up the pressure on the three municipalities that haven't committed to end prayers in future inaugural council meetings.
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· December 07, 2023
West Kelowna, Colwood and Tumbler Ridge have all now responded to the BCHA's calls to end prayers in future inaugural council meetings.
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· November 30, 2023
Bill C-367, tabled Tuesday, would eliminate religious exemptions from Canada's hate speech laws. As Humanists, we stand behind efforts that remove religious privileges and promote equality.
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· November 30, 2023
The BC Humanist Association (BCHA) has written to the seven municipalities it recently identified as including prayers in their 2022 inaugural council meetings, asking for confirmation that the practice will not occur again.
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· November 15, 2023
In a new report released today, the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) calls out Vancouver as one of seven municipalities for including prayers in its 2022 inaugural council meetings.
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