Last week the British Humanist Association outlined the need for constitutional change, removing the Bishops from the House of Lords, for epolitix.com.

We want a secular state. By this we mean a state where public institutions are separate from religious institutions and treat all citizens impartially regardless of their religious or nonreligious beliefs.

This would include, for example, a separation of church and state so that the Head of State was not also Head of the Church of England and an end to Bishops sitting as of right in the House of Lords.

We want a government that shares our ideal of an open society.

The UK is the only democratic country to give seats in its legislature to religious representatives as of right.

We want a reformed chamber so that Bishops no longer sit as of right in the House of Lords.

The presence of the Church of England in the House of Lords entrenches a privileged position for one particular branch of one particular religion that cannot be justified in today’s society, which is not only multi-faith but increasingly non-religious.

http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/parliament-an-end-to-bishops-sitting-in-the-house-of-lords/

The British Humanist Association campaigns on a range of ethical and policy issues.