Ethical Record Articles

The journal began in 1895 and is produced on an monthly basis. Primarily it has provided abstracts and edited essays of the Society’s Sunday Lectures. It has developed into a showcase journal of the Society’s activities and events at Conway Hall.

IN THE BEGINNING WAS RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION Until the 1970’s at least much Religious Instruction as it was known in the UK was confessional in character. This reflected the state of the nation in which many teachers of religion were in their posts for confessional reasons among others. With the publication of Edwin Cox’s Changing Aims […]

In Jean Giraudoux’s play La guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu, translated in English as Tiger at the Gates, one might recognize the affinities of the protagonists with the two sides of the campaign leading to the Brexit referendum. Acquiescence, bellicose rhetoric, false optimism, and incongruous reasoning define the juxtaposition between Hector’s peace minded side […]

To be human is to age. Many of us are already deep within the clasp of aging, with declining power and faltering memory. But is an ongoing downward spiral of feebleness, illness, and (perhaps) senility truly inevitable? Or could we take advantage of the remarkable ongoing progress in multiple fields of science and technology, in […]

The first time I visited a Magistrates Court, it was 1954, shortly after I moved to London. A friend who could not be at court, because he would be at work, asked me to observe the trial of a girl he knew. She was accused of standing in the street, inviting men into a ‘clip […]

The English historian Norman Stone once noted that doctoral dissertations are about amassing ponderous armies of facts to pursue a war of attrition on behalf of some trivial insight. The Evolution of Atheism, which is the result of Stephen LeDrew’s doctoral work, is an example of this genre. For the most part, the book is […]

ISHASH Liz Lutgendorff reviews the first ISHASH conference, which took place at Conway Hall over 4-5 June 2016. In June this year, Conway Hall Ethical Society played host to the first conference for the International Society of Historians of Atheism, Secularism and Humanisms (ISHASH). The small society branched out from the Nonreligion and Secularity […]

Dr Nick Heap – an authority in the art of conversation – discusses its very essence, and also takes it to the next level and explores “Eye-Opening Conversations.” Summary Words create worlds. We can have better lives and make a better world by having different conversations. Too many habitual conversations involve grumbling, blaming, cynicism or […]

Denis Cobell officiated at the Humanist funeral at West Clandon Natural Burial Ground on 24 August of CHES member Harold Hillman. Harold died within a week of his 86th birthday on 5 August 2016. He had been a persistent campaigner throughout his life for causes to improve life for all living creatures. He has written […]

I voted for the UK to remain in the EU because I thought this would be better for all parties involved, both the UK and the EU. That being said, I agree with David Cameron’s refrain throughout the referendum campaign that the UK can indeed survive and eventually thrive outside the EU. So, where are […]

The Bank of England has shelled out £375 billion in ‘quantitative easing’ since the 2008 crash. It has, quite literally, created electronic money out of nowhere and used it to buy up financial assets held by the banks. The idea has been to pump ‘liquidity’ – lendable money – into the economy. But the financial […]

At a time when Britain has never looked so divided after the vote to Brexit, we have to seriously consider the question ‘Is our system of governance fit for purpose in the 21st century?’ How is it that so many people have such a lack of faith in their own nation’s political system that they […]

The result of the referendum is a victory for “Project Hope” over “Project Fear.” The voters of the UK must be congratulated for their bravery and for voting to win back Britain’s political independence and national democracy in face of the anti-democratic entity that is the European Union. While the EU is presented as a […]

Ethical Record Articles

Religious Education: Where has it been? What is it doing? Where is it going?

Brexit:The Fall of Troy?

The Abolition of Aging?

Are Law Courts Biased against Defendents?

The Evolution of Atheism: The Politics of a Movement

Liz Lutgendorff reviews the first ISHASH conference

Eye-Opening Conversations

Obituary: Harold Hillman 1930 – 2016

Discussion on EU Referendum Result

Corbynomics Can Work

Utopia Now

Congratulations on the Brexit Vote for Democracy!