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Biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins says religious education is vital for British children.
According to the Telegraph, Dawkins was asked at the Cheltenham Science Festival if he thinks religious studies should be banned over fears kids were being brainwashed.
He said it's an important part of our culture to know about the Bible because so much of English literature refers to it.
"In recent weeks we have seen acts of terror and violence committed against innocent people in London, Manchester and around the world by those fundamentally opposed to our shared common values. Set against that, yesterday's election was a powerful and vivid testimony of our enduring faith in the values of peace, freedom and democracy, and a rejection of the forces of fear, hatred and division. It is heartening to see voter turnout increase at this election and I offer my prayers and good wishes to all those elected to Parliament, to all who put themselves forward as candidates and to the countless many who make our democratic process work so well.
"I encourage all Christians, and people of all faiths and no faith, to hold our political leaders in their thoughts and prayers at this time. My prayer is that they may know the love and presence of God, made known through Jesus Christ, as they continue their discussions and prepare to take on the weighty responsibility of leadership."
A British study published Thursday found that babies in the womb appear to recognize and react to faces before they ever see one, USA Today reports.
Researchers at Lancaster University in England projected patterns of lights through the uterus of pregnant moms and watched to see if their unborn babies reacted. They found that unborn babies in the third trimester turned their faces and reacted to three dots configured like the eyes and mouth of a face, but they did not react to the three dots when they were turned upside-down and appeared less like a face.
Theresa May will visit Buckingham Palace at 12:30 BST to seek permission to form a new government, despite losing her Commons majority.
She is seeking to stay in office on the understanding that the Democratic Unionists of Northern Ireland will support her minority administration.
With one seat left to declare, the Tories are eight seats short of the 326 figure needed to command a majority.
Christian and Conservative politician David Burrowes has failed to be re-elected as the MP for Enfield Southgate during an election which has disastrously backfired on his party's leader.
Mr Burrowes' defeat in the north London constituency comes as Theresa May's future as Prime Minister and Conservative party leader has been openly questioned, after the general election results returned a hung parliament.
The Prime Minister is due to visit Buckingham Palace on Friday lunchtime to ask for the Queen's permission to form a government.
So, another general election is over and more than half of the population won't have got the government they want, whether or not they voted. The debate over education spending will roll on and, no doubt, education will continue to be a political football game. Unlike football, though, there's no defined end time. So, in the midst of the white noise of political wrangling, it's worth asking the question 'What do we want our education service to achieve and how can we best deliver it?'
Is it, as one recent media report observed about education promises in election manifestos, all about free meals and free childcare? Is that education, or social care? Schools may well be the most effective place to identify those in need and to help them, but is social care essentially an education issue? There was a call this week for schools to review their procedures after a 4 year old boy was found dead in his home, having lived on for up to two weeks after his mother died. Is this an education issue, or a social problem deriving from the increasing isolation of people within communities?
Humanists Laura Lacole and Eunan O'Kane have won their challenge to gain legal recognition for their humanist wedding, due to take place in Northern Ireland later this month. The decision was issued today by the High Court, just two weeks after the hearing in the case, as the judge was keen to ensure that Laura and Eunan have time to plan accordingly for their wedding. The impact is that humanist marriages immediately gain legal recognition across Northern Ireland.
Humanists UK and its section Northern Ireland Humanists, who supported model/public speaker Laura and Leeds United/Republic of Ireland midfielder Eunan in bringing the case, have expressed their delight at the news. Since Scotland and the Republic have also previously granted such recognition, England and Wales are now left lagging behind as the only part of the UK and Ireland yet to make the change – something that must surely now be much more likely to follow.
Brian Talbert told WJZY that he and another gay Trump supporter of the group "Gays for Trump" applied to have their float featured in Charlotte's Pride Parade this year but received an email from Charlotte Pride rejecting his application.
"We wanted to show that we weren't the racist, bigot, misogynist whatevers. We wanted to show that we are Americans, love our country and our president. We wanted to be there to celebrate gay pride," Talbert said.
"For a group of people to claim to want tolerance, acceptance, and give it to every single person you can imagine to give it to, for them to sit back and judge me for exercising my right as an American to choose my leader without judgment is hypocritical," he added.
The Scottish Episcopal Church has forged ahead to become the first UK Anglican church to legalise gay marriage in a historic move that sets it on a collision course with other Anglican churches around the world.
A motion that changes church law was passed narrowly passed on Thursday afternoon.
The groundbreaking move means Scottish Anglican ministers will be allowed to conduct same-sex weddings, but conservatives have announced a controversial 'missionary bishop' to minister to those opposed to gay marriage.
One of the most difficult debates facing General Synod when it meets in July arises not from the main business agenda, but from a diocesan motion from Blackburn Diocese, which will be proposed by Revd Chris Newlands:
"That this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, calls on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person's gender transition."
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