A new British Medical Journal study has found that non-religious doctors are more likely to discuss end of life decisions with their patients. The study by Dr Clive Seale from the Centre for Health Sciences at Queen Mary University concludes that greater acknowledgement of the relationship between doctors’ values and clinical decision making would improve patient care.

An injunction by a federal judge has put federally funded stem cell research on hold across the US, compromising the progress of vital medical breakthroughs, the American Humanist Association (AHA) said today. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled on Monday that funding of stem cell research violates a federal ban on taxpayer dollars going towards the destruction of embryos.

A new documentary by world-renowned atheist Richard Dawkins calls time on the growth of state-funded religious schools in Britain. Andrew Copson, vice president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and chief executive officer of the British Humanist Association (BHA), is among a number of experts interviewed for ‘Faith School Menace?’. The show will premiere this Wednesday, 18 August, at 9pm on the UK channel More4.

Italian freethinkers have welcomed a court ruling that requires public schools to provide alternatives to Catholic classes on religion. The Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR), an IHEU member organization, provided financial and legal support for the case brought by the parents of a child attending a state primary school in Padua.

An evangelical Christian council worker who was dismissed for gross misconduct has lost his claim of religious discrimination. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has welcomed the judgment as a sane response to ill-founded and illegitimate claims of persecution of Christians in the workplace.

IHEU member the American Humanist Association has welcomed the US Fair Sentencing Act, which significantly reduces the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. "This corrects a historical injustice within our legal system," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director. "The previous laws were racially biased and perpetuated the social and economic hardships already plaguing many disadvantaged members of our community."

Malta is no doubt a predominantly Christian country, but like Christianity itself, a large part of this perception is founded on myth. Any child of six will tell you that the country boasts “an unbroken Catholic tradition” going all the way back to St Paul’s visit in 60AD (Acts 27, etc.) In reality, however, both visit and tradition are at best open to doubt.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has strongly condemned the decision of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom to award the creationist Noah’s Ark Zoo in Wraxall, near Bristol, a 'Quality Badge' in recognition of its educational programme.

Several hundred people joined One Law for All on 20 June at Downing Street to show their opposition to Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and to demand universal rights and secularism. A new report "Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights" was published on the day to coincide with the rally.

The Atheist Foundation of Australia (AFA) today congratulated Julia Gillard on her appointment as the new Prime Minister of Australia.