🎄 Leicester Secular Society Xmas Social 🎶 Sun 21 Dec | 6:30pm | Secular Hall Desert Island Discs–style evening 🌴🎧 Bring drinks & nibbles to share 🍷🍪 Music, conversation & festive vibes — all welcome ✨

⚖️ For our #HumanRightsDay talk, join us Sun 14 Dec, 6:30pm at Secular Hall for Dr Alejandro Sanchez’s talk arguing that ritual circumcision of boys is a human rights violation. In collaboration with @natsecsoc.bsky.social . Free entry via Eventbrite (link below)

What shapes who we are? 🤔 Join us Sun 7 Dec, 6:30pm at Secular Hall for Anthony Matthew’s talk on identity — exploring gender, race, class, culture, politics and how much of identity we truly choose. Free entry, tea & biscuits, all welcome!💜

📢 Join us Sun 30 Nov, 6:30pm at Secular Hall for “Neurodivergence & Women” with Dr Sara Lemos. A thoughtful talk exploring how awareness and visibility empower neurodivergent women, improve understanding, and strengthen our communities. Free entry; all welcome.💜

📢 Women, Sex and Gender in the Early Church: Dr George Locke delves into how diverse early Christian communities debated sex, gender roles, identity, celibacy and purity. Sun 23 Nov, 6:30pm at Secular Hall. Free and all welcome with tea, biscuits and thoughtful discussion.

Join us Sun 9 Nov, 6.30PM at Secular Hall for “Faith and Violence Against Women & Girls” — a talk by Vandana Aparanti on how faith, culture & caste intersect with gender-based violence. 🎟️ All welcome ☕ Refreshments provided 💜 Donations appreciated

⚖️ The Role of Magistrates in Leicester with Martin Pantling & Suzi Felsted Join us for a mock trial where YOU help decide the verdict! 📅 Sun 2 Nov, 🕡 6.30PM 📍 Secular Hall ☕️ Free entry, all welcome, tea & biscuits provided 💜 Donations appreciated

📢📚Rahila Gupta (@rahilag.bsky.social) presents “Unholy Alliance: Religion & Patriarchy”, co-author of Planet Patriarchy. She argues religious shackles prevent women’s liberation—especially in Russia, El Salvador and Saudi Arabia. Sun 26 Oct, 6:30pm • Secular Hall: All welcome ☕ Donations welcome.

We’re proud to host a special screening of Gail and Bharat (2025) 🎬 with director Somnath Waghmare, in collaboration with Dalit Solidarity Network UK. 📍Secular Hall 🗓️Tuesday 21 October |⏰6pm 🎟️Free, register on Eventbrite👇 ✨Refreshments provided Donations appreciated Don’t miss this powerful event!

🌍Film Screening: Plan Z – From Lab Coats to Handcuffs🎥 Introduced by Dr Caroline Vincent, this documentary follows scientists who risk arrest & reputations to warn of climate breakdown. 📅Sun 19 Oct, 6.30pm 📍Secular Hall 🎟️Free admission ☕Refreshments provided Donations welcome

VETO! – Talk by Ian Myson (Amnesty International UK @amnestyuk.bsky.social ) on curbing abuse of the UN Security Council veto. How it fuels wars in Ukraine & the Middle East, and why reform is vital. 📍 Secular Hall 🗓️ Sun 12 Oct, 6.30pm 🎟️ Free, with refreshments + donations welcome

📢 How Did It Feel to Be in My Shoes? A Woman’s Journey from Silence to Strength. Join us this Sunday, 5th Oct at 6:30pm at Secular Hall, for a powerful personal talk on navigating patriarchy, faith, and resilience in an Islamic Mediterranean society.

📢Can We Celebrate Religious Secularists? – Andrew Bolton 🗓️Sunday 28 Sept, 6:30pm 📍Secular Hall ✝️Anabaptists, Baptists, and Quakers once stood against Christendom and suffered for their stand. Were they the first religious secularists? ☕All welcome, refreshments provided. Donations appreciated.

🎬Inherit the Wind — film screening 📅Sunday 21 Sept, 6:30pm 📍Secular Hall Step back to 1925 and the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, where a teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution. Based on real transcripts, this courtroom drama brings history to life. ✨All welcome Donations appreciated

📢✨ Leicester's Victorian Infidels – Ned Newitt ✨📚 Discover Leicester’s 19th-century “heretics” & radicals: free speech, secularism & the fight for the vote. 📍Secular Hall 🎟️All welcome, admission free ☕Tea & biscuits, donations appreciated.

📢Discover Leicester's radical past at Secular Hall (@secularhall.bsky.social), a hub for free thought since 1881! Join us on 14th Sept, 10am-4pm, for guided tours, exhibitions, and more. ✨Explore this historic landmark—one of the UK's only purpose-built secularist buildings! #HeritageOpenDay

📖 Book discussion by renowned scholar & activist @surajyengde.bsky.social on his new work Caste: A Global Story. 🗓 Sat 6 Sept, 6PM 📍 Leicester Secular Hall & via Zoom (ID: 856 6301 7127 | Pass: 019219) Dive into how caste operates as a global system of inequality.

📖 Book discussion with renowned scholar & activist @surajyengde.bsky.social on his new work Caste: A Global Story. 🗓 Sat 6 Sept, 6PM 📍 Leicester Secular Hall Don’t miss this chance to engage in Q&A with one of today’s leading anti-caste voices.

📢 Join us at Leicester Secular Hall on 2 Sept, 7–8pm for a livestreamed @natsecsoc.bsky.social briefing on Marriage Inequality 💍 Speakers: Helen Nicholls, @meganmanson.bsky.social & @sandbergrlaw.bsky.social Why UK marriage law needs reform ➡️ Don’t miss it! #MarriageEquality #Secularism

📢Secularism as Sarva Dharma Sambhav (Equal Respect for All Religions) with Dr. @arvindkumar.bsky.social Kumar, Political Scientist & Visiting Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire. 📅Sunday 7th Sept, 6:30pm 📍Secular Hall 💻Also on Zoom ID: 856 6301 7127 Pass: 019219 All welcome.

🌈 The Leicester Secular Society will have a stall at Leicester Pride in Abbey Park this Saturday, from 12–6 pm! 🎉 Come find us, look out for our banners, and stop by to say hello — we’d love to see you! ✨ #LeicesterPride #LeicesterSecularSociety #Pride2025 #AbbeyPark

The Leicester Secular Society will have a stall at the Leicester Mela in Abbey Park this weekend, from noon to 7 pm. We’ll be sharing it with the Asian Rationalist Society of Britain - South Asian Rationalists UK. If you’re around, look out for our banners and come say hello! :)

📚The Glass Door – Caste, Privilege & Exclusion in Modern India 📍Leicester Secular Hall 📺Also on Zoom | ID: 856 6301 7127 | Pass: 019219 🗓Wed, 23 July | 🕢 7:30 PM BST Join Prof. Ravikant Kisana (aka buffalo_intellectual) for a talk on caste, merit & power. For info, please visit tinyurl.com/487nz333

🎵🎶 Join us for Songs of Justice with Sambhaji Bhagat—an evening of powerful music rooted in Ambedkarite values, anti-caste resistance, and social justice. 📅 Sun 20 July | 6.30–8 PM 📍 Leicester Secular Hall More info and tickets: tinyurl.com/bdrkct5h

📢 Join us at Secular Hall on Sun 13 July, 6:30pm, to celebrate 150 years of the Secular Society Library 📚! Enjoy readings from a selection of books reflecting secularism, humanism, freethought, radical ideas & more. Launching our revamped library & catalogue. Free entry, tea & biscuits!

Join us Sun 6th July, 6.30pm at Secular Hall for a talk by the Asian Rationalist Society of Britain on the rich history of Indian Rationalism, from ancient to modern. Explore thinkers who challenged orthodoxy. Free entry, all welcome. Tea & biscuits provided.

"Today's landmark vote affirms the right of mentally competent, terminally ill adults to make a voluntary and informed decision about the time and manner of their death, free from the constraints of others' religious dogma.” — @stephenmevans.bsky.social A landmark step for dignity and choice.

📢 Join us at Secular Hall on Sun 29 June, 6.30pm for The Ghost Signs of Leicester and Leicestershire—an illustrated talk by Colin Hyde exploring old painted ads on local buildings. Discover the stories behind them. Free entry. Tea & biscuits probided. Donations welcome.

📢 Join us at Leicester Secular Hall on Sun 22 June at 6.30pm for Geoffrey Berg's talk on The Six Ways of Atheism — six original and profound arguments that challenge belief in God using logic. Free entry, all welcome. Tea & biscuits provided. Donations appreciated.

It was a pleasure to co-host a panel discussion with @leicsecularsociety.bsky.social on ending caste discrimination. Huge thanks to the speakers @sahdaish.bsky.social, Elizabeth Joy, Santosh Dass, Annapurna Waughray, Sat Pal Muman & Amar for their expertise! www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/06...

We’re excited for next week’s panel discussion on caste discrimination in the UK with @natsecsoc.bsky.social Join us for this important event! Speakers include Santosh Dass, Dr Elizabeth Joy, Sat Pal Muman, Sahdaish Pall BEM, and Prof. Annapurna Waughray. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/caste-in-t...

📣⚖️Rethinking Law and Religion with Prof. Russell Sandberg @sandbergrlaw.bsky.social 📅Sun 8 June, 6.30pm 📍Secular Hall & Zoom How does English law deal with religion? To what extent does it treat non-religious beliefs equally to religious ones. Meeting ID: 856 6301 7127 Passcode: 019219 Open to all!

"I Am on the Hit List" — a live Zoom talk with author Rollo Romig on the life and assassination of Gauri Lankesh, and what it reveals about threats to journalism and democracy in India. 📍Secular Hall + Zoom 🗓️ Sun 1 June, 6:30pm BST 🆓 Free | Tea & biscuits Zoom ID: 856 6301 7127 Passcode: 019219

The Earth, Overconsumption & Us – Talk by Jamshed Patel Sun 25 May, 6.30pm at Secular Hall ⏰ Explore climate change, inequality & the moral cost of overconsumption 🌍⚖️ All welcome | Free entry ☕🍪 Tea & biscuits Donations appreciated

The New Theism w/ Daniel Sharp, Editor of the @thefreethinkermag.bsky.social Today, 6.30pm. A new counter-Enlightenment is rising—defending religion, not as true, but as useful. Join us at Secular Hall or online. Zoom ID: 856 6301 7127 Passcode: 019219 Free entry. Tea & biscuits provided.

Scientology have tried (and failed) to get my talk at the @leicsecularsociety.bsky.social tomorrow cancelled. Here's how despite the national media attention, this so-called 'church' continues to harass me & anybody I associate with. www.youtube.com/live/a64qoix...

Apostate Alex– The Secrets of Scientology Join us at Secular Hall on Sun 11 May at 6.30pm for an eye-opening talk. @apostatealex.bsky.social exposes Scientology’s abuses and its impact on freedom. Free entry, all welcome! Tea & biscuits provided. Donations appreciated.

Join us at Secular Hall tomorrow at 6.30pm for Tadhamon Singers: We Stand With You. Songs, images and accounts from their 2022 Palestine tour, sharing voices of resistance, resilience and hope. Free entry. Tea & biscuits. Donations welcome.

Curing Death By PowerPoint – Dr. Rajin Chowdhury Sun 13 Apr, 6:30pm 📍Leicester Secular Hall Why slide presentations are often terrible—and the science behind doing them better 💡 Dr. Chowdhury ( @rajacexplains.bsky.social ) is a med doctor & public speaking trainer. Free entry ☕🍪 All welcome!

We're excited to host this important discussion on caste discrimination in the UK, in partnership with @natsecsoc.bsky.social . A fantastic lineup of speakers tackling a crucial issue. Let's work together to end caste discrimination! Check the post for details and tickets 👇

Leicester’s German Expressionist Paintings & Drawings – Nick Matthews How did German artworks end up in Leicester during WWII? Discover the story of museum director Trevor Thomas & curator Hans Hess on Sun, 6th April, 6:30 PM at Secular Hall. Free entry, tea & biscuits provided, donations welcome!

✨ Stirring Songs & Stories 🎶📖 Join us at Secular Hall on Sun, 30th March, 6:30 PM for an evening of music & storytelling with Red Leicester Choir & The Story Tree. Enjoy songs of protest, struggle & celebration, plus tales to make the heart sing. Free entry, tea & biscuits!

🔬 Science & Religion: Lessons from History – Eoin Carter Join us Sun 23rd March, 6.30 PM at Secular Hall! Eoin Carter (Cambridge PhD researcher) explores Richard Carlile, freethought, free speech & tech ethics. Free entry | ☕ Tea & biscuits 🍪 | Donations welcome.

📢 Leicester’s Smigielski Estates – Ned Newitt Secular Hall, Sun 16th March, 6:30pm Join us for a talk on post-war housing, slum clearance & the problems of high-rise flats in Leicester. @nednewitt.bsky.social , historian & former councillor, shares insights. Free entry, all welcome! ☕🍪

✈️ Women Pilots of the ATA – #IWD Talk Join us Sun, 9th March, 6:30 PM at Leicester Secular Hall for Dorothy Saul-Pooley’s talk on the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary, who ferried military aircraft in WWII and won equal pay in 1943. 🎟 Free | All welcome ☕ Tea & biscuits provided

Join us on Sun, 2nd March, 6.30 PM for a Zoom conversation with Dr. Anthony Pinn on Black Humanism—its history, present, and cultural impact. Watch live at Secular Hall or online. Free entry. Tea & biscuits provided! 🔗 Zoom: ID: 856 6301 7127 Pass: 019219

Set a reminder! Join us Sun, 23rd Feb, 6:30pm at Leicester Secular Hall. Fiona Lamont & Ken Holden discuss environmental concerns in their novels. Free entry, tea & biscuits provided. Donations welcome!

Great Central Reunification – Tom Ingall Join us at Secular Hall, Sunday 16th Feb, 6:30pm, for an update on reconnecting the Great Central Railway’s two halves into an 18-mile heritage line! Free entry. Tea & biscuits provided. Donations appreciated.

Darwin Lecture – Long Covid: A Pandemic Legacy 🗓 Sun, 9th Feb, 6:30 PM 📍 Secular Hall How common is Long Covid? What causes it? What treatments might help? Join Prof. Chris Brightling, leading researcher in respiratory medicine, for insights. Free entry | Tea & biscuits | Donations appreciated

"You go and oppose the prevailing faith, you go and criticise a hero, a great man who is generally believed to be above criticism because he is thought to be infallible, [...] Criticism and independent thinking are the two indispensable qualities of a revolutionary" Why I Am an Atheist, Bhagat Singh