We now move to the short debate. If Members are leaving the Chamber, please do so quickly. We now move to the short debate and I call on Mick Antoniw to speak on the topic he has chosen. Mick. 

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm—

Just a minute, while everybody goes.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to introduce this short debate to recognise World Humanism Day, which is tomorrow, and to talk a little about the philosophy of humanism and its contribution to progressive thought in Wales, the UK and the world.

In a world of increasing intolerance and division, a world undergoing dramatic change due to technological advance and globalisation, it is sometimes easier to become entrenched in narrow beliefs and to ignore the expanse of thought, imagination and the commonality of libertarian belief that there is in the world, whether that be related to a belief in God or a rational belief in none.

Humanism is the outcome of a long tradition of free thought that has inspired many of the world’s great thinkers, from scientists to social reformers. Humanists believe that we have one life and aim to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity, placing human welfare and happiness at the centre of their ethical decision making. 

Humanism is a philosophy that supports democracy and human rights. It seeks to use science creatively not destructively to seek solutions to the world's problems through human thought and action rather than divine intervention. Bertrand Russell, a great British philosopher and humanist, who made his home in Penrhyndeudraeth, said:

'if we are to live together, and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.'

To this extent, humanism has many philosophical and ethical similarities with basic Christian, Buddhist, Jewish and Islamic religious beliefs. Humanists often share values with religions, with many similarities with the philosophy and ethics of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. But, humanism is not based on the existence of God or bound to any set of religious teachings or beliefs. It is a belief in reason and autonomy as foundational aspects of human existence. Humanists make their ethical decisions based on reason, empathy and a concern for human beings and other sentient animals. 

Humanism has been around for millennia, but the connections between humanist thought and social reform developed substantially in the nineteenth century, when a new generation of social reformers and activists were influenced by philosophers and intellectuals who wrote about people making a difference to the world and looking out for each other without regard for religion. Aneurin Bevan rejected the beliefs of his non-conformist parents to become a secularist socialist. A Newtown-born humanist, Robert Owen, was one of the founders of the co-operative movement.

Today, we live in a world where it is predicted that by 2030 50 per cent of the world's wealth will be in the hands of 1 per cent of the population. Half of the world flourishes while half of the world starves. As inequality increases, societies become increasingly unstable, growing nationalisms set people against people, barriers are erected and the seeds of conflict are sown.

Humanism, as with ethical socialism, is about the belief that the power to resolve all of these problems lies in our hands, through rational analysis, the use of science for the benefit of all and through a recognition of our common humanity and obligations to one another.

Humanism is, perhaps, the default philosophical position for millions of people in the UK today, and many humanists improve society by strengthening our democratic freedoms, involving themselves assiduously in charity work, increasing our body of scientific knowledge and enhancing our cultural, creative and civic life. In Wales, 53 per cent of our population say they don’t belong to any religion, and this includes 73 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds and 69 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds.

To ensure a fully inclusive civic ethic in our society, we must recognise the rights of non-religious people. In 2015, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, called for humanism to be included in the English religious studies curriculum, alongside Christianity and Islam. He was amongst signatories including prominent Jewish, Muslim and Sikh representatives arguing that the inclusion of non-religious ideas would be a more accurate representation of modern Britain and would allow young people to study a more representative sample of major world views that are common in Britain today.

So, we can take pride in the moves in this direction in Wales. Humanism is now on the religious education curriculum in Wales. Following a legal challenge, the Cabinet Secretary for Education has recently written to all of Wales’s 22 local authorities to advise that representatives of non-religious belief systems must be given the same right as religious representatives to sit on the standing advisory councils on religious education, which are the local authority bodies responsible for overseeing religious education in schools.

So, in Wales, we are making progress, but there is still a long way to go. Humanist marriages are legal in Scotland and Jersey, but not in Wales, where the law remains non-devolved, and only four hospitals in Wales have agreed to accept volunteer non-religious pastoral carers as part of their chaplaincy teams.

Recognising the role of humanism in Wales as part of our beliefs system is also about ensuring a fully inclusive civic ethic in all of our social and public institutions. Those who are not religious, and I would say that this is probably the majority of people in our present-day society, have much to contribute to the values on which our society is based and to the direction it takes in the future.

In Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare says:

'Love all, trust a few, / Do wrong to none'.

I prefer the more prescient statement from the British philosopher and American founding father, Thomas Paine:

'The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.'

Thank you.

Thank you. Have you indicated that—?

I've indicated that I've given a minute to Julie Morgan, and I'm happy to give a minute if anyone else wishes to take one.

No—Julie Morgan.

Thank you very much for giving me a minute. I'm very pleased to speak in this debate, which is very timely, with World Humanist Day being on 21 June. I've been a humanist for many years, and I'm a member of Wales Humanists, which is part of Humanists UK. I just wanted to make three quick points. 

I support the call by Wales Humanists for the marriage law to be devolved—Mick Antoniw has already referred to this—as it was in Scotland in 1998, so that we can have humanist marriages, but also to address the issue of marriage certificates calling for the father's name rather than the parent's name, which is clearly out of step with modern life. So, I'd like to see devolved control of the registrar's office so that we can try to bring about those changes.

The second point I wanted to make was on collective worship in schools. This was introduced in 1944 and then narrowed to a requirement of being broadly Christian, and was enshrined in education law in 1988 under the Thatcher Government. When devolution came and responsibility for education was devolved to the Assembly, this broadly Christian element was passed over to the Assembly, and I don't think it fits in with our diverse society, which values freedom of belief, so I think it would be a step forward if we were to remove the idea of being broadly Christian, but to embrace all religions and humanism and no religions.

The final point I'd like to make is about hospital chaplains, who Mick Antoniw has already referred to. I understand that £1.2 million a year is spent on chaplaincy services, and the Welsh Government leaves it up to hospital trusts to decide how to provide a chaplaincy service. I think it is really important that people who don't have religious beliefs are able to have access to someone to help them spiritually to give non-religious support. I know that in response to my requests to the Welsh Government, the response has been that a religious person could still give you that support, but that doesn't really fit well if you don't have any religious beliefs. The other point about hospitals is the availability of quiet rooms so that, as well as prayer rooms, you do have a quiet room where people with no beliefs can go. So—

Well done—in a minute.

A minute? [Laughter.]

No, no, it's not a minute, but well done for your minute. Thank you. Can I now call on the leader of the house to reply to the debate? Julie James.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm delighted that Mick Antoniw has given us this opportunity during Refugee Week to discuss the importance of working with all our communities in Wales, whether they belong to faith groups or non-faith groups—all faiths and none, as we say. The quote that he read out at the end pretty much sums up our attitude to where we should be, and as I said earlier in a debate, Deputy Presiding Officer, what we most want to remember during Refugee Week is our common humanity and not anything that divides us. On this day of Jo Cox's Great Get Together, her words that we 

'have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.' are well worth remembering in this context.

Engagement with all of our communities is a really important factor in providing community cohesion across Wales, including faith communities and those committed to other philosophical life stances, such as humanism. We are extremely committed to continuing our work to foster and promote shared values and understanding across all our communities in Wales.

Can I just say that, on a personal level, I support Julie Morgan's call to devolve marriage? And, Deputy Presiding Officer, you'll have to indulge me as I tell yet another small anecdote from my own life, but my son is getting married in July. Those of you who know me will have heard me talking about this. When he and his bride-to-be went to register their proposals to get married, they were asked for the professions of their fathers. I'm delighted to say that they're both well brought up young people. They were able to say the profession of their mothers, but neither of them knew the profession of their father, which I was very comforted by, but of course they were not allowed to list the profession of their mother on the banns, which I think is outrageous. So, for that reason alone, I would like to see it, but there are a number of modernising things that could happily be brought to bear in this regard, including the ability to have ceremonies that are not currently recognised in a humanist way. It's very important that we're all able to express our views, to listen with respect to the views of others, and to improve how we can work together to help keep Wales a very tolerant society.

This year's Interfaith Week, from 12 to 16 November, is an opportunity for us to celebrate and strengthen tolerance and understanding of shared values across all faiths and none. I think that's a very important point. At the meeting of the Faith Communities Forum on 3 April this year, the Interfaith Council for Wales said that it's considering a way in which the views of unrepresented faiths could be heard and served at forum meetings through the interfaith council. We are looking forward to them reporting their decision, with a name to be put forward as a recommendation for the First Minister to consider, and we've welcomed that approach with a view to being an inclusive, cohesive society, with, as the quote that Mick Antoniw read out said, an appreciation of the humanity and common endeavour of everyone on the planet.

Thank you very much, and that brings today's proceedings to a close. Thank you.

The meeting ended at 18:29.