BIRMINGHAM City Council has no problem with its staff accessing religious websites, many of them notorious for their high hatred content – and usually with homophobia at the forefront.
But atheist websites are a definite No-No!
According to BBC News, the council’s Bluecoat Software computer system allows staff to look at websites relating to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other religions but blocks sites dedicated to “witchcraft or Satanism” and “occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism”.
The rules also ban sites that promote the paranormal, sexual deviancy and criminal activity.
The council claims that the system helps managers monitor staff web access
But lawyers at the National Secular Society said the move by Birmingham City Council was “discriminatory” and they would consider legal action.
Under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, it is unlawful to discriminate against workers because of their religion or belief, which includes atheism.
NSS president Terry Sanderson said the city council’s rules also discriminated against people who practise witchcraft, which is also classed as a legitimate belief.
Terry Sanderson
Witchcraft these days is called Wicca, which is an actual legitimate and recognised religion. We feel very strongly that people who don’t believe should not be denied the access that people who do believe have got.
He said the society, which has a “very strong case”, plans to contact the council and ask for the policy to be changed.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
July 29th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
when i first read this I thought they must mean BIRMINGHAM alabama USA–not UK–Is this the first sign of a UK atheist Witch hunt?
July 30th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Funny, I too thought it was Birminham, AL. Their mayor’s “solution” for crime was to order a slew of Bibles and (I wish I were kidding) sackcloths so people could pray in sackcloth and ashes, and read the Bible. Somehow he imagined that would make it all better.
I weep for the future of this nation if things don’t change soon.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Having been brought up in Birmingham (the one in the UK) I’m sorry to say that I’m not in the least bit surprised by this news. The city council has long been a hotbed of lunacy and rampant PCism to the denegration and embarrassment of most of it’s citizens.
Birmingham was one of the first places in the UK to ban the word Christmas from it’s city centre Xmas decorations – insisting it went by the awful name of “Winterval” instead. And at one point, Birmingham famously spent £1m a year on a help centre for bereaved lesbians – whilst at the same time gang crime, drugs, prostitution, violence and riots were commonplace and ran unchecked.
Now, I know many on here will not “support” Christmas. I’m an atheist myself, so don’t see it as a time to celebrate Christ’s birth – but I do celebrate Xmas (ok, a semantic arguement, I know) – I see it as a time to celebrate the people I love (in my – possibly deluded – mind, the X in Xmas stands for a kiss). But Winterval – I mean, c’mon !!!
As for the Lesbian centre – well – why do lesbians need bereavement counselling that is any different from any heterosexual or male homosexual person ?! Do Lesbians have a different kind of grief when a loved one dies ?! Not to my knowledge.
So Birmingham has long (and I’m going back 30 odd years here – ever since I was old enough to see the lunacy around me) been a home for stupidity of the first degree. The city council has had innumerable mentions in Private Eye over the years and almost always for some silly bit of PC legislation that upset more people that it helped. This is just the latelst in a LONG line of such idiocies.
Birmingham – a city run by idiots. That’s why I left !
Rog
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Don’t worry. I put this site through the Blue Coat filter system and it came out as “religion”! See may article.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:03 am
I was totally convinced it was Alabama as well.
I don’t know as much about UK policies as I do about those in the USA, but it sounds like there’s a very solid case against the City Council.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am
I thought this must have been the states when I saw this. I would imagine common sense will prevail here.
November 4th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
This is all down to the web filtering software not the council imo, if you want a witch hunt I would go after the software makers for making a category which covers so many different subjects.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:24 am
I love how atheists are considered such terrible people. But it’s funny how atheists seem to be peaceful people while religious individuals are always fighting, with other sects within their own religion or other religions.
July 5th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Roger, you are a moron. The council have never banned Christmas,no council ever has, that's just Daily Mail made-up rubbish of the lowest calibre. The Winterval thing just extended the Christmas period a little longer. Before you start with the PC gone MAD!!! crap, the tories/lib dems are in charge of B'ham council, and have been for some time.
To be honest, we're better off without you!