This article first appeared in the November edition (Vol 120 No 11) of the Ethical Record published by the Conway Hall Ethical Society in London, UK.

It is with great pleasure that I write to you to report that my local humanist group in Vancouver, Canada has grown exponentially in the past three years. The membership has grown and the organizational activities have blossomed with a wide variety of programs. This is the first time that I’ve been part of such a burgeoning society and so I wished to share with you the story of our organization. Presumably the context for this growth has been international, and so many readers may see parallels with their own organizations in England and elsewhere.

David Simpson is a young man with a YouTube channel. David tells how he lost his faith while managing to keep a sense of spirituality (and morality) that is entirely Humanistic but still deeply Christian. He discusses worship, prayer, meditation, morality, scripture, the gospel and an Atheist Trinity.

Find David on YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n-cydKGrfsYNktx96P64g

Recorded at the Sunday, January 10, 2016 meeting of the BC Humanist Association in Vancouver. Subscribe on iTunes.

By Emile Chabal, University of Edinburgh

France has had a tumultuous time in the year since two brothers opened fire in the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 11, before going on to murder another five people in Paris. Just ten months later, the November 13 attacks showed that the threat of terrorism had not receded.

And just weeks after the second major attack, the far-right’s onward march in regional elections suggested that a significant proportion of the electorate had sought refuge in a language of fear and revenge after everything they had seen in 2015.

These growing anxieties were reflected at the highest level of the political system.

This past Sunday, January 3, 2016, a group of 25 Humanists watched Guy Standing's video about the Precariat Charter. The Charter is a manifesto for a new social contract to address the growing inequality of wealth and lack of stable employment. As little as 20% of the world's working age population can find gainful employment as jobs and commodities markets are increasingly globalized.

Starting in 2016, the BC Humanist Association is now a Partner for Life with Canadian Blood Services. This means that we'll be sponsoring a number of Adopt-a-Clinic days when we encourage our members to donate blood. The first date is coming up on Saturday, February 13. I hope to see you there!

So many of you have thrown your support behind our goal of sponsoring a refugee family in 2016. In fact, you've donated and pledged over $3000 in one week.

This is in addition to the generosity you've also shown in support of our other projects and campaigns.

But we still need another $10 000 to close the gap and give us the confidence to make this project a reality.

If you haven't yet, there are still a few days left to donate and take full advantage of the available tax credits for 2015.

Read more about our plans to sponsor a family and donate today.

By Rachael Sharman, University of the Sunshine Coast

It’s that time of the year again when parents deliberate over whether to lie – or continue the lie – to their kids about Santa Claus.

Many parents don’t feel comfortable “lying” to their child just to prop up a popular myth.

But does lying about whether Santa exists really do children any psychological harm? And if you do choose to lie to them, when’s the best age to break the news?

Since the democratic uprising of the Arab Spring in 2011 Syria has been ravaged by civil war. The unrest has allowed fundamentalist groups like the Islamic State rise and spread terror across the region. Millions of families have been displaced to refugee camps across the region.

Many of you have asked me what we can do as the BC Humanist Association.

Click here to donate or here to make a pledge.

Since the democratic uprising of the Arab Spring in 2011 Syria has been ravaged by civil war. The unrest has allowed fundamentalist groups like the Islamic State rise and spread terror across the region. Millions of families have been displaced to refugee camps across the region.

Earlier this year the photo of young Alan Kurdi's death rocked the world. That led to an outpouring of compassion and within our own community more and more members started asking me if the BC Humanist Association could help sponsor a refugee family to come to Vancouver.

While I can't promise anything yet, we've had a number of significant pledges and we have a chance to bring a family to Canada.

Effective altruism may be the fastest growing charitable movement you've never heard of. With 1.2 million views and counting for Peter Singer's TED Talk on the subject, and Givewell, the flagship charity evaluator of the movement, now moving more money than Charity Navigator, it's worth getting to know the basic tenets of Effective Altruism before making your next donation. Tee Barnett, the Programs and Educational Officer at Charity Science, will explore the potent blend of applying "the greatest good for the greatest number" to evidence-based and rational decisions about charity. With such growth in only a few short years, key tensions have arisen that the Effective Altruism movement will have to address: how can we measure the greatest good for the greatest number? Can the movement be sustained? Is this the most compassionate way to understand charity? Should we be thinking more globally? Largely populated by humanist, skeptical, secular, rational, and atheistic types, a second look is required of this newly reframed outlook on helping those in need.

Recorded at the Sunday, December 20, 2015 meeting of the BC Humanist Association in Vancouver. Learn more about us at www.bchumanist.ca. Subscribe on iTunes.

Editor's note: This article is specific to religion in the British education system. For information about the state of religion in British Columbia's education system, see our Secular Schools campaign.

By Tariq Modood, University of Bristol

British society is in serious need of higher levels of religious literacy. The potential for misunderstanding, stereotyping and oversimplification based on ignorance is huge – and schools have a big part to play in putting this right.

Religion has dramatically changed in Britain. Fewer people profess Christianity, more profess a post-Christian spirituality, humanism or atheism, while Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish communities assert themselves in public and seek to play a role in shaping policies.