Humanists and Non-Religious in Defence (HAND)
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| Formation | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | London, England |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Region | United Kingdom Channel Islands Isle of Man |
Co-chairs | 1x Royal Navy 1x British Army Major Neil Weddell Educational and Training Services |
Key people | Air Vice Marshal Richard Maddison (Champion) Francesca Stavrakopoulou (Patron) |
Parent organization | Humanists UK |
Formerly called | United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA) (2010–2014) Defence Humanists Network (DSN) (2014–2021) |
Humanists and Non-Religious in Defence (HAND), founded in 2010, is a Diversity and Inclusion Network of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom).[1] HAND was established to promote Humanist and non-religious worldviews as being equal to those of major world faiths[2] and to ensure compliance with the Equality Act (2010)[3] and the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2018)[4]. Air Vice Marshall Richard Maddison is the HAND Defence Champion[5] and Francesca Stavrakopoulou is a patron of HAND.[6]
History
The HAND network originated as the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA)[7] and later became the Defence Humanist Network (DHN)[8] to include MOD civil servants before renaming as the Humanist and Non-religious in Defence (HAND) network in 2021.
The need was identified as non-religious members of the UK Armed Forces had seen a steady increase in numbers, accounting for 37.2% of Regular (an increase from 15.5% in 1 October 2012) and 29.1% of Reserve members (an increase from 17.7% in 1 October 2012), according to the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics: 1 October 2022.[9]
Pastoral Support
HAND advocates that Service Personnel in need of support should be able to choose to speak to someone who shares their worldview[10] and that the MOD should provide a service mirroring that offered in NHS trusts[11], HM Prison Services[12] and UK Universities.[13][14]
Official, non-religious pastoral networks currently exist in a number of other military organisations[15] including the Dutch[16][17], Norwegian[18] and Canadian Armed Forces[19] however, currently the MOD only employs religious Chaplains as the providers of officially recognised Defence pastoral services for UK Defence personnel.[20][21]
In response to questions posed by MP Tommy Sheppard in March 2023, as to whether or not the UK Government would approve non-religious pastoral support to the Armed Forces, they responded that they were intending to recruit a non-religious pastoral officer for each of the Armed Services,[22] although this process is still ongoing.
Celebrant Services and Ceremonial Events
The HAND network provides members of the MOD community with non-religious ceremonies (Humanist weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies) through Humanist Celebrants.[23]
HAND also provides non-religious variations of ceremonies and events that have traditionally had religious themes, such as Remembrance Day.[24][25][26] Since 2018, Humanists have been represented at the annual Remembrance ceremony at The Cenotaph in London.[27]
In order to account for persons of other faiths and non-religious Service Personnel, King's Regulations states that, 'No officer or soldier on such a parade is to be expected to take part, against their wishes, in a service of any religion, denomination or recognised belief system other than their own or in any joint service.' (para 5268.d).[28]
References[edit]
- ↑ "MOD Diversity Networks". GOV.UK. June 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "SOLDIER". edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "Equality Act 2010: guidance". GOV.UK. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Defence diversity and inclusion strategy 2018 to 2030: A force for inclusion". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "How Humanism is helping non-religious military community honour war dead". Forces Network. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Francesca Stavrakopoulou becomes a patron of Defence Humanists". Humanists UK. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "Diversity & Inclusion Awards 2020".
- ↑ "Defence Humanists". Humanists UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "UK armed forces biannual diversity statistics: 1 October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Defence Humanists calls for non-religious pastoral care in armed forces". Humanists UK. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "NHS England » Information Governance: NHS Chaplaincy and Non-Religious Pastoral Support". www.england.nhs.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Faith and pastoral care for prisoners: PSI 05/2016". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Universities". humanistcare.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "First humanist head of a UK University's chaplaincy, pastoral, and spiritual care team". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "UK Parliament: Written questions, answers and statements. 'Armed Forces: Pastoral Care'".
- ↑ "Humanistische geestelijk verzorging bij Defensie". Humanistisch Verbond (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ Torpy, Jason (2013-03-29). "Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers". Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Felthumanister i Forsvaret". Human-Etisk Forbund (in norsk bokmål). Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ Defence, National (2022-06-13). "The CAF introduces first-ever humanist chaplain". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "Who We Are: Royal Army Chaplains' Department".
- ↑ "Defence Humanists calls for non-religious pastoral care in armed forces". Humanists UK. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "Armed Forces: Pastoral Care". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "How Humanism is helping non-religious military community honour war dead". edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "SOLDIER". edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "Remembrance 2021". Humanists UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "How Humanism is helping non-religious military community honour war dead". Forces Network. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "How Humanism is helping non-religious military community honour war dead". Forces Network. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ↑ "The Queen's regulations for the army 1975 (amendment number 37)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
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