Episode three: Morals Without Religion, the history of humanist education reforms
Education has always been central to humanist thought, and the latest episode of Unholy Histories, the Humanist Heritage podcast from Humanists UK, traces that relationship from its Victorian roots to the present day. Hosts Andrew Copson and Madeleine Goodall are joined by Dr Lois Lee, Senior Lecturer in Secular Studies at the University of Kent, and Dr Susanna Wright, Associate Professor in the History of Education at Oxford Brookes. The Moral Instruction League, founded in 1897, sought to introduce ethical education into state schools without a theological foundation – promoting critical thinking, empathy, and citizenship for all children regardless of their background. Wright, who has spent more than two decades researching this field, explains how the league drew on teachers, curriculum writers, and energetic organisers to make the case that morality need not rest on Christian belief. Among the figures discussed are Gustaf Spiller, the Hungarian émigré whose remarkable networks and organisational drive kept the movement moving, and Frederick James Gould, a teacher and writer who travelled the country demonstrating what secular moral education could …
