William McIlroy
Encyclopedia
William J. McIlroy is a British secularist and atheist activist, writer and editor.
He was for many years editor of The Freethinker
(three stints: 1970-1971, 1975–1976, 1981–1993) and General Secretary of the National Secular Society
(two stints: 1963-1970, 1972–1977). In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the NSS for 50 years of service to the secularist movement http://www.secularism.org.uk/maryamnamazienamedsecularistofth.html.
In 1989, McIlroy, along with Nicolas Walter
reformed The Committee Against Blasphemy
Law to protest at the threat to Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses
. The Committee issued a Statement Against Blasphemy Law signed by over 200 public figures. McIlroy had been Secretary of the original Committee Against Blasphemy Law, which was founded in the late 1970s to protest the trial of the editor and publishers of Gay News
. He was the keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Gay Humanist Group, which became the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
.
He was for many years editor of The Freethinker
The Freethinker (journal)
The Freethinker is a British secular humanist magazine, founded by G.W. Foote in 1881. It is the world's oldest surviving freethought publication.It has always taken an unapologetically atheist, anti-religious stance...
(three stints: 1970-1971, 1975–1976, 1981–1993) and General Secretary of the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
(two stints: 1963-1970, 1972–1977). In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the NSS for 50 years of service to the secularist movement http://www.secularism.org.uk/maryamnamazienamedsecularistofth.html.
In 1989, McIlroy, along with Nicolas Walter
Nicolas Walter
Nicolas Hardy Walter was a British anarchist and atheist writer, speaker and activist.-Career overview:Walter was born in London; his father was the neurophysiologist and pioneer of cybernetics, William Grey Walter...
reformed The Committee Against Blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
Law to protest at the threat to Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
. The Committee issued a Statement Against Blasphemy Law signed by over 200 public figures. McIlroy had been Secretary of the original Committee Against Blasphemy Law, which was founded in the late 1970s to protest the trial of the editor and publishers of Gay News
Gay News
Gay News was a pioneering fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality...
. He was the keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Gay Humanist Group, which became the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association is a democratic, membership-based, Humanist campaigning organisation that represents the many non-religious in the lesbian and gay community in the United Kingdom and beyond...
.
Interviews
- Fine, Zac (2007). Praise Be for Secularism. Rocks Magazine.
Publications
- Educational Reform: story of a campaign. London: National Secular Society, 1968.
- Foundations of Modern Humanism. Sheffield: Sheffield Humanist Society, 1995. ISBN 0-9525644-0-8. Electronic version
- Without the Faith: Freethinkers and Freethought in Brighton and Hove. Brighton: Brighton and Hove Humanist Society, 2007