Keith Porteous Wood

Keith Porteous Wood

Keith Porteous Wood (born November 1947) is the Executive Director, formerly General Secretary, of the National Secular Society in the United Kingdom, a position he has held since 1996.

In 2007 he received the Distinguished Service to Humanism Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union for his work in building up the National Secular Society and campaigning for secularism both nationally and internationally.[1]

Biography

Before his appointment as National Secular Society General Secretary in 1996, Wood had been director of finance for companies in the wholesale and retail food distribution, financial services and insurance sectors.[2]

Wood is in a civil partnership with Terry Sanderson, the president of the National Secular Society. They had been together for over two decades before civil partnerships were introduced in 2005, and they entered into a civil partnership in 2006.[3]

Secularist and humanist activities

In 1996, Wood was appointed General Secretary of the National Secular Society, following the retirement of Terry Mullins (who had held the post since 1979). Describing him as a "radical campaigner in a business suit", Peter Brearey, then editor of The Freethinker, welcomed Wood's appointment, noting his campaigning track record and background of "25 years in senior managerial and professional roles covering administration, accounting, legal and company secretarial issues."[4]

In 2013, following criticisms from Lord Carey, that David Cameron was "feeding anxieties" about Christian persecution and "that the government seemed to be "aiding and abetting" aggressive secularisation," Wood declared that Carey had "no right to insist that his discriminatory and intolerant views should prevail over those of the public and Parliament.”[5]

As an international representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, he has criticised the activities of the Holy See within the United Nations system and accused the Vatican of not fulfilling its political obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[6] Wood is strongly critical of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church over Catholic sex abuse cases, worldwide and corruption in the Vatican. He stated, "Child abuse is a major issue, along with corruption, that he [Pope Francis] needs to sort out. His legacy will be judged, I think, on his ability to deal with these immensely difficult problems."[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2007 award for Distinguished Service to Humanism, citation
  2. ↑ The Skeptic, author archive
  3. ↑ Campaign for Homosexual Equality, Annual Report, 2005-2006
  4. ↑ Brearey (1996, p.7)
  5. ↑ "Lord Carey attacks PM over Christian 'support'". BBC news. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  6. ↑ UN: IHEU calls the Vatican to account over child abuse
  7. ↑ UN tells Vatican to hand over details of child sex abuse cases

Bibliography

Writings by Keith Porteous Wood

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