Events

Leicester Karate Club is the oldest, established martial arts club in the United Kingdom. They are proud of their legacy and continue to provide professional tuition to all ages of students who come to Secular Hall to learn from the highest qualified teachers in Leicester.   Dave Wilkins (an 8th Dan Karate Instructor) will talk about the history of  the Leicester Karate Club, founded in January 1964, that has been running in the Secular Hall , ever since.    All welcome - admission free . Donations welcome - £5 suggested to cover  costs. 

This talk has been postponed from 28th June and will now commence our Autumn Programme.  From religion to capitalism, systems demand conformity. This talk questions ableism and whether neurodivergent struggle reflects individual failure or systemic design.   Veiled Rose is a British Bengali ex-Muslim activist and writer working at the intersection of neurodiversity, secularism, and human rights. Her work focuses on how social and religious systems impact mental health, autonomy, and equality, particularly for women and neurodivergent people. She is Communications Manager at Faithless Hijabi , and a lay member of both the Leicester Secular Society and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain .    All welcome - admission free. Tea & biscuits. Donations ...

 We have a break in our programme at Yuletide, Easter and in the summer holiday period. The new programmes commence in January, April and September.

A review of the final report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2022 Leicester violence Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester which set out key findings and recommendations to help rebuild trust and strengthen community relations in Leicester and beyond.   Sharmen Rahman has represented the Green Party as a Parliamentary Candidate for Leicester South and as a councillor, policy worker, and caseworker. She is committed to the cause of anti-racism and human rights. She helped pass the motion to adopt the APPG definition of Islamophobia at Leicester City Council, led a coalition of women in the fightback against the Leicester Riots and sits on her local branch of Stand up to Racism .   All welcome - admission free. Tea & biscuits. Donations welcome - £5 suggested to cover  costs.

  Freethinking humanist heroes who shook the world!    Paul is based in Manchester and had been producing ‘Polyp’ cartoons since 1980 (for Leeds Student Newspaper) and took it up full time in the 90’s, having been a care worker before then.  He has drawn many cartoons including for New Internationalist, Ethical Consumer Magazine, The Freethinker, Christian Aid, The Big Issue, Friends of the Earth, Liberty and  Campaign Against the Arms Trade.   His graphic novels  focus on deliberately suppressed history, or events from the past that challenge how we see the present.  He is chair and founder of the Peterloo Memorial Campaign in Manchester, which successfully lobbied for a permanent physical tribute to those who died.  He describes himself as a secular, freethinking humanist with a deep belief in rationalism, scientific skepticism and in confronting the tough ethical issues our culture often tries to ignore. Pa...

One of the most iconic books of the late twentieth century, ‘The Outsider’, by Leicester- born Colin Wilson, caused a sensation when first published on May 28, 1956. Colin Stanley tells the story of his overnight success.   Colin Stanley is  Colin Wilson’s bibliographer, convenor of 4 International Conferences on his work and associate curator of his archive at the University of Nottingham. Author of several studies of his work including ‘An Evolutionary Leap: Colin Wilson on Psychology’ (Routledge, 2016) All welcome - admission free . Donations welcome - £5 suggested to cover  costs. 

The Living Together oral history project has documented the memories of 103 people who have made their home in Leicester. This talk will discuss key themes from the interviews, and explore points of cohesion, tension and unity in the city.   Tom Wilson is the director of the St Philip’s Centre, an organisation that fosters understanding, respect and cooperation between diverse faith and belief communities through education, dialogue and community engagement.    All welcome - admission free . Donations welcome - £5 suggested to cover  costs.