User:Ultracapacity/sandbox

Humanists and Non-Religious in Defence (HAND), founded in 2010, is a Diversity and Inclusion Network of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). HAND exists to promote the non-religious worldview as being equal to and respected in the same manner as those of major world faiths in order to encourage compliance with the Equality Act(2010) and the Defence diversity and inclusion strategy.

HAND primarily articulates this non-religious view in Defence in support of both non-religious and humanist Service personnel and Defence Civil Servants. It's volunteers ensure the non-religious voice is heard and their belief needs met, and their work directly contributes towards the moral component of fighting power, which in turn underpins the Ministry of Defence combat effectiveness. In light of the changing demographicsin wider society, including the predominantly non-religious perspective of the Armed Forces’ primary recruiting base - young people, the non-religious case strengthens day-by-day. To ensure the Ministry of Defence as an organisation continues to appropriately represent the diverse breadth of British society it exists to defend, HAND believes that helping Defence change and modernise is not only morally right, but it is of strategic importance if it is to continue to remain in touch with current and future generations.

HANDs strategy therefore aims to support Defence in its transformation towards a more representative organisation, whilst concurrently enhancing the lived experience for our serving personnel, civil servants, veterans and all the unsung family members who support them in the background.

History

The HAND network originated as the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA) and later became the Defence Humanist Network (DHN) to include MOD civil servants and become a whole force network. Focussing on humanism meant that the large population of non-religious personnel in the MOD (more than 35% in 2022), with whom the humanists share common values, did not have an established support network that could advocate their beliefs. There are many and varied non-religious worldviews including atheists, many - but not all – agnostics, sceptics, free-thinkers, unlabelled and more and there has been much discussion as to how they can be captured in an acronym for the network. Eventually it was agreed to keep the humanist origins, but otherwise to advocate for all non-religious beliefs hence the Humanist and Non-religious in Defence (HAND) network came into being in the early 2020s. The network is recognised at the highest levels of the MOD and has a 2* Champion.

What does it do?

Pastoral Support

With ever growing awareness of the importance of mental health, HAND believes that equality of provision matters. HAND advocates that Service personnel in need of support should be able to choose to speak to someone who shares their worldview as is already established in other military organisations including the Dutch, Belgian, Australian and Canadian Armed Forces.

Currently the MOD only employs religious Chaplains to be the sole providers of this kind of service. With over half of British society now identifying as non-religious, HAND believes it should be a top priority for the Ministry of Defence to recruit non-religious carers, and therefore increase the availability of pastoral care in the form people want it across all three Services and the Civil Service. To ensure quality of provision, HAND volunteers have paid for non-religious pastoral support training through the Non-religious Pastoral Support Network, and alongside their civilian counterparts, several HAND pastoral providers (in between their day jobs), can now be accessed within the MOD mirroring that of services that are offered in NHS trusts, HM Prisons Services and UK Universities.

Celebrant Services (Marriage, Funeral and Naming Ceremonies)

The HAND network provides members of the MOD community with high quality, personal, non-religious ceremonies. Their celebrants can help couples celebrate a marriage in a way that is warm and genuine, that’s about the two of them and their relationship, and is full of laughter – and perhaps a few tears too. Or a funeral or memorial ceremony that focuses on the person who had died and the life they led – not on the idea of an afterlife – and provides a dignified and sincere way of saying goodbye. HAND members have paid for celebrant training through Humanists UK and are accredited via their celebrant services.

Ceremonial events (specifically Remembrance)

HAND also seeks to ensure inclusivity for all military personnel and their civilian colleagues at ceremonies and events that have a traditionally religious theme, such as Remembrance. HAND (and its earlier incarnations) have fought hard to ensure that Queens Regulations were changed to ensure that the non-religious are not forced to go to church or placed on menial tasks if they didn’t feel comfortable attending a religious event and instead have an inclusive, secular event that ensures everyone can conduct Remembrance without any religious input.