British Secular Union
History
History
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The founding members were [Kate Watts](/wiki/Kate_Watts "Kate Watts"), [Harriet Law](/wiki/Harriet_Law "Harriet Law"), [George William Foote](/wiki/George_William_Foote "George William Foote") and Josiah Grimson; [George Holyoake](/wiki/George_Holyoake "George Holyoake") had accepted the nomination of Vice President of the National Secular Society so only gave support for the formation. The group adopted the *[Secular Review](/wiki/Secular_Review "Secular Review")* as their official paper.

The British Secular Union had broadly the same goals as the National Secular Society but distanced themselves from Bradlaugh's style, especially when it came to the *Knowlton Pamphlet*, which advocated birth control.Edward Royle, *Radicals, Secularists, and Republicans: Popular Freethought in Britain, 1866\-1915*, Manchester University Press, 1980, p.20\. Even though [Charles Watts](/wiki/Charles_Watts_%28secularist%29 "Charles Watts (secularist)") owned the rights to the Knowlton pamphlet (and had no intention of publishing it), Charles Bradlaugh and [Annie Besant](/wiki/Annie_Besant "Annie Besant") broke with Watts and published the pamphlet anyway, subsequently facing prosecution.Edward Royle, *The Infidel Tradition from Paine to Bradlaugh*, MacMilian Press Ltd, 1976, p.68\. The issue of [birth control](/wiki/Birth_control "Birth control") was a contentious one within the secular movement. Bradlaugh managed to steer opinion away from the birth control element and instead made secularism a freedom of speech issue.Edward Royle, *The Infidel Tradition from Paine to Bradlaugh*, MacMilian Press Ltd, 1976, p.68\.

Like other secular societies, the British Secular Union opened its membership to women.Laura Schwartz, *Infidel Feminism: Secularism, Religion and Women's Emancipation 1830\-1914*, Manchester University Press, 2013, p.42\. Aside from membership, women were also able to lecture and run for executive positions.Laura Schwartz, *Infidel Feminism: Secularism, Religion and Women's Emancipation 1830\-1914*, Manchester University Press, 2013, p.42\.

While the British Secular Union did not have as many members as the NSS, it had strong regional representation with the largest regional secular group, the [Leicester Secular Society](/wiki/Leicester_Secular_Society "Leicester Secular Society"), joining the union.David Nash, *Secularism, Art and Freedom*, Leicester University Press, 1992, p.38\.


How did Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant break with Charles Watts?