The British Humanist Association (BHA) is sending a free copy of The Young Atheist’s Handbook (Biteback Publishing) to every secondary school in England and Wales.



The BHA said the initiative is part of plans to ensure that young people “have access to resources that enable them to come to their own decisions about their values and beliefs”.



The book is authored by science teacher Alom Shaha and tell the story of his upbringing as a Muslim in London and how he overcame inner conflict over his atheism.



BHA chief executive Andrew Copson said: “In a large number of schools, pupils will have access to a number of religious perspectives on life’s bigger questions, but not to what most non-religious people believe and how they find happiness and satisfaction in their daily lives. We believe schools should be places where pupils are free to encounter the full range of philosophies and worldviews available to them in modern Britain”



The move was inspired by the Michael Gove’s decision to send the King James Bible to every primary and secondary in England to mark its 400th anniversary in 2011.



Sara Passmore, the BHA’s head of education told the Times Educational Supplement: “Gove’s Bible project was definitely the inspiration for the handbook. We thought, why shouldn’t we do a book as well? We wanted to provide a bit of balance.”