Bias, not belief, is problem

Your article "Campus survey of religion is biased, secularists charge" (13 January) concluded with a response from the Equality Challenge Unit that implicitly accused me of discrimination: "...assuming that a religious academic wouldn't be able to conduct robust and unbiased research raises several equality issues in itself."

I have never objected to surveys on religion on the grounds of the religion or belief of the compiler. I have worked happily for many years with the (evangelical) editor of Christian Research.

My objections have been to biased research. Our objections to the research in 2000, referred to in the article, were formally endorsed by the (then) professor of biblical studies at the University of Sheffield.

Claiming discrimination or creating victimhood when none exists is no better than discriminating.

Keith Porteous Wood, Executive director, National Secular Society.