Background
Copson was born on 19th November 1980 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, to David Copson and Julia Heather Cunningham.
Copson was born on 19th November 1980 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, to David Copson and Julia Heather Cunningham.
He was educated at the independent school King Henry VIII School, Coventry. He attended Balliol College, University of Oxford, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient and Modern History in 2004.
In 2005 Andrew Copson started working at the British Humanist Association as director of education and public affairs In 2010 he became the BHA"s youngest ever Chief Executive. A position which he described at the time as "obviously a daunting one", saying that he felt "a huge responsibility to build on the BHA"s many successes." He is also President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and was formerly a director of the European Humanist Federation, trustee of the South Place Ethical Society (stepping down at the AGM on 10 November 2013) and chair of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association.
Copson is a regular contributor to New Humanist Magazine, has written for The Guardian and New Statesman, and has been interviewed on British Broadcasting Corporation News for non-religious opinions on topics such as religious symbols in the work place and euthanasia. He was one of the editors of The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism, a collection of essays that explore humanism as the way of life.
Copson has stated scepticism in regards to "atheist churches", denouncing Alain de Botton"s idea of an atheist temple, and expressing doubt in regards to future success of The Sunday Assembly. In relation to state education in England, Copson commented: "lieutenant is vital that every young person receives a broad and balanced education, including teaching evolution as the only evidence-based view of how life came to be.".