We want to see laws requiring schools to hold acts of worship abolished.
The laws are archaic, unnecessary and breach children's freedom of religion or belief.
The United Kingdom is the only Western democracy which legally imposes worship in publicly funded schools.
The law in England and Wales provides that children at all maintained schools "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship". Northern Ireland and Scotland have similar laws.
Even in schools with no religious designation, the worship must be "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
School assemblies are an important feature of school life. They foster a sense of community in schools and promote the moral and social development of pupils. But acts of worship are neither necessary nor desirable to achieve these educational goals.
Polling has found 70% of senior teachers "disagree" or "strongly disagree" with the law mandating worship, and 66% of teachers say their school does not even hold collective worship.
The majority of the public (52%) say school assemblies should be about moral issues, whereas just 26% agree that they should feature religious worship.
Many schools ignore the law, but where it is enforced it causes division and discrimination, as well as opening the door to evangelism and proselytising.
Parents have the right to withdraw children from collective worship, but many this is an unreasonable imposition on both themselves and their children. Parents should never have to withdraw their children from any part of the school day to ensure their rights to raise their child according to their own religious or philosophical convictions are respected.
Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and increasingly, no religious beliefs. The abolition of collective worship is long overdue.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Ask them to help end compulsory worship in schools
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Religious privilege causing injustice, NSS tells Law Commission
Posted: Wed, 4 Aug 2021 14:23
The National Secular Society has argued that religious privilege creates inconsistencies and unfairness in laws on education, charity, health and animal welfare in response to a consultation.
The NSS has submitted evidence on these issues to the Law Commission, which has sought views on what should be included in its latest programme of recommended legal reforms.
The commission is a statutory independent body that keeps the law of England and Wales under review and recommends reform where it judges that it's needed.
NSS recommendations
The NSS said the commission should consider:
- Laws requiring collective worship in schools.
- The provision in charity law which makes 'the advancement of religion' a charitable purpose in its own right.
- The lack of effective protection for boys in laws on genital cutting.
- The religious exemption to animal welfare laws that allows non-stun slaughter.
- Assisted dying law.
Law on collective worship
Sections 70 and 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 require that all state-funded schools in England and Wales "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship".
Even in schools with no religious designation, the worship must be "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
The NSS's submission said this law was incompatible with human rights laws and the principle of equality, and opened the door to inappropriate external evangelism in schools.
Charity law
In laws on charity throughout the UK, 'the advancement of religion' is a recognised charitable purpose in its own right.
The NSS's submission said removing this would ensure greater fairness and mitigate the damage that harmful religious organisations cause.
The NSS made the case for removing 'the advancement of religion' as a charitable purpose in a report, For the Public Benefit?, published in 2019.
Religious organisations would still be able to register for charitable status under another recognised charitable purpose, as many already do.
Genital cutting
The NSS's submission called on the commission to consider the disparity between the protections afforded to boys and girls regarding autonomy over their genitals.
It noted that boys are not given explicit protection from non-consensual, medically unnecessary circumcision or other modifications to their genitals.
It said this was incompatible with human rights law and left many at risk of serious harm.
Animal welfare
The society highlighted the religious exemption from animal welfare laws that allows animals to be slaughtered without stunning according to Jewish and Muslim rites.
There is widespread consensus among veterinary and animal welfare groups that it's more humane to stun an animal before slaughter than not to do so.
The NSS argues for the repeal of the religious exemption, and for the labelling of meat from animals subject to non-stun slaughter while the exemption remains in place.
Assisted dying law
The NSS also called on the commission to draft a legal framework for assisted dying, to guide potential legislation.
The society said a disproportionate level of influence is granted to religious groups in debates on assisted dying, and argued that the views of the general public, professionals and relevant organisations should be fairly reflected at policy level.
It said a framework could help to guide the government into formulating compassionate and safe legislation to allow for assisted dying under certain circumstances.
NSS comment
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said: "Our reforms identify several significant ways in which religious privilege within the law causes inequality, injustice and harm.
"Deference to religion has helped to create outdated, unfair and often unnecessarily complex laws in these areas. We hope the Law Commission will consider our recommendations as it outlines its next programme for reform."
About the Law Commission's review
- The Law Commission undertakes a public consultation every few years, with a view to submitting a draft programme of law reform to the lord chancellor.
- This is the commission's 14th programme of reform. The 13th was submitted in late 2017.
Image: Jarretera / Shutterstock.com.
Laws requiring exclusively Christian RE to face court challenge in NI
Posted: Thu, 24 Jun 2021 10:37
The High Court in Northern Ireland has granted permission for a legal challenge against laws requiring confessional RE focused on Christianity and collective worship in all schools.
A father has brought the case against his daughter's primary school and the Department of Education, and will argue that the laws are discriminatory and violate the Human Rights Act.
Religious education in schools is controlled by the four major churches in NI. The syllabus for the subject says pupils should "develop an awareness, knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the key Christian teachings" and "develop an ability to interpret and relate the Bible to life".
RE is not inspected by the Department of Education and is often delivered partly by external evangelical organisations.
The law also requires that pupils in NI's schools take part in a daily act of collective worship.
Parents have the legal right to withdraw children from worship and RE, but stigmatisation, resistance from schools and a lack of a meaningful alternative mean this is not an option for many pupils.
Comments
Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who is representing the claimants, said: "Uniquely in this jurisdiction, religion, and specifically the Christian faith, and education are intertwined as a matter of law.
"It is our case that the state is not entitled to promote or privilege the Christian faith in this way. To do so only seeks to indoctrinate, and entrenches segregation."
National Secular Society head of education Alastair Lichten said: "A subject focused on narrow faith formation, and that excludes critical or different perspectives, should be regarded as inconsistent with Northern Ireland's human rights obligations.
"This case should spur the Department of Education to reform the subject so that all pupils have access to critical and pluralistic education about religions and beliefs.
"If schools are to raise the potential of pupils from all backgrounds, then all aspects of the school day need to be inclusive and suitable for everyone. Mandated worship and church-controlled curricula must go."
Criticism of relevant policies
The UN's children's rights committee has previously criticised Northern Ireland for its collective worship policy and religious segregation in schools, after the NSS submitted evidence on the subject.
And in 2019 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that states must ensure RE curricula are "conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner".
The court also ruled that states are "forbidden" from attempting to indoctrinate children in a way "that might be considered as not respecting parents' religious and philosophical convictions".
This came as the court found that Greece had breached the European Convention on Human Rights when it required parents to submit a declaration form to opt children out of RE.
Further notes
- The NSS recently received assurances from NI's education minister Peter Weir that concerns over confessional religious education and compulsory worship will fit within the scope of a major independent review of education.
- The case will proceed to a full hearing in November 2021.
Image: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com.
