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Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and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.
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1. Write to your MP
Ask them to help end compulsory worship in schools
2. Share your story
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3. Join us
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Latest updates
Bill to end compulsory worship in non-faith schools proposed
Posted: Fri, 14 May 2021 15:57
A bill that would end a requirement to hold acts of collective worship in schools without a religious character in England is set to be presented to parliament.
The bill, from Liberal Democrat peer Lorely Burt, would replace worship with assemblies which are inclusive of pupils regardless of religion or belief.
The bill was drawn ninth in a ballot of private members' bills this week, meaning there is a decent chance it will be debated in this parliamentary session.
Under the bill:
- Schools would not be required to organise compulsory acts of religious observance, but pupils would be permitted to opt in to voluntary acts of worship if they wish.
- Schools which are not religious in character would be required to provide assemblies that develop the "spiritual, moral, social and cultural education" of pupils regardless of religion or belief.
Legal requirement to hold worship
Since 1944 all schools in England and Wales have been legally required to hold daily acts of worship which are "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
Many schools ignore the legal requirement or hold inclusive assemblies where pupils may choose or not choose to pray.
But in recent remarks to parliament a minister suggested the government would "investigate" such breaches.
The National Secular Society, which campaigns for the repeal of the compulsory worship law, has asked the Department for Education to clarify those remarks.
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten welcomed the bill.
"Where the collective worship requirement is enforced in schools, it can be deeply coercive and alienating. And where it is not enforced it creates a farcical disconnect between the law and reality.
"The passage of this bill would be a significant step in the right direction. And the principle behind it should apply in every school. No child should be forced to worship in school, and no school should be forced to hold acts of worship."
Notes
- The full text and Explanatory Notes of The Education (Assemblies) Bill [HL] can be read here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2878
- A very similar bill was introduced to the Lords last year, but it was drawn lower in the ballot and was not considered.
Image: Christin Lola/Shutterstock.com.
NSS urges repeal, not enforcement, of law on worship in schools
Posted: Thu, 22 Apr 2021 16:02
The National Secular Society has urged the government to repeal the law requiring collective worship in schools in England after a minister said it would "investigate" schools which breached it.
The NSS has written to schools minister Nick Gibb to urge him to clarify recent comments to parliament and repeal the law.
Since 1944 all schools have been legally required to hold daily acts of worship which are "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
The law is widely disregarded, particularly in non-faith schools. The NSS has long campaigned for its repeal, along with the repeal of similar requirements in other parts of the UK.
Nick Gibb's remarks
On 31 March Gibb was asked what steps the Department for Education (DfE) was taking to ensure a daily act of worship was taking place in each maintained school.
In response he said every maintained school, academy and free school is "required to ensure that collective worship takes place each day".
"If the department is informed that a school may be in breach of this requirement, it will be investigated. Where needed, the department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met."
NSS letter
The NSS's letter said any efforts to enforce the legal requirement would "only serve to undermine parents' and pupils' freedom of religion or belief, alienate non-worshipping pupils and inconvenience school leaders".
It said "all aspects of school life, including assemblies" should be "respectful and equally inclusive of all pupils, irrespective of their religion or belief background".
It said the law was "anachronistic" amid rising levels of non-belief and religious diversity in Britain.
It added that where acts of worship do take place in schools, "pupils must be free to independently exercise a right to withdrawal".
The society also asked the minister what the government had done to "remind schools of their duty" and if there were any plans to withdraw or update the most recent government guidance on collective worship before any changes in enforcement.
The guidance was issued in 1994 and said worship in schools "should be concerned with reverence or veneration paid to a divine being or power".
NSS comment
Explaining his decision to write the letter, NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said any move to "tighten enforcement of this outdated and unpopular law" would be "astonishing".
"Ministers should clarify whether this represents a material change in their position on collective worship in schools.
"Laws mandating worship have no educational merit, are incompatible with a commitment to freedom of religion or belief, and are exclusionary. No child should be compelled to worship in school, and no school should be compelled to hold acts of worship."
Further evidence against worship law
The NSS's letter noted evidence that the law is widely disregarded:
- Last week 53% of respondents to a snap poll aimed at primary school teachers, from the education publication Tes, said their schools did not undertake daily acts of collective worship.
- In 2019 polling from Teacher Tapp found that only 43% of non-faith primary schools have some activity which they call collective worship.
It noted evidence suggesting the law is unpopular:
- In 2018 a poll commissioned by the NSS found that just 26% of British adults thought assemblies should feature religious worship.
- In 2019 a poll by YouGov for Humanists UK found that only 29% of parents of school-aged children thought religious worship was appropriate in assemblies.
And it noted that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recently asked the UK what steps it was taking to repeal laws requiring worship in schools.
Image by Jaime Wiebel from Pixabay.
