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Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and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
Scottish Catholic schools to marginalise children who don’t pray
Posted: Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:22
The National Secular Society has criticised a proposal to exclude children at Catholic schools in Scotland from nativity plays and fundraising if they are withdrawn from prayers.
On Monday the Catholic Church said Catholic schools would "ensure" children are excluded from activities such as "charitable fundraising", nativity plays or "feast day celebrations" if they are withdrawn from religious observance.
The statement came amid speculation that the right to withdraw from worship in Scotland may be extended from parents to pupils.
Earlier this month the Scottish government said it would incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scottish law. The UN's children's rights committee has recommended extending the right to withdraw to pupils.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church said: "Parents and pupils who wish to opt out on grounds of conscience are advised that, in order not to contradict their wishes, schools will ensure they are not part of any other religious education and religious observance activities such as religiously-motivated charitable fundraising, nativity play or feast day celebrations.
"Very few wish to be excluded in this way from the life of the school."
Alastair Lichten, the NSS's education and schools officer, called the statement "mean-spirited" and "the ugly side of coercive worship".
"The Catholic Church quite astutely predicts that extending the right of withdrawal from religious education and religious observance to pupils will result in fewer pupils taking part in Catholic prayers and worship.
"This threat of exclusion from important aspects of school life that can also be found in non-denominational schools, including school plays and charity fundraising, is cold and calculating. Good people of all faiths and none should reject this coercive worship.
"It's this sort of contempt for children's independent rights, including their freedom of belief, that should be addressed by properly incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into public policy."
The statement also prompted criticism from Scottish humanist and secularist groups.
Gordon MacRae, chief executive of the Scottish Humanist Society, called it "disturbing".
Robert Canning, chair of Secular Scotland, added: "We would not agree that children opted out of religious observance, by themselves or their parents, should automatically be excluded from all activities connected with religion, since not all such activities involve worship or prayer.
"Children acting in nativity plays are obviously expressing the outlook of the characters and not their own beliefs, and a child might want to be part of a fundraising effort without having the religious motivation that other participants might claim."
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Scotland's largest teaching union, said actively excluding children from religion-related activities which "would not be classified as religious observance" would be "likely to invite strong legal challenge".
The EIS has also welcomed the Scottish government's plans to allow pupils to withdraw from religious assemblies, citing schools' legal duty to avoid discrimination.
All school children in Scotland require parental permission to withdraw from religious worship. In England and Wales, sixth form pupils can opt themselves out.
Guidance from the Scottish government on religious worship in schools states: "Where a pupil is withdrawn from religious observance schools should make suitable arrangements for the pupil to participate in a worthwhile alternative activity. In no circumstances should a pupil be disadvantaged as a result of withdrawing from religious observance."
See also: Scottish worship law needs reform to protect children's rights
NSS: Scottish worship law needs reform to protect children’s rights
Posted: Wed, 5 Sep 2018 15:33
The National Secular Society has called on the Scottish government to end compulsory religious observance in schools after it said it would enshrine a declaration on children's rights into law.
This week the Scottish government outlined its policy priorities for the coming year in its latest programme for government. The programme included a commitment to "incorporate the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law".
Article 14 of the convention (UNCRC) says parties "shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion".
Religious observance (RO) is currently compulsory in Scotland's schools. Parents may opt their children out of RO but children may not opt out themselves.
The NSS has previously highlighted the UNCRC's incompatibility with the current law in Scotland. Last year the society wrote to John Swinney, the cabinet secretary for education and skills, on the subject. It urged reform of the law on RO in light of comments from the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child.
The committee had called on governments across the UK to repeal legal provisions for compulsory attendance at collective worship in publicly funded schools. It also called on them to ensure children could independently exercise the right to withdraw from it.
The Scottish government's new programme for government makes no explicit mention of religious observance. Last year the Scottish government said it wanted to raise awareness of the parental right to opt out when it held a consultation on future of RO guidance.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said the move on the UNCRC should be "a first step towards the end of compulsory religious observance in Scotland's schools".
"Scotland's law on religious observance is an impediment to the rights of young people. Children should not be compelled to worship in school, either by legal means or through the pressure to conform.
"The best way to safeguard children's freedom to develop their own religious orientation is to take religious observance out of schools altogether while allowing parents to guide their children on religion in line with the law if they wish."
In December 2016 a poll for The Times found that a majority of Scots favoured reforming the law on religious observance. Thirty-eight per cent of Scots said there should be no place for religious observance in Scottish schools, while 17% said it should continue as long as children could take themselves out of worship without parental consent.
The programme for government also outlined plans for a female genital mutilation bill to "strengthen the protection of women and girls". The bill will propose protection orders for those at risk. The government also says it will "consult with communities to understand what further protections may be helpful".
Mr Evans said stronger protections would be "welcome" while warning against "showing excessive deference to so-called community leaders" in the drafting of the bill.
"Politicians' priority should be to take measures which effectively prevent and deter FGM. They must be prepared to reject the advice of 'communities' if it gets in the way of that."
