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Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and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
Church of England schools flouting daily worship law
Posted: Fri, 2 Mar 2012 13:57
A survey by The Sunday Times has found that 40% of Church of England 'faith schools' are flouting the law that requires all state funded schools to provide a daily act of collective worship.
The survey revealed that in many C of E schools, Bible readings and prayers have been replaced by group discussions about community and society. According to the Sunday Times, even among those schools that abide by the law, many are doing the bare minimum.
Earlier research by the BBC, conducted last year, found that the law requiring daily worship is widely ignored across all schools and not wanted by parents. Almost two-thirds (64%) of parents said that their children did not attend such an activity and over two thirds (67%) of parents do not support enforcing the law.
Daily worship in all state funded schools has been a legal obligation since 1944. England and Wales are the only countries in the world where such laws apply. Attempts by the National Secular Society to make worship optional for schools rather than compulsory during the passage of last year's Education Bill (now Act) were rejected out of hand by the Government – even though, for tactical reasons, this proposal only related to community (i.e. not church) schools. The Government also rejected our amendments to allow older pupils to withdraw themselves despite backing for our stance from the Joint (Parliamentary) Committee on Human Rights.
Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, said: "Compulsory daily prayers and reflection of a religious nature is law for a reason. It is there to enforce the foundations of moral and spiritual values in children."
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society said: "This latest research makes it clear that compulsory worship in schools is outdated and unpopular – even in church schools.
"The Government is determined to continue to impose religion on pupils in this draconian way, despite its unpopularity, and England and Wales being the only countries in the world continuing to do so. The law doesn't just say that pupils will attend these acts of worship, but that they will 'take part' in them. This is a breach of their human rights. In what other context — other than some authoritarian theocracy — would worship be enforced even on those who have made a conscientious decision to reject it?"
Education Bill: Peers oppose proposals to make worship optional in schools
Posted: Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:59
Peers in the House of Lords this week rejected moves to make collective worship in schools optional, rather than compulsory. The amendments were moved by NSS Honorary Associate Lord Avebury during the Report Stage of the Education Bill.
