Faith schools undermine equality, choice and social cohesion.
Let's build an inclusive education system today, to ensure an inclusive society tomorrow.
Our education system should be open and welcoming to all. That's why we want publicly funded faith schools phased out and an end to religiously selective school admissions.
Around a third of publicly funded schools in England and Wales are faith schools – schools with a religious character. Scottish and Northern Irish schools are still divided along sectarian lines.
Separating children according to religion is divisive and leads to religious, ethnic and socio-economic segregation.
To make matters worse, many faith schools can discriminate against pupils and teachers who do not share the religion of the school.
Parents are entitled to raise their children within a faith tradition, but they are not entitled to enlist the help of the state to do so. The state should not allow the schools it funds to inculcate children into a particular religion.
Faith schools seriously limit choice for parents who do not want a religious education for their children, or do not share the faith of the local school. Our research has found that 18,000 families were assigned faith schools against their wishes in England in 2017 alone.
Despite a consistent and dramatic decline in church attendance, and a growing majority of non-religious citizens, successive governments have paved the way for ever greater religious involvement in education, often to the detriment of inclusive community schools.
A secular approach to education would ensure publicly funded schools are equally welcoming to all children, regardless of their backgrounds.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Please call on your MP to support a secular, inclusive education system for all.
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 government commits to LGBT-inclusive education
Posted: Thu, 8 Nov 2018 19:18
The National Secular Society has told the Scottish government that it must not allow religious groups to undermine its stated commitment to LGBT-inclusive education.
On Thursday Scotland's deputy first minister and education secretary John Swinney announced a package of reforms designed to ensure "LGBTI inclusive education" is "embedded in the curriculum".
The government adopted a series of 33 recommendations from a working group formed of educationalists, activists and the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland.
The reforms will require schools to tackle "prejudice in relation to the LGBTI community" and promote "awareness of the history of LGBTI equalities and movements". The Scottish government said work to implement the proposals would "begin immediately".
The Scottish Catholic Education Service was on the working group. But the NSS has found that at least nine of Scotland's 53 Catholic state secondary schools are teaching sex education through the tenets of Catholicism, undermining LGBT+ equality.
The true number of Scottish schools doing this is likely to be significantly higher. The other 44 schools did not have a sex and relationships policy or its equivalent available on their websites.
During a debate over the proposals in the Scottish parliament Swinney faced a question about "the tension that exists or is felt to exist between LGBTI rights and the teachings of the church".
In response he said he had been "deeply appreciative of the breadth of opinion that has come together in the working group of people from very different perspectives and backgrounds".
Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton, who asked the question, recently criticised a proposal to support the secularisation of Scotland's education system at the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference.
The NSS has now written to Swinney to welcome the Scottish government's stated commitment to LGBT+ equality and urge him to ensure it includes age-appropriate LGBT inclusive relationships and sex education for all pupils, without allowing religious pressure to undermine it.
Stephen Evans, the NSS's chief executive, said: "It is encouraging to see the Scottish government make a strong commitment to LGBT equality. But genuine equality will require LGBT people and issues to be increasingly normalised.
"Encouraging this will mean, above all, taking on those who promote exclusive views of sexual relationships or prejudiced attitudes towards LGBT people. In Scotland's schools that unavoidably means taking on religious groups which retain influence over the way the schools are run and promoting non-discriminatory sex education as the right of every child."
Jordan Daly, co-founder of the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign which championed this week's changes, called them "a monumental victory for our campaign and a historic moment for our country".
The TIE campaign's logo is pictured.
Don't let faith schools distort sex education, warns NSS
Posted: Wed, 7 Nov 2018 10:00
The National Secular Society has highlighted the risk that faith groups will continue to distort sex education in response to a government consultation over guidance for schools in England.
The NSS expressed its support for guidance which will require secondary schools to provide age-appropriate education which will help young people "develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds".
But the society warned the guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) had shown too much deference to faith groups in several areas.
The NSS's response comes just months after it highlighted the risk of allowing schools to teach about sex and relationships within the tenets of their faith. In May the society's Unsafe Sex Education report found that 77% of faith schools in England were distorting sex education by teaching it through a religious lens.
Many faith schools explicitly teach that same-sex relationships are wrong or that LGBT+ people are "disordered" and criticise sex outside heterosexual religious marriage. Some condemn contraceptives and abortion and teach taboos around menstruation.
The NSS's consultation response said these teachings contradict advice from healthcare and education professionals and are inconsistent with the Equality Act 2010, which protects people from discrimination.
The guidance is due to come into effect as the government prepares to make RSE compulsory in all schools by 2020.
The NSS's consultation response expressed support for moves to make RSE compulsory and for sections of the government's guidance which outline the subject's purpose.
The guidance says the aim of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is "to give young people the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds". It says RSE should help young people develop "safe, fulfilling and healthy" sexual relationships at the appropriate time, "understand human sexuality" and "respect themselves and others".
It adds that schools should teach "the facts and the law about sex, sexuality, sexual health and gender identity in an age-appropriate and inclusive way".
But it also says faith schools may teach "the distinctive faith perspective on relationships" and promote "balanced debate" on "issues that are seen as contentious". As an example it suggests schools could "reflect on faith teachings about certain topics as well as how their faith institutions may support people in matters of relationships and sex".
The NSS said these lines served as "a potential euphemism and cover for faith schools to distort RSE and preach their often discriminatory views on human relationships and sexuality".
Elsewhere the guidance says schools should take "the religious background of all pupils" into account so "sensitive topics" are "appropriately handled". It says schools should have "flexibility" to "respond to local… community issues".
The NSS said the requirement to take pupils' "religious background" into account was "open to abuse" by allowing religious groups to distort and censor the subject.
"Regard for the religious backgrounds of pupils must not serve as a euphemism for restricting sex education or framing it though a narrow normative lens based on such backgrounds."
And it warned against allowing schools to shield pupils from "knowledge which schools consider to be in conflict with their religious ethos" in the name of "flexibility".
The NSS also said a line which encourages schools to develop "positive relationships" with "local faith communities and leaders" could "invite inappropriate 'community' pressure from unrepresentative religious groups".
"Schools do not need the approval – and cannot be subject to the veto – of religious communities to carry out their responsibilities."
The NSS added that schools should be supported against parental pressure to restrict subject knowledge.
The society expressed concern over the fact the guidance allows schools "to explore faith or other perspectives on some of these issues in other subjects such as Religious Education". The NSS said schools would often use this as licence to promote religious views on sexual orientation, contraception and pregnancy.
The NSS added that LGBT+ issues should not be exceptionalised and the appropriateness of material to a particular age group should not vary depending on the sexuality being addressed. It said schools should not stigmatise "the healthy range of natural human relationships and sexuality".
It said schools should not promote religiously-based modesty doctrines which encourage children to be ashamed of their bodies from puberty.
The NSS reiterated its opposition to a parental right of withdrawal from RSE except when schools promote faith-based indoctrination or misinformation. It said a parental right to withdraw from informed sex education would deny knowledge to children from conservative religious backgrounds – who "most need impartial, appropriate education in this area".
The society also warned that "falsehoods and anti-sex education propaganda" are often promoted within religious communities.
Explaining the NSS's response, chief executive Stephen Evans said: "Sex and relationships education should be every child's right. The government's drive to ensure children are taught about sex and relationships in every school in England is welcome. But in too many places its guidance defers to religious groups, undermining children's right to an informed education.
"Age-appropriate sex and relationships education is an essential part of a healthy upbringing and must not be diluted or altered in the face of religious pressure. When religious groups control children's education they teach them to be ashamed and guilty of some of their most natural instincts.
"Decisions on children's sex education should be made by those with relevant educational knowledge, not clerics."
In its submission to the consultation the Church of England claimed the guidelines "problematise religion" and "exceptionalise people of faith".
More information
Protect relationships and sex education
Age-appropriate relationships and sex education should be every child’s right.
Remove religious appointees from Scottish councils
Religion shouldn’t grant people privileged places in local democracy.
Research and reports
The faith schools research bank
The choice delusion: how faith schools restrict school choice
Three in ten families across England live in areas where most or all of the closest primary schools are faith schools and thousands are being assigned faith schools against their wishes.
Power grab: Academisation and the threat to secular education
Academisation has enabled faith groups to increase their influence over all schools, including those with no religious character. With little public debate, religious governance has increased, while secular oversight has diminished.
Religiosity inspections: the case against faith-based reviews of state schools
Faith based inspections of state schools are an unnecessary drain on public finds, frame widely held values as exclusive, and promote biased religious education.
Faith-shaped holes: How religious privilege is undermining equality law (PDF, 1.3 Mb)
