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
Parents protest against religious discrimination in Irish schools
Posted: Mon, 4 Jul 2016 13:54
Irish parents demonstrated over the weekend for reform to the country's school admissions – in an education landscape still dominated by the Catholic Church.
90% of Ireland's state-funded primary schools are controlled by the Catholic Church, which can prioritise children from Catholic families in their admission policies. 97% of primary schools are run by a religious denomination, leaving a tiny number of secular schools for an increasingly irreligious country.
As a result, like in the UK, many Irish parents have their children baptised and attend church services in order to secure school places for their children.
The demonstration in Dublin was organised by Education Equality, who campaign for "equality in the provision of education for all children regardless of religion."
In its mission statement the group writes: "Many Irish national schools operate on a 'Religious First' basis in enrolling students, requiring the production of a baptismal certificate or equivalent as a condition for admission. As a result, non-baptised
children as young as four are turned away from schools, especially in urban areas where schools are oversubscribed.
"Equality in education is a human rights issue. All children and parents have the right to freedom of religion, to non-discrimination and to education. The current education system does not respect these rights of all Irish citizens."
Eoin O'Brien, a father of two, told the rally: "We baptised the children, and had to go to church for several months. This was, by a very long distance, the most hypocritical and mercenary thing I have ever done. We weren't alone in this – we would exchange shy glances with other parents who were clearly in the same position."
Demand for non-denominational schools is very high given the low supply of them, and Mr O'Brien said that his family had no chance of getting into an oversubscribed Educate Together school.
Educate Together runs equality based schools in Ireland open to all children "irrespective of their social, cultural or religious background". They have recently begun opening schools in the UK and the NGO was awarded 'Secularist of the Year 2016' for their work.
Mr O'Brien added: "We visited the local Catholic school and the local Protestant school, and both made it absolutely clear to us that only 'category 1' children would be getting places – children baptised in the appropriate religion."
While the Catholic Church still retains incredible levels of control over the Irish education system and, according to one poll, over 90% of Irish children are baptised, only one third of Irish parents pray with their children and only 36% of parents bring their children to mass "regularly".
Earlier this year the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Ireland to protect the rights of non-religious and non-Christian children and families by "expeditiously" and "significantly" increasing the availability of non-denominational or multidenominational schools. Ireland was also urged to amend the existing legislative framework to eliminate discrimination in school admissions.
Educate Together will be speaking at our 'Secularism 2016: living better together' conference on 3rd September 2016. Tickets can be purchased here.
Reading Council proposes end to faith school travel subsidy
Posted: Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:39
Reading Borough Council has opened a consultation on a proposal to end taxpayer funding for parents who opt to send their children to faith schools even though a nearer school is available.
In their proposal the Council says, "There is no legal duty for Local Authorities to provide free transport" to parents who send their children to a faith school which is not the closest school.
The Council currently provides free transport for pupils at a Catholic secondary school, two Catholic primary schools and one Church of England school.
"Since it is not a legal duty to provide free transport, the Council is proposing that the current arrangements will cease from July 2017. This will generate savings of £20k per annum."
If the recommendation is supported in the Council's public consultation, it has guaranteed that "All children who currently receive free transport will continue to do so until either the end of year 6 for primary pupils or the end of year 11 for secondary pupils" to minimise disruption for parents of current pupils.
Councillor Tony Jones, the Lead Councillor for Education, commented: "Reading council has continued to cover the cost of children travelling to faith schools even though it has no statutory obligation to do so.
"In the face of drastic budget cuts and recent changes in Government guidance we are having to review school transport provision and this is one of the areas we are looking to change.
"With a shrinking pot of money the council is looking at ways of efficiently delivering a school transport service for those who need it most. We are now inviting comments on the proposals we are putting forward."
NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans said: "The taxpayer shouldn't have to pick up the cost of parents choosing a more distant faith school for their child on religious grounds.
"Transporting pupils to and from faith schools encourages the segregation of young people along religious lines and represents an unfair privilege for religious parents. We're therefore pleased to see councils phasing this out."
Lancashire Council recently announced plans to remove its subsidy for travel to faith schools when a nearer suitable school is available.
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)
