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
A third of teachers say faith a ‘barrier’ to discussing LGBT issues
Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2023 15:50
One in three teachers says faith acts as a 'barrier' to discussing LGBT+ topics in school, a new survey has revealed.
Amongst those who work at faith schools, the number increased to almost half, with 46% feeling that faith impeded their ability to engage in open discussions.
The research, which was carried out for LGBT+ young people's charity Just Like Us, also found primary school teachers were more likely to feel such barriers existed in comparison to secondary school teachers.
Separately, new polling by teachers' union NASWUT found over half of LGBT+ teachers have experienced discrimination and abuse from pupils and parents.
A further one in four reported that such abuse had worsened in the last three years, rather than improving.
Only 33% reported that their school has a zero-tolerance approach to LGBT+ discrimination, with just 14% saying their school provided training to senior management on LGBT+ equality.
NASWUT called upon the government to implement several measures, including mandatory training for schools and college leaders, the required publication of LGBT+ equality action plans by schools, and for inspection systems which challenge schools' records on "advancing equality" for both teachers and students.
In 2018, National Secular Society research found more than three-quarters of state-funded secondary faith schools in England were failing to teach Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) impartially.
Out of 600 state secondary schools, 77% were found to be teaching the subject in accordance with religious scripture.
Many faith schools explicitly promoted the view that same-sex relationships were morally wrong.
Government guidance on RSE indicates schools must teach about LGBT relationships, in order to comply with the Equality Act 2010. However, the same guidance states faith schools, including those which are state funded, "may teach the distinctive faith perspective on relationships".
Schools without a religious character have also frequently come under pressure from religious lobbying groups opposed to teaching about same-sex relationships.
One such group, the anti-LGBT Muslim organisation Parents United, recently hosted a conference where speakers told attendees gay children must be taught to 'repent'.
It had previously complained about including same-sex relationships in RSE lessons and called for "faith-sensitive" curriculums.
In 2019, a Birmingham school suspended lessons on diversity after complaints about references to LGBT+ people were raised, predominantly by Muslim parents.
NSS: 'Teaching in accordance with faith undermines equality'
Jack Rivington, NSS campaigns officer, said: "These figures reveal how the influence of religion in education stifles important discussions around LGBT+ equality and inclusion.
"With almost all major religions holding negative views towards LGBT+ people and relationships, letting schools teach RSE in accordance with their faith ethos will almost inevitably lead to a lack of respect for equalities legislation and the dignity of individuals.
"Schools which fail to promote proper respect for the rights of all, under the guise of a faith ethos, should reflect on the role they play in enabling the kind of abhorrent abuse experienced by LGBT+ teachers. Removing undue religious influence from education is a necessary step to promote LGBT+ inclusion in schools."
End religious discrimination in schools, UN committee tells Ireland
Posted: Fri, 10 Feb 2023 10:44
The National Secular Society has welcomed a United Nations committee's recommendation that Ireland ends faith-based selection in schools.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has urged the Republic of Ireland to "guarantee the right of all children to practice freely their religion or belief" by no longer allowing Irish faith schools to favour children who share their religion.
The recommendations were made in the CRC's concluding observations, published on Tuesday, on the most recent periodic reports of child rights in Ireland.
The CRC called on Ireland to amend laws to "remove exceptions to ensuring a child's right to education in all primary and secondary schools based on religious or 'ethos' grounds".
The Education (Admissions to Schools Act) 2018 ended the use of religious criteria in school admissions in most cases. However, exceptions to this law and the Equal Status Act mean non-Catholic primary schools and all secondary schools can discriminate against children based on religion or belief.
Additionally, the CRC urged Ireland to develop a "time-bound strategy, with adequate resources", to meet its targets for increasing the availability of multidenominational schools by 2030, as well as the availability of nondenominational schools.
Most primary schools in Ireland are run by churches. Ninety per cent are controlled by the Catholic church. Over 50% of secondary schools are run by religious groups.
Multidenominational schools are a newer kind of school in Ireland which aim to promote greater pluralism than single denominational schools. There are only 150 multidenominational primary schools. Ireland has no nondenominational schools.
The CRC also said Ireland should establish statutory guidelines to ensure children have the right not to attend religious classes". Since 2020, all schools which provide religious instruction must have arrangements in place for parents who wish to withdraw their children, with no reduction to the school day. But the Department of Education has not put in place guidelines for schools to deal with opt out requests. Some schools have obstructed parents from implementing their right to opt out their children.
The Committee called for "comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based education on sexual and reproductive health" to be integrated into mandatory school curricula at all levels of education and teacher training. It said Ireland must ensure it includes education on "gender equality, sexual diversity, sexual and reproductive health rights, responsible sexual behaviour and violence prevention".
Schools in Ireland can teach sex education according to their ethos. In 2021 the Irish Bishops' Conference developed a relationships and sexuality education programme for primary schools which stated that "the Church's teaching in relation to marriage between a man and a woman cannot be omitted" when discussing LGBT issues.
The CRC has called on Ireland to strengthen measures to "eliminate discrimination" against LGBTI children, as well as children of minority faith or non-faith backgrounds.
The NSS welcomed other recommendations from the CRC:
- Ensure adolescents can access age-appropriate reproductive health services, including safe abortions and contraception.
- Ensure child victims of abuse by clergy and in 'Magdalene laundries' and 'mother and baby homes' have access to justice and effective remedies.
- Prohibit all marriages before the age of 18 years.
- Adopt a national action plan to prevent female genital mutilation and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
NSS: "Crucial" for Ireland to adopt recommendations
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "The CRC's recommendations would make Ireland fairer for children from all religion and belief backgrounds, especially in education.
"Despite recent progress, education in Ireland remains dominated by religion, especially the Catholic church.
"That's why it's crucial for Ireland to adopt the CRC's recommendations to eliminate all forms of faith-based discrimination in its schools, and to establish schools with a secular ethos which are equally inclusive of all children."
"The same principles of equality and fairness should inform education policy in the UK, too."
The NSS has called on the CRC protect children's rights by recommending an end faith-based religious discrimination and compulsory worship during its ongoing review of the UK's implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Image: SariMe, Shutterstock
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)
