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
LibDems back phasing out religious discrimination in school admissions
Posted: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 11:53
The LibDems have backed a series of reforms to the role of religion in the UK education system, in a motion approved at the Party's Spring Conference.
The Liberal Democrats' Spring Conference backed a statement calling for an end to religious discrimination in school admissions, and calling for the inclusion of non-religious worldviews in Religious Education (RE).
Councillor Lucy Nethsingha moved the motion, which acknowledged the historic role of religious organisations in increasing access to education but stated that "religious instruction should not be funded by the state."
The conference expressed its view that "selection in admissions on the basis of religion or belief to state-funded schools" should be phased out over the next six years.
The Government's policy of allowing new faith-based free schools to discriminate on religious grounds in all of their admissions has received cross-party condemnation, and the National Secular Society welcomed the Lib Dems' statement as a "clear sign that the Party will oppose religious discrimination."
The conference expressed its concern about the negative impact of faith schools on integration, and said that "children of different racial, religious, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds should be able to benefit from mixing together from an early age."
The motion said that the "segregation of school children" by religion is a "contributory factor or cause of communities failing to integrate or growing apart."
Toby Keynes, chair of Humanist & Secularist Liberal Democrats, called the vote a "terrific result" and said it was "clear that Liberal Democrat members have become far less willing to accept at face value the arguments that are put up in defence of faith-based selection."
In addition to tackling discrimination against pupils and their families, the conference called for new protection for staff employed in faith schools. It said teachers should be "employed only on the basis of merit" with no exemption to allow consideration of candidate's religious beliefs unless the staff are responsible for providing "religious instruction".
A "new approach" is needed to the role of religion in the state-funded education system, the conference said, and clear lines should be drawn between RE and "religious instruction".
RE should incorporate "all the major religious and non-religious viewpoints" and Ofsted should include the subject in its inspections. Currently RE is inspected by individuals appointed by school governing bodies in consultation with local religious leaders.
The current requirement to hold acts of collective worship should be repealed, the conference said, but any voluntary act of worship held by a school should be "optional" for staff and pupils, and there should be "meaningful alternative activities".
Christian group warns of “hidden dangers” in challenging homophobia
Posted: Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:41
A fundamentalist group which provides support to Accelerated Christian Education schools in the UK is hosting a discussion on the "dangers" of government efforts to tackle homophobic bullying.
The conference, hosted by Christian Education in Europe, is titled "Unmasking Secular Religion" and has scheduled discussions on topics from "The Serpent in Education" to homophobia and the Government's CHIPS strategy to tackle bullying.
While warning of 'indoctrination' by wider society, Christian Education in Europe say its idea of a "successful education will be one which produces young people with a Christian worldview."
Information published ahead of the conference describes the classroom as "a battleground for the hearts and minds of the nation's children" and asks "what does the Bible have to say about education?"
Christian author Brian Hadley will give a talk entitled "Society Indoctrinating The Innocent" in which he will ask, "What are they teaching the children?"
Christian Education in Europe promises attendees that in his talk "Brian reveals the hidden dangers of the government's scheme to challenge homophobia in primary schools".
A spokesperson for Christian Concern, on behalf of Christian Education in Europe, speaking to School's Week, questioned how the talk was homophobic and said that Hadley was just "asking questions".
They added that the talk would be based on Hadley's 'research' which suggested "some dangers of the CHIPS scheme."
Christian Education in Europe supplies curriculum resources to ACE schools. The schools came in for serious criticism from Ofsted after nine of their schools were inspected and downgraded.
National Secular Society campaigns officer Alastair Lichten said, "Despite opposition from some religious groups, many schools are working hard to tackle homophobic/transphobic bullying and to prepare their pupils for life in modern Britain – and that work should be celebrated rather than feared.
"Thankfully, religious education is generally – if slowly – moving away from outdated approaches that aimed principally to promote Christianity. From a child's rights perspective, this needs to be the direction of travel.
"That organisations like Christian Education Europe are retreating into conspiracy theories and victimhood fantasies shows how isolated such groups have become from mainstream Christians and wider society."
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)
