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
Diocese stresses “purity” and “virtue of chastity” in Catholic schools’ sex education guidelines
Posted: Tue, 7 Jul 2015 16:16
New guidelines from the Diocese of Portsmouth say that Catholic schools should promote "chastity" as the "underlying theme" of Sex and Relationships Education (SRE).
The Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth has published new guidelines on SRE urging Catholic faith schools to teach chastity and warning of relationships that society sees as "normal" but which go against church teaching.
The guidance says that "purity and the virtue of chastity should be promoted" in SRE classes, which should emphasise "sexuality as a gift from God."
The official guidelines say that those who are "unchaste" are "torn" and that the Church has a "special duty" to assist those who are "broken or fallen." The Diocese says that schools should teach a programme of sex education that distinguishes the "sinner from the sin" and that those who fail to meet "Christian ideals" should be shown "mercy."
"Chastity can be achieved" the guidance says, through "supernatural means." The guidelines say "abstinence should be promoted" in schools, rather than "suggesting that sexual intercourse is fine as long as it is 'safe sex'."
The document complains that "the Church's teachings can appear outmoded, authoritarian and even unrealistic" because sex before marriage, same-sex relationships and cohabitations are "often accepted as part of 'normal' life".
The guidance sets itself in stark contrast with what it calls "damaging cultural trends" and says children need to be 'enlightened" about "Christian values"
According to the guidance, Catholic teachings, to be taught in SRE, are "based on objective moral principles" in contrast to "mixed messages visible in the social media and across the internet."
It also criticises the resource material available for SRE, complaining that some of it portrays "casual sexual relationships as 'normal.'"
"The content of classes should not offend against modesty," the guidance adds.
Although the paper appears to acknowledge that "many Catholics hold beliefs and views on sex and relationships that are different from what the Church teaches", as recently confirmed by more polling which showed a wide disconnect between the views of Catholics and the doctrines of the Vatican, the guidelines are stringent and affirm that "all staff in a Catholic school are expected to support the teachings of the Catholic Church".
An NSS spokesperson said: "Religious sermons are no substitute for evidence-based sex and relationships education.
"It is outrageous to think of young people receiving such an ideological and doctrinal education about sex and relationships in school, and to think that taxpayers in the 21st century should have to pay for it to take place. The National Secular Society criticises these guidelines in the strongest terms, and again calls for the Government to introduce statutory objective and age-appropriate sex education for all state-funded schools, including faith schools."
A concerned parent recently contacted the NSS about the SRE curriculum at King's Academy in Middlesbrough, which taught sex education in line with the "Maker's Instructions."
Demos warns of ethnic segregation in minority faith schools
Posted: Tue, 7 Jul 2015 13:43
Research by the think tank Demos has warned that British schools are "highly segregated" and that "some faith schools effectively exclude other ethnic groups."
The researchers write that "religious identities often overlap with ethnic identities and therefore some faith schools effectively exclude other ethnic groups." They add that "ethnic mixing" for minority religious groups is very limited in faith schools.
The Demos analysis noted research that found "schools were more segregated than the local neighbourhoods that they served" and that religious minority schools could be particularly segregated. The report argued that the school system is 'strengthening' the "residential segregation" that exists in Britain today.
NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans commented: "The de facto ethnic segregation in the school system, along overlapping religious-ethnic lines, is highly problematic and particular concerning in view of Britain's future as a multi faith and ethnically diverse society. We do not want to be in a situation where different ethnic and religious groups are living 'parallel lives'.
"Every opportunity should be taken to enhance integration and social cohesion. Education represents by far the best opportunity, but it's an opportunity that has been wasted by the refusal of successive governments' to question faith-based education. The prominence of faith schools and the prospect of more minority faith schools through the free schools programme represents a dangerous step in the wrong direction.
"An obvious first step in tackling this would be a moratorium on the opening of new faith-based schools and for the DfE to only provide funding for truly inclusive schools that aren't based around religious identities."
This 'segregation' in minority schools is so severe that over half of Muslim state schools and 80% of Sikh state-funded schools have no White British pupils. There is also under-representation of Asian pupils in both Catholic and Jewish schools.
The Demos report also pointed to research indicating that "prejudices associated with particular cultures, such as Indian caste divides, have been imported to the UK" and that this was "potentially creating tensions at school."
Demos found that the number of faith schools in England has increased since January 2000, but that the number of Christian schools had "fallen slightly since 2007" while "the number of non-Christian state-funded faith schools has increased". They note however that the "vast majority" of faith schools are still Christian-based.
According to the report, between January 2007 and September 2014 eleven new Muslim schools were opened, as were eleven Jewish and six Sikh schools.
Additionally, Demos note that while faith school pupils do slightly better than non-faith school students in achieving 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE (64% to 60%), faith schools have significant advantages: "pupils in faith schools are less likely to be eligible for free schools meals and more likely to have a strong academic record prior to secondary school", they write. Because of these advantages, the 4% difference in A*-C GCSE attainment is "not surprising".
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)
