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
Catholic school's transport 'discrimination' claim disputed by secularists
Posted: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 14:50
Swansea Council is facing a judicial review after deciding to phase-out its subsidy for faith school students to have free transport to school.
The council is defending its new policy, after Bishop Vaughan Roman Catholic comprehensive school, along with the Diocese of Menevia and 'Child W', whose siblings attend the school, initiated legal action. The policy, which was supported by 34 councillors and opposed by 17, means that free transport to faith schools will only be provided if there is not a closer mainstream school. The council had previously subsidised transport to Swansea's six faith schools.
However, critics have argued that the change will mean parents cannot afford to send their children to faith schools.
The council says that pupils will still "have access to a good local school". Additionally, the change is being introduced over a six-year period, meaning current pupils of faith schools will not be affected. Swansea, like all local authorities, will also still be legally obliged to provide travel arrangements free of charge for children from low income families.
Nevertheless, religious leaders and school officials have strongly condemned the change. The Bursar of Bishop Vaughan School, Laura Howden-Evans, said that the new policy is "brutal" and "will be devastating on Swansea children seeking a faith education."
However, a spokesperson for the National Secular Society said he thought the legal action was unlikely to succeed.
Stephen Evans, NSS campaigns manager, said: "For years local authorities have been more than generous by subsiding parents' preferences to send their children to more distant religious schools. This has always been done on a discretionary basis. It's easy to see why the removal of such subsidies might be resented by faith communities, but it's a fundamental mistake to regard the removal of privileges as in any way unlawful or discriminatory."
The school argues that the policy is discriminatory because Welsh language schools will continue to receive subsidised transport. However, Welsh legislation places a statutory duty on local authorities in Wales in relation to transport and travel arrangements for pupils studying in the Welsh language.
Swansea Council said: "This is a test case about a decision regarding discretionary home to school transport which the council argues strongly is not discriminatory.
"It's important to be clear no child currently at Bishop Vaughan School is affected by the council's decision, those at the school who receive free transport now will continue to receive it until they leave school. The children affected would be those who join the school from September this year and in future years."
Creationism motion gains more support in Scottish Parliament
Posted: Thu, 29 Jan 2015 16:23
Two MSPs have offered formal support for a motion which calls for Scottish children to be made "aware of" creationist teaching.
Richard Lyle MSP and Dave Thompson MSP are supporting the motion, which was put forward by John Mason MSP. The full motion reads:
"That the Parliament notes that South Lanarkshire Council has issued guidance concerning the appointment and input of chaplains and religious organisations in schools; understands that some people believe that God created the world in six days, some people believe that God created the world over a longer period of time and some people believe that the world came about without anyone creating it; considers that none of these positions can be proved or disproved by science and all are valid beliefs for people to hold, and further considers that children in Scotland's schools should be aware of all of these different belief systems."
The debate comes in response to a scandal at an East Kilbride school in 2013, when the American Church of Christ handed out material to school pupils denouncing homosexuality, abortion and evolution. Two headteachers were removed over the controversy.
Following this, the Scottish Secular Society petitioned the Scottish Government to institute a ban on the "presentation in Scottish publicly funded schools of separate creation and of Young Earth doctrines as viable alternatives to the established science of evolution, common descent, and deep time."
In response to the controversy, Stewart Maxwell MSP introduced a motion stating that the Holyrood parliament "believes that creationism should not be presented as a scientific theory and viable alternative to the established theory of evolution."
In December 2014 the Scottish Government rejected the proposed ban on the teaching of creationism. Tim Simons, Head of the Curriculum Unit in the Scottish Government's Learning Directorate, said that "guidance on these matters is unnecessary."
The National Secular Society disputes this, and NSS spokesperson for Scotland Alistair McBay said: "The fact that groups are dedicated to infiltrating creationism, often branded as 'intelligent design', into classrooms means that guidance to ban creationism in science classrooms is needed now."
In their submission about the Scottish Secular Society's petition to ban the teaching of creationism, the Free Church of Scotland wrote: "The position of the Scottish Government and the teaching unions is that we don't need politicians telling teachers what they should teach. This is a position the Free Church of Scotland completely agrees with.
"Politicians seeking to enforce their doctrines through the State education system is the mark of an authoritarian, not a democratic state."
Alistair McBay added: "Now that another politician, John Mason, is trying to tell teachers what they should teach, namely creationism, I wonder if the Free Church will stick to their view that politicians shouldn't be telling teachers what they should teach.
"If we substitute 'politicians' for 'reverends', we find that the Free Church of Scotland are doing exactly what they claim to oppose: seeking to enforce their doctrines in the state education system.
"There are countless creation myths through time and cultures. Why should a Christian one receive privileged consideration? Hesiod's Theogony carries the account of the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods. Should that be considered too?"
Update (02/02/15): John Mason MSP tweeted: "I think science is better sticking to what exists. How and why things came about is probably better not included in science."
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)
