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
Religious pressure resisted as Welsh RE reform plans progress
Posted: Wed, 9 Dec 2020 13:11
A major curriculum reform bill which would replace religious education with a more pluralistic alternative in Wales will proceed to the next parliamentary stage after a Senedd committee's recommendation.
The Children, Young People and Education Committee has recommended that the Senedd agree the general principles of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill.
The National Secular Society was among groups who gave evidence during the committee's scrutiny of the bill, and the committee's report drew heavily on the NSS's evidence.
The bill will replace RE with religion, values and ethics (RVE), among other reforms, which include making comprehensive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) compulsory.
The committee did not recommend further religious exemptions or loopholes in the bill, despite calls from some faith groups including the Catholic Education Service (CES).
The CES has rigorously objected in particular to the fact the bill will require faith schools to offer a pluralistic RVE option that must be in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus.
NSS position on the bill
The NSS largely supports the Welsh government's efforts to reform RE, although it has warned that ministers risk falling short of their own ambitions.
The society's concerns include the fact that the new syllabus will still allow faith schools to teach a denominational form of RVE, although they will be required to offer a more objective and pluralistic option where parents request it.
The NSS has also raised concerns that some pupils will miss out on comprehensive rights-based RSE where faith schools are permitted to teach it through an often discriminatory religious ethos.
The NSS has long argued that children should receive an objective and pluralistic education on religion and belief.
Committee's key recommendations
In a report outlining its findings, published last Friday, the committee said the Welsh government should:
- Consider concerns around the purpose of local bodies which determine RE curricula, currently known as standing advisory councils on religious education (SACREs). It noted NSS criticisms of SACREs, which tend to be heavily influenced by religious interests.
- Launch a myth-busting campaign around relationships and sex education – a recommendation which the NSS helped to secure.
- Clarify why the bill did not provide for older children to choose the form of RVE they prefer when they are mature enough.
- Consider how it can ensure the place of human rights, including children's rights, is "secure in the long-term" in the curriculum.
- Prescribe more key material where there are concerns it could otherwise drop off the syllabus.
NSS extensively quoted in report
The report featured mentions of the NSS's concerns around:
- Faith schools' ongoing ability to teach a denominational syllabus.
- Plans to remove the parental right to withdraw children from RVE while the potential remained for the subject to be used as a vehicle for proselytisation.
- The fact that the bill does not contain plans to abolish the requirement on schools to hold acts of collective worship.
In response to the report's publication the NSS has now briefed members of the Senedd, who are due to debate the bill and the committee's report next week.
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten said: "The committee has rightly resisted religious pressure which would water down children's right to a pluralistic and critically-informed education on religion and belief.
"It's also made several helpful recommendations which should prompt ministers to take further steps to put children's interests before those of religious groups."
NSS: government should revisit review of engagement with faith groups
Posted: Thu, 3 Dec 2020 09:03
The National Secular Society has warned that a government review over its engagement with faith organisations in England appears "designed to reach a conclusion which will please religious interest groups".
The government's review will see faith engagement adviser Colin Bloom make recommendations to the communities secretary about how the government should engage with faith groups.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), which Bloom is attached to, is currently seeking evidence as part of the review.
It raises several questions over faith groups' role in public policy. For example it asks:
- "Do you think that faith-based schools are good for society?"
- "Do you think that faith-based or religious practices in schools have a positive impact on a child's education?"
- "Are there areas of religious or faith-based practice which cause you serious concern?"
- "In your opinion does the government engage with the right religious and faith leaders?"
In a letter to the secretary of state, the NSS has highlighted concerns that:
- A call for evidence attached to the review says: "Because the review is specifically about faith and religion, priority will be given to responses that fit within those parameters."
- The opening line of a press release launching the review stated only that it was calling for views from "people of all faiths", with no mention of anyone else. This contrasted with a statement by Bloom that the review would also consult with those of no faith.
- Bloom has held several roles which have focused on working towards greater representation of faith in politics. His previous roles have included working as the executive director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and a director of Christians in Politics.
The letter urged the government to pause the consultation and redesign it to ensure the public is consulted in "a fair and impartial manner".
And it said "the widest possible spectrum of society and opinion" should be sought in formulating government policy concerning religion or belief.
Content of NSS letter
In the letter, chief executive Stephen Evans wrote that the NSS had "no confidence that this review will reflect anything other than the priorities of religious interest groups".
He said the government's approach would "result in one-sided conclusions, and in turn give rise to simplistic and divisive policies that privilege one group of people to the detriment of others".
He added that the presence of a 'minister for faith' in MHCLG appeared to be "leading to a disproportionate focus on religious communities' input into public policy, to the exclusion of the non-religious and religiously unconcerned".
He also questioned whether the consultation was in line with the government's duties under equality law.
NSS comment
Explaining the letter, Mr Evans said the review "places a disproportionate focus on religious communities' input on matters of public policy".
"It's likely to marginalise those who see religion as a private matter – and who have a legitimate interest in its findings.
"As it currently stands, it appears the government has designed this review to reach a conclusion which will please religious interest groups. Ministers should revisit it and ensure it takes an even-handed and inclusive approach."
Additional note
- Earlier this year Conservative MP Danny Kruger published a report calling for religion to play a greater role in meeting the UK's social challenges.
You can read the government's call for evidence and respond to the consultation. The deadline to respond is 11 December.
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)
