21st Century RE for All
We want every pupil to have the same entitlement to high quality, non-partisan education about religion and belief. We want to see all schools preparing young people for life in modern Britain by teaching pupils about the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews.
We're campaigning for an end to the arbitrariness and unfairness of local determination in Religious Education and for a national religion and belief education syllabus as part of the National Curriculum.
What’s the problem?
Religious education is out of date and in need of reform. Almost thirty years after the introduction of a national curricular entitlement for all pupils, one subject remains exempt – religious education. Unlike any other compulsory subject RE is determined at a local level.
In each local authority the local agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) is determined by 'Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education' (SACREs), largely made up of religious representatives, with non-religious representatives either excluded or barred from voting.
Even worse, many faith schools don't even need to follow the locally agreed syllabus, and can instead teach their own syllabus and teach religion from their own exclusive viewpoint.
If there is a body of knowledge called 'Religious Education', which is worthy of being taught at all, it should be offered to all children wherever they live. There are simply no grounds for discriminating on grounds of geographic location or school type. If a programme of study covering religion and belief deserves to be included in the school curriculum, it should be offered to all as a basic entitlement for every future citizen. This is simply a matter of fundamental justice and equality.
Importantly, the subject must be broad, balanced and inclusive. Religious interest groups should no longer determine what gets taught. As with other subjects, the syllabus should be nationally determined by independent educationalists without an agenda motivated by a specific religion or belief.
"The structures that underpin the local determination of the RE curriculum have failed to keep pace with changes in the wider educational world. As a result, many local authorities are struggling to fulfil their responsibility to promote high-quality religious education"
OFSTED report 'Religious Education: Realising the Potential'
Get involved
With the General Election coming up, as a nation we're thinking about our future. Please consider asking your candidate to support common sense secular reforms — such as reforming religion and belief education — that will make our society, education system, and laws fairer for all.
It’s time to take religious education in schools out of the hands of religious councils. Support a national entitlement to high quality, non-partisan education about religion and belief.
Sign the petition-
A selection of comments from the petition. Supporters on what this campaign means to them and the need to reform religion and belief education.
Find out more
NSS submission to the Commission on Religious Education
We’ve called on the Commission to support pupils’ basic entitlement to non-partisan education about religion and belief, and an end to RE controlled by religious groups or faith schools.
Religious Education and the law
RE is a statutory part of the basic curriculum in all schools, but is often shaped by local religious groups and faith schools.
Your rights: Withdrawal from RE and Collective Worship
We advocate comprehensive non-partisan reform of religion and belief education and an end to compulsory worship in schools, so no one has to withdraw from any part of the school day.
Why Religious Education must be reformed before ending parental opt-out
The right to withdraw from RE may sometimes be problematic, but is still necessary when until vestiges of confessionalism, proselytization and poor practice remain.
Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education
Dominated by religious representatives, SACREs determine the RE syllabus at a local level.
Related news and opinion
Compulsory RE mustn’t indoctrinate, says European Court of Human Rights
Posted: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 14:58
Religious education must avoid indoctrinating children into religious practice if it is compulsory, the European Court of Human Rights has said, after a successful National Secular Society intervention.
In a ruling regarding a case in Greece, the court said states must ensure RE curricula are "conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner".
It added that states are "forbidden" from attempting to indoctrinate children in a way "that might be considered as not respecting parents' religious and philosophical convictions".
The court's judgement came as it ruled that Greece breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) when it required parents to submit a declaration form to opt children out of RE.
The NSS intervened in the case to argue that the requirement undermined the right to an education.
The case and ruling
A group of parents and students brought the case.
They challenged the practice of requiring parents to submit a solemn declaration, counter-signed by a teacher, that their children were not Orthodox Christians to exempt them from religious education. They argued that the programme of study did not provide for an objective, critical and pluralist religious education.
The court ruled that the requirement breached Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR, which protects the right to an education.
The article requires states to "respect" parents' rights to ensure education and teaching is "in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions".
The court ruled that the declaration requirement risked "placing an undue burden on parents" and exposing "sensitive aspects of their private life". This reflected some of the arguments included in the NSS's intervention.
It noted that the right to religious freedom also includes individuals' right "not to manifest" religious beliefs or to reveal them.
The ruling affirms long-standing precedent that the ECHR does not entitle families to a particular form of education which exactly matches their convictions, but it limits the state's ability to go against them.
National Secular Society intervention
The NSS's arguments, which were largely adopted by the court, were that:
- The system for exemption from RE classes in Greece breached Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR. It did this by requiring parents to declare their children's religion or belief and exposing them to possible coercion or intrusion from school authorities.
- The exemption system treated different religious groups as cohesive groups, undermining the individual right to freedom of religion or belief.
In response to the court's decision, NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "This welcome ruling should act as a reminder that those in charge of education must not seek to push religion on children. Politicians in the UK should take note.
"Teaching about religion should be objective and enable children to make up their own minds. Where states and schools attempt to inculcate children into religious worldviews, parents must retain the right to withdraw them."
Religious education in Greece
- Greece's RE curriculum continues to promote the "prevailing religion" of Orthodox Christianity, despite changes to the curriculum introduced between 2011 and 2015 which were designed to make the subject more pluralistic.
- The preamble to the Greek constitution contains a reference to Greece's status as a Christian Orthodox country.
Notes
- Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the ECHR says: "No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the state shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions."
- The ruling notes that "almost" all European countries currently have some form of opt out from religious education, intended to protect the rights outlined in Article 2 of Protocol 1.
- The Welsh government is currently consulting on plans to end the right to withdraw from RE.
The NSS is grateful to Professor Ronan McCrea of UCL who drafted the intervention with invaluable input from Harry Small and Sadikur Rahman.
Image: Building of the European Court of Human Rights, via Wikipedia, © User: CherryX [CC BY-SA 3.0]
Welsh government considers ending right to withdraw from RE & RSE
Posted: Thu, 3 Oct 2019 11:22
The Welsh government has launched a consultation over plans to remove parents' right to withdraw their children from education on religion, relationships and sex.
The consultation will also consider whether to rename religious education as 'religions and worldviews'.
The National Secular Society, which is planning to respond to the consultation, has voiced support for ending the right to withdraw in principle. But the NSS said religious worldviews must be taught impartially before the right to withdraw from education about it is removed.
The plans would be introduced along with a new curriculum, which is set to apply in primary schools and the first year of secondary in 2022.
They would mean all children took part in religions and worldviews and the newly renamed subject of relationships and sexuality education (RSE).
Currently parents can prevent their children from attending religious education and sex and relationships education classes.
Explaining the Welsh government's plans, education minister Kirsty Williams said: "Our vision is for an inclusive education system where all learners can participate in, benefit from and enjoy learning across all subjects.
"I am minded to ensure all pupils study RE and RSE in the new curriculum, just as they will study science, maths and languages.
"It has always been an anomaly that children could be prevented from attending certain subjects. This consultation seeks views on the practical implications of dealing with this anomaly."
NSS education campaigner Alastair Lichten said: "The Welsh government's ambition for an inclusive education system is very welcome, but we advise ministers to proceed with caution.
"The right to withdraw from religious education is an anomaly, but RE has traditionally been used to promote a religious worldview. This must be fully addressed before the right to withdraw is removed, so all pupils have access to high-quality, balanced education about religious and non-religious worldviews. Removing the right of withdrawal without addressing concerns over confessional or impartial RE will risk incompatibility with human rights obligations.
"We welcome the Welsh government's continued commitment to ensuring all pupils have access to inclusive, rights based and accurate RSE. A right to withdraw should not be used to shield pupils from knowledge. But we'll urge policymakers to consider the human rights implications where faith schools use RSE to promote discriminatory, inaccurate or shame-based teachings."
Notes
- The consultation launches on Thursday at 12pm and runs until Thursday 28 November. You can share your views on the Welsh government's website.
- Earlier this year the NSS broadly welcomed the Welsh government's plans to reform RE and RSE in its new curriculum.
- The NSS has previously suggested that RE simply be renamed 'worldviews'.
Image by klimkin from Pixabay.
See also: This isn't the time to end the right to withdraw from RE in Wales
NSS to hold training day on Exploring Secularism education project
Posted: Fri, 20 Sep 2019 10:08
Exploring Secularism – the National Secular Society project which provides free educational resources for secondary school students and teachers – has announced its first training day.
Exploring Secularism for Educators will provide continuing professional development (CPD) to RE teachers and subject leaders, and other educators with an interest in secularism, belief and society.
The free event, on Saturday 9 May 2020 at Conway Hall in central London, will feature a series of presentations and workshops covering:
- What educators need to know about secularism
- The relevance of Exploring Secularism to the curriculum
- Using Exploring Secularism resources
- Who's using Exploring Secularism and how they can help.
The programme for the day will be finalised based on registration to best tailor it to the educators attending.
Alastair Lichten, the project coordinator for Exploring Secularism, said: "We believe this will be a uniquely valuable CPD opportunity teachers don't want to miss. The Commission on Religious Education has recognised secularism as a key concept in the study of religion and worldviews. But dedicated education resources on secularism are extremely sparse.
"Those who attend this event should gain the confidence to make use of our resources as well as draw in examples from other sources and current affairs, to improve students' understanding of and engagement with debates over belief and society.
"Exploring Secularism provides teachers with the material they need to ask these questions in an informed way. It is not a manifesto of answers. It encourages students to explore a range of answers and come to some of their own."
Attendees must book in advance. The event is scheduled to last from 11:00am to 3:00pm. An agenda will be published in due course.
More information is available on the Exploring Secularism website.
NSS intervenes in key European court Religious Education case
Posted: Fri, 10 May 2019 11:13
The National Secular Society has submitted a third-party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in a key case concerning religious education in schools.
The case, Papageorgiou and Others v. Greece, concerns two Greek students who argue that the confessional nature of religious education and arrangements for pupil withdrawal violate their human rights.
The appellants claim Greece's education policies concerning RE breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
They claim breaches of the right to respect for private and family life (article eight), not to be discriminated against (article 14), and right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article nine).
Article three of the 1975 Constitution of Greece (Relations of Church and State) asserts the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ as the "prevailing" religion, often leading to unequal treatment of religious minorities. Greece has received the highest number of convictions by the ECtHR over religious freedom related cases.
Religious education in Greek public schools is compulsory for all Christian Orthodox students in primary and secondary education and the content of classes is instructional, with a strong emphasis on Christian Orthodoxy.
The applicants' complaints specifically relate to RE classes at their children's schools on two small islands in the Aegean Sea. They say the classes are confessional, based on the instructions and demands of the Greek Orthodox Church, in a way that is neither neutral nor objective.
The procedure that parents have to follow to exempt pupils from RE classes includes the submission of an exemption declaration form, stating that they are not members of Christian Orthodox faith. The school principal then verifies their convictions.
The applicants argue that this process may lead to the stigmatisation of students and their parents because it becomes visible that they are not followers of the "dominant religion".
They also say the students are deprived of hours of classes because of their religious and philosophical convictions.
In its submission to the court, the NSS argues that the oppressive system for exemption from religious classes, which obliges parents to reveal their or their children's religious beliefs and the subjects those beliefs to an investigation by the school principal, is in conflict with European Court of Human Rights case law.
The NSS further argues that the failure to extend the right of withdrawal to Christian Orthodox parents effectively makes the availability of protection of parental rights dependent on whether or not they or their children adhere to the Orthodox faith. This raises serious issues in relation to article nine of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The NSS intervention also says requiring parents to be answerable for the religious and philosophical beliefs of children who may, depending on the facts, be of sufficient maturity to form their own views again fails to show respect for matters of individual conscience.
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the NSS, said: "This is a case of vital importance in terms of setting the appropriate boundaries of religious education and the role of religion in schools more generally.
"The objective of religious education should be to ensure students' knowledge of religions and beliefs and their impact on society, not to cultivate their belonging to or believing in a particular religion.
"Our intervention reminds the court that education about religion and belief provided by state schools should be objective, critical and pluralistic. Furthermore, protections from any form of confessional RE should be equally available to all, irrespective of belief, and freely exercisable without having to disclose personal information about religious and philosophical convictions."
The NSS has been actively lobbying for comprehensive reform of the way religion and belief is taught in UK schools, including in England where state-funded faith-based schools teach religious education "in accordance with the tenets of the faith of the school".
Even in non-faith-based schools, the RE syllabus is determined by local committees often dominated by religious interests. The law requires every locally agreed syllabus to "reflect that the religious traditions of Great Britain are in the main Christian".
Parents and carers (and post-16 students themselves) have the right to withdraw from RE (and collective worship) if they wish to in England and Wales. Where parents have requested that their child is withdrawn, their right must be respected, and no reasons need to be given.
No date has yet been set for when the Greece case will be heard.
Image: Building of the European Court of Human Rights, via Wikipedia, © User: CherryX [CC BY-SA 3.0]
Update 18 September 2019
On Wednesday 4 September the Greek Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (ASCPS) ruled that it was unconstitutional to require pupils' religion and citizenship/nationality be recorded on school records. On Tuesday 17 September the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs announced it's agreed to remove all references to school children's religious faith and nationality from school records and certificates.
The National Secular Society is currently awaiting the outcome of Papageorgiou and Others v. Greece, at the ECtHR.
NSS broadly welcomes changes to RE and RSE in Welsh curriculum
Posted: Wed, 1 May 2019 15:07
The National Secular Society has expressed broad support for reforms to the teaching of religion, relationships and sex which have been announced in the new curriculum for schools in Wales.
The curriculum includes an explicit reference to pupils learning about "non-religious worldviews" for the first time and moves religious education (RE) into a wider area of Humanities study.
It also includes a statutory requirement on schools to teach Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), which it describes as "a key enabler of health and well-being".
But the NSS has warned the curriculum will allow faith schools to continue to use RE to promote their worldview and to distort RSE.
The NSS has engaged with Welsh education ministers and officials throughout the drafting process.
The curriculum, which will be introduced in 2022 for all children currently in Year 3 or below, will see teaching organised around six "areas of learning and experience" (AoLEs).
RE will remain a statutory requirement and be contained in an AoLE on Humanities.
Humanities
The Humanities AoLE is described as "central to learners becoming ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world through engaging with contemporary and historical issues, exploring human experiences on their own doorstep and across the globe, and contemplating different perspectives".
The new curriculum means that RE must cover a range of religious views and "non-religious worldviews" that are "analogous to religions". This replaces a requirement that RE syllabuses reflect that "the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of other principal religions in Great Britain".
The curriculum will allow faith schools to continue to teach RE from a religious perspective.
It will also continue to allow religious groups to inspect RE in voluntary aided faith schools and some voluntary controlled (VC) faith schools. The Welsh education inspectorate Estyn will inspect RE in other VC schools.
Under the proposals bodies which determine RE curricula locally – Standing Advisory Councils for RE (SACREs) and Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) – will adapt and oversee, rather than create, the RE curriculum. SACREs, ASCs and faith schools will still have significant influence over syllabuses.
The NSS campaigns for the abolition of SACREs and ASCs and the introduction of a national entitlement to an impartial curriculum about the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews.
Through the RE element of the Humanities AoLE, pupils will be expected to:
- engage in philosophical enquiry considering the diversity, complexity and plurality of religious and non-religious world views.
- understand that ultimate questions are complex, and answers are often partial and inconclusive.
- appreciate, empathise with and critically evaluate sources of wisdom and authority, and religious and non-religious world views, in order to form their own reasoned conclusions.
- observe and investigate forms of religious expression.
- critically evaluate how aspects of religion and belief impact upon them, other individuals, local society and global society.
National Secular Society education and schools officer Alastair Lichten said: "We welcome the move away from religious exceptionalism and opportunity for a fresh approach by embedding religion and belief education within a wider humanities area of learning. Policy makers in England, where even modest reforms have been blocked by religious interests, should take note.
"The focus on the real world impact of a diverse range of beliefs on issues from the local to the international should improve the relevance and esteem of this often maligned or confused subject."
Despite the new curriculum, faith schools will retain existing powers to teach their RE syllabus from a faith perspective or to promote their religious ethos. In voluntary aided schools RE will continue to be inspected by religious groups and in voluntary controlled schools by both Estyn and religious groups.
Alastair Lichten said this split inspection regime would "lead to continuing confusion over whether RE is designed to teach children about different beliefs or to inculcate religious views".
"While including non-religious worldviews is essential in a modern, religiously diverse and increasingly non-religious Wales, limiting this to those 'which are analogous to religions' risks giving students an impoverished understanding of the diversity of non-religious and irreligious worldviews.
"The retention of SACREs means that RE content will continue to be unduly influenced by those selected for their religious or Humanist views rather than educational experience. We hope this continues to be re-examined and alternatives such as local education networks made up of teachers and educational experts explored."
Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE)
A new statutory RSE requirement will be provided through an AoLE on Health and Wellbeing and recognised as a key enabler of wellbeing.
Despite the new curriculum, draft RSE guidance makes clear that faith schools will continue to be allowed to teach RSE from their own perspective. Last year the NSS revealed that all 12 of the secondary state faith schools in Wales with sex and relationships education (SRE) policies were teaching the subject within the tenets of Catholicism or the Church in Wales.
Alastair Lichten said: "The commitment of the Welsh government and the new curriculum take a significant step towards our aim of a non-discriminatory, inclusive approach to RSE which prepares students with an age appropriate understanding of the diversity of human relationships and the rights and responsibilities they entail.
"However, despite our positive engagement with education officials, we remain concerned that a lack of clarity and core content could mean that faith schools continue to distort the subject, denying pupils comprehensive non-discriminatory information about sexuality, contraceptives and reproductive choices.
"While a non-proscriptive approach which focuses on what matters and leaves independence for schools has much to recommend it, this should not lead to large gaps and inconsistencies between schools based on religious designation."
What's next?
Public consultation on the draft curriculum (statutory guidance) is open till 19 July 2019. The Welsh government is also expected to publish its response to consultations on the legislative changes necessary for the new curriculum (NSS response) and the draft guidance on relationships and sexuality education (NSS response).
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