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Religious education is out of date and in need of reform.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
NSS expresses support for RE and RSE reform in Wales
Posted: Fri, 29 Mar 2019 10:45
The National Secular Society has expressed qualified support for proposed reforms to religious education and relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in Wales in response to two government consultations.
The responses came after the Welsh government proposed a new curriculum which would change the role of RE and said it would reconsider parents' right to withdraw children from RSE.
In January the Welsh government said it planned to make RE part of a humanities area of learning and experience (AoLE), along with history, geography and business and social studies.
It said "essential aspects of learning" would be outlined across each AoLE, rather than within individual subjects.
In its response the NSS wrote: "We broadly support the proposed moves towards a modern more inclusive RE curriculum that addresses the diversity of worldviews in Wales. It is good for this to be embedded in a wider humanities area of learning, rather than being treated as an exceptional area."
But the NSS criticised provisions which allow faith schools to continue to teach RE in accordance with their ethos and the retention of SACREs – local bodies which determine RE curricula.
The Welsh government's plans would see non-religious representatives admitted to SACREs. The NSS welcomed "efforts to make SACREs more inclusive" but said the influence of groups who wished to present their religion or belief in a positive light was "educationally inappropriate".
The NSS also said the parental right to withdraw children from RSE should be removed.
"Parents do not have a right to selectively withdraw their children from science or history lessons that may conflict with their religion or belief, and we argue that the same should hold true for RSE.
"The right of withdrawal is most likely to deny knowledge to children from conservative religious backgrounds, who most need impartial, appropriate education in this area. This can place both themselves and others at risk."
This week education minister Kirsty Williams told the BBC she was considering whether allowing parents to remove pupils from the lessons was "still appropriate".
The NSS expressed support in principle for the end of the right to withdraw from RE. But it added that the right should only end if it can "be guaranteed that RE is not promoting a particular view of religion".
The NSS said current guidance meant some parents had "legitimate concerns about RE being used to promote particular religious views or a positively biased view of religion".
The society added that older children who wished to overrule parents who opted them out of RE and RSE should have their opinions taken into account.
The NSS expressed disappointment that the proposals did not include plans to reform Wales's collective worship law.
The law in Wales currently provides that children at all maintained schools "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship". In community schools, the worship must be wholly or mainly of a Christian character.
In a separate response to guidance on RSE the NSS expressed concern that faith schools would continue to distort the way they taught about relationships and sexuality.
The guidance says education practitioners should be "aware of, and sensitive to, the personal circumstances of individual learners". It adds that this should enable them to "deliver suitable tailored content to the religious and cultural background of learners".
The NSS said this should not be allowed to interfere with schools' duty to deliver "a rights based, comprehensive and non-discriminatory RSE curriculum for all pupils, regardless of school or background".
In May 2018 NSS research exposed the way Wales's secondary state faith schools were distorting sex and relationships education (SRE) by teaching it through a religious lens. All 12 of those schools which had an SRE policy were teaching it within the tenets of Catholicism or the Church in Wales.
Shortly afterwards the NSS welcomed plans to make LGBT-inclusive RSE compulsory in Welsh schools from age five but warned against allowing faith schools to teach it on a religious basis.
The NSS's response on RSE also said education should not be considered less "age appropriate" depending on "the sexuality of examples used".
"If it is age appropriate for pupils to receive certain information about sex, it is age appropriate for them to receive this information about LGBT and non-LGBT sex. If it is age appropriate for pupils to receive certain information about relationships, it is age appropriate for them to receive this information about LGBT and non-LGBT relationships."
The NSS campaigns for an impartial religion and belief curriculum, education about sex and relationships which is free from religious influence and an end to compulsory worship in schools.
The society has made the case for these reforms in meetings with Welsh education officials over the last two years.
NSS launches new range of school resources: Exploring Secularism
Posted: Wed, 20 Mar 2019 07:49
The National Secular Society has launched a new range of resources for secondary school students and teachers to explore key questions related to secularism and religion's role in society.
Along with a website covering a wide range of topics, the first major resources to be published are Exploring Secularism: A guide for teachers and The Core Principles Resource Pack. The Core Principles pack features 19 original resources, presentations, exercises and stimuli for students to explore secularism's basic political philosophy of separation, freedom and equality.
Questions explored in Core Principles include: What is secularism? Is secularism a religion? How do secularists think about religion? And what different types of secularism are there?
The NSS's head of education Alastair Lichten said: "Secularism raises significant questions about how we balance freedom of, and from, religion with other rights. These are some of the most important questions which arise in all of the humanities, from religious and belief education to citizenship, and from the arts to history.
"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 possible answers and come to some of their own.
"We've spent over two years developing these resources and it's exciting to finally make these available for all schools. As well as improving basic understanding of secularism, these resources will enrich schools' engagement with some of the most pressing debates involving religion's role in society.
"The Commission on Religious Education has recognised secularism as a key concept in the study of religion and worldviews. By using Exploring Secularism, students and teachers will join a long tradition of people from all faiths and none, of artists and authors, of politicians and philosophers, judges and theologians, all of whom have grappled with these debates."
There has been positive feedback to the resources from teachers involved in the test group.
Dr Emma Park, an academic and classics teacher from London, called Exploring Secularism "a wide-ranging resource which sets out the key ingredients of secularism and its relation to religion, the state, and pressing issues in our society such as free speech and equality."
She added that the resources were "clear, analytical and thorough" and said it "should be valuable for teachers of PSHE, philosophy, citizenship and RE alike".
Jo Teage, an RE teacher from Bristol, said the project provided "thoughtful resources that are adaptable to different abilities and ages, with terms explained for teachers".
"These will spark conversation and teach young people about some of the most important issues facing society today."
Ep 06: Rudolf Eliott Lockhart | Exploring religious freedom
Posted: Tue, 19 Mar 2019 09:43
Continuing our series of discussions exploring religious freedom, Alastair Lichten spoke with Rudolf Eliott Lockhart (Rudi) CEO of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales.
Watch this episode on YouTube | Transcript
This was part of a series of interviews leading up to our major conference Secularism 2019: Reclaiming Religious Freedom. Information on all the speakers and a videos from all the talks are now available.
Links from Rudi:
Welsh government to put non-religious worldviews on curriculum
Posted: Tue, 29 Jan 2019 12:10
The Welsh government plans to legislate to include non-religious worldviews in its school curriculum and ensure non-religious representatives are appointed to local bodies which determine how religious education is taught.
On Monday Wales's Department for Education and Skills said it would "encompass non-religious views that are analogous to religious views" in the curriculum and on RE advisory bodies.
It made the announcement in a consultation document on legislative changes needed for the new curriculum, Our National Mission: A Transformational Curriculum.
The document says the Welsh government proposes to legislate to amend "the current provisions regarding the description of an agreed syllabus".
"It is our intention also that RE reflects our historical and contemporary relationship in Wales to philosophy and religious views, including non-religious beliefs. Therefore the current legislation will be amended to ensure the agreed syllabus for RE takes account of non-religious worldviews which are analogous to religions (e.g. humanism)."
It adds that membership of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) should similarly be opened up to incorporate representatives of non-religious worldviews. SACREs advise local authorities on the content of their RE curricula.
RE will form part of a humanities area of learning and experience (AoLE), along with history, geography and business and social studies. The document says "essential aspects of learning" will be outlined across each AoLE, rather than within individual subjects.
The proposals mirror many of those outlined in a recent report from the Commission on RE, which proposed a national entitlement to 'Religion and Worldviews' education in England. They also align with some of the priorities outlined in the National Secular Society's 21st Century RE for All campaign, which aims to end local and faith based determination in English and Welsh RE.
The Welsh government says its changes will take account of the requirement to pay due attention to non-religious worldviews alongside religious ones under the Human Rights Act of 1998.
It also says it is "keen to explore" how to "modernise" the law around the right to withdraw from both RE and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).
Currently parents have the right to withdraw children from RE, and from RSE unless it forms part of the National Curriculum programme of study. Pupils cannot withdraw themselves.
The document says ministers will "welcome views on the case for change and any specific ideas of how to modernise this area". It adds that they will aim to "ensure the rights of children and young people are central to considerations" and give due regard to "the impact on all protected characteristics".
But it proposes allowing faith schools to continue to teach denominational religious education.
Currently Wales's voluntary aided schools, where religious groups have a particularly strong influence, must teach RE in accordance with the tenets of their religion. Other schools with a religious character are required to follow the local syllabus but RE can still be used to promote the faith ethos..
The document also proposes no reform of the requirement on schools to hold a "broadly Christian" act of worship daily.
It proposes that all school sixth formers have an entitlement to learn about RE without an obligation to study it. While all sixth formers in England and Wales are supposed to study RE, this is not enforced. The document also proposes repealing an exemption which currently means RE is not taught to pupils in nursery classes.
The NSS engaged with the Welsh government throughout the process, including by meeting policy makers. The society also provided research on issues including the distortion of sex education in Welsh faith schools.
The NSS's head of education Alastair Lichten said: "The ambition for all pupils to have a 21st century curriculum, designed in Wales, has provided a once in a generation opportunity to fundamentally rethink education about religion and belief. It's sad to see such ambition tempered by the 'need' to appease religious interests. The proposals include many positive steps forward, but ultimately more fundamental reforms are required.
"While the government has listened to our concerns about discriminatory and shame-based sex education in Welsh faith schools, they will continue to teach the subject in accordance with their ethos. We all know what that's a euphemism for.
"The Welsh government has rightly realised that it's untenable to teach about worldviews without considering those which reject traditional religious ways of thinking. Simply opening up an advertising space for Humanism alongside other religions isn't enough. But embedding education about worldviews within a wider humanities area of learning, rather than exceptionalising it, shows a way forward for a troubled subject.
"It's also encouraging to see that ministers are open-minded about the decades-old law which allows parents to withdraw their children from RE and RSE. Ultimately this should be repealed, though only after the teaching of religion and belief is reformed so critically-informed inquiry is its primary goal in all schools.
"If we want to truly defend children's right to a decent education, we should stop letting faith schools use RE as a promotional opportunity. Ultimately the best way to do that would be to reconsider the whole future of state-funded faith schools.
"The Welsh government should also reconsider the requirement on schools to hold daily collective worship, which amounts to a state endorsement of Christian teaching. Where schools enforce worship, it is inherently coercive and undermines freedom of and from religion."
The consultation is running until 25 March. Mr Lichten said the NSS looked forward to responding to it in due course.
Education secretary dismisses commission's call for RE reform
Posted: Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:58
The education secretary has dismissed calls for the reform of religious education in England after a major report called for a national entitlement to 'Religion and Worldviews' education.
In a letter to the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, Damian Hinds said he had concluded that "now is not the time to begin these reforms".
In a report published in September the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) said schools' programmes of study on religion and belief should "reflect the complex, diverse and plural nature of worldviews". It added that they could "draw from a range of religious, philosophical, spiritual and other approaches to life".
The commission said all publicly-funded schools should be required to teach the national entitlement. Many of the recommendations were broadly in line with the aims of the National Secular Society's 21st Century RE For All campaign.
The RE Council established CoRE in 2016 in order to review the education, legal and policy frameworks for RE.
Hinds said "some stakeholders" had expressed "concerns that making statutory the inclusion of 'worldviews' risks diluting the teaching of RE". He also cited concerns over teachers' workload, saying reducing workload was "one of my top priorities, for the duration of this parliament".
NSS education and schools officer Alastair Lichten said Hinds's response was "a missed opportunity".
"The commission's recommendations provided a way forward for a subject that has over time become unfit for purpose. Unfortunately, the government has shown it is willing to reject even modest and very widely supported proposals when faced with opposition from religious groups including the Catholic Education Service.
"The commission's recommendations would have allowed many faith schools to continue to teach and inspect denominational RE, but for some any elevation of non-religious worldviews towards equal status is a step too far.
"Britons' worldviews are becoming increasingly diverse and irreligious. Understanding the beliefs of our friends, neighbours and colleagues is crucial to living together in a shared society. Good religious education – whether as a separate subject or as part of a wider humanities curriculum – can help foster that understanding. Sadly efforts to reform RE are being undermined by religious groups seeking to use it for their own ends."
The report was the subject of a debate in the House of Lords on Monday. On behalf of the government Theodore Agnew said it would be "difficult to agree a consensus" on reform owing to objections from some religious groups. Agnew cited the opposition of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Catholic Education Service, groups which he said were "unlikely to be alone".
But peers including John Alderdice and Dominic Hubbard of the Liberal Democrats and Joan Bakewell and Mike Watson of Labour criticised the government's decision.
Alderdice called the report "a thoughtful piece of work" and "arguably the most substantial piece of work on the issue of religious education in our country since the 1970s".
Bakewell called the report "splendid" and the government's response "feeble". Watson said the "inclusion of a diverse range of world views" would make RE "better equipped to remain relevant to young people growing up in 21st-century Britain, both those with religion and those without".
Meanwhile the RE Council, which established CoRE in 2016, said it was "disappointed" by Hinds's reaction.
"His response fails to grasp the urgent need for reform of Religious Education to better prepare young people for life in modern Britain, the broad consensus in support of the commission's recommendations, and the excellent opportunity to strengthen the subject that the report's publication represents."
The council also said its report had "widespread support from teachers", citing the positions of three teaching unions.
The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education called the government's response a "missed chance to make a lasting impact on the quality of education provided in our schools".
In his letter Hinds also said it was "important to continue to work hard to recruit new RE teachers and to ensure that they acquire good subject knowledge". The Department for Education recently changed the bursary available to trainee RE teachers so those with a 2:2 degree or higher will be given £9,000.
Image: Damian Hinds, © Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament [CC BY 3.0]
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