We want to see laws requiring schools to hold acts of worship abolished.
The laws are archaic, unnecessary and breach children's freedom of religion or belief.
The United Kingdom is the only Western democracy which legally imposes worship in publicly funded schools.
The law in England and Wales provides that children at all maintained schools "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship". Northern Ireland and Scotland have similar laws.
Even in schools with no religious designation, the worship must be "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
School assemblies are an important feature of school life. They foster a sense of community in schools and promote the moral and social development of pupils.But acts of worship are neither necessary nor desirable to achieve these educational goals.
The majority of the public (52%) say school assemblies should be about moral issues, whereas just 26% agree that they should feature religious worship.
Many schools ignore the law, but where it is enforced it causes division and discrimination, as well as opening the door to evangelism and proselytising.
Parents have the right to withdraw children from collective worship, but many this is an unreasonable imposition on both themselves and their children. Parents should never have to withdraw their children from any part of the school day to ensure their rights to raise their child according to their own religious or philosophical convictions are respected.
Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and increasingly, no religious beliefs. The abolition of collective worship is long overdue.
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1. Write to your MP
Ask them to help end compulsory worship in schools
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Latest updates
NSS calls for parliamentary committee to review collective worship
Posted: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:17
The National Secular Society has called on a parliamentary select committee to investigate compulsory worship in schools.
The NSS wrote to the Education Select Committee today requesting a review on the collective worship requirement in schools in England and the "government's intransigence" on the issue.
Laws in England and Wales require that children at all state schools "shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship".
Although schools with a religious character must conduct such worship in accordance with the practices of the school's designated faith, in schools without a religious character the law requires that worship must be "wholly or mainly of a Christian character".
The government has previously described the law as "flexible and inclusive, allowing all schools to tailor their provision to suit pupils' needs", because schools may apply to hold collective worship reflecting other religious traditions.
But the NSS said the government's claim is undermined by the case of Poulner Infant School, which recently had its request to be exempt from collective worship laws denied.
The school had argued the requirement for collective worship to be of a Christian character was inappropriate on the grounds that two thirds of parents do not identify as Christian, that parents of no religion are the largest single group, and that many parents purposefully seek out the school as an alternative to nearby faith schools.
The NSS also referred to a 2021 letter from then-Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System Baroness Berridge which confirmed that it is "not permissible for a school to apply simply to replace Christian or other religious collective worship with a non-religious assembly" This arrangement fails to "provide sufficient flexibility for the schools where growing numbers of children, young people and parents are nonreligious or religiously unconcerned", the NSS said.
Despite this apparent contradiction between the government's statements, ministers at the Department for Education (DfE) have repeatedly said there are "no plans to amend or repeal the legal duty on schools to provide a daily act of collective worship".
The NSS also argued that current laws requiring collective worship are in conflict with human rights obligations, a position which is shared by the United Nations Committee on the Right of the Child
And in July the High Court of Northern Ireland found that the law on collective worship and religious education there breached human rights laws, because it was not sufficiently critical or pluralist.
NSS: 'Time to end collective worship'
Jack Rivington, campaigns officer at the NSS, said: "Laws mandating collective worship in schools are an anachronism and totally inappropriate in modern British society. The government's insistence that current legislation is flexible, inclusive, and enables schools to adapt their provision to reflect the needs of pupils is also one clearly not supported by the facts.
"The continuation of a policy requiring collective worship shows contempt for human rights and freedom of religion and belief. The time is long overdue for these laws to be scrapped."
Image: davidf, Shutterstock
School’s application for non-Christian assemblies denied
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2022 14:12
The National Secular Society has called for an end to laws requiring Christian worship in schools after a school's application to remove the provision was denied.
Poulner Infant School in Hampshire said it was not appropriate for its collective worship to be Christian in character as two thirds of parents do not identify as Christian.
State-funded schools are required by law to hold daily acts of collective worship, which must be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character".
However, under Department for Education guidance, schools may also apply for a 'determination' - an exemption from the requirement that collective worship be of a Christian character. Headteachers may apply for a determination if they judge this mandated character of collective worship to be in conflict with the family backgrounds of pupils.
As part of their submission to the local authority's Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) - the committees responsible for assessing determinations - the school argued an exemption was necessary in order to enable the school to deliver broader and more inclusive assemblies.
The school noted that whilst it felt collective worship was valuable, its provision should be "reflective of the beliefs of the children here".
It said parents who have no religion are "actually the largest single group" and many parents purposefully seek out Poulner Infant School as alternative to nearby faith schools.
The school also said the current requirements breached the human rights of its pupils, citing "the rights respecting approach promoted by The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child". The UK is the only western democracy which legally imposes worship in schools - a position which has been challenged by the UNCRC.
In a meeting in July, Hampshire County Council's SACRE denied the school's application for exemption, judging the requirements on the character of collective worship to be appropriate because a third of parents identify as Christian.
Just under half the SACRE's members are appointed as representatives of religious denominations.
The SACRE also said it was unaware of any of other decisions by councils to allow nonreligious schools an exemption from collective worship, and that any such approval could only be granted by parliament. Although uncommon, schools have tried to challenge aspects of the law regarding collective worship in the past, including the requirements for such provision to be of a specifically Christian character.
NSS: "A pressing need to end our outdated laws on collective worship in schools"
Jack Rivington, Campaigns Officer at the NSS said: "This case highlights the pressing need to end our outdated laws on collective worship in schools.
"By compelling schools to hold acts of religious worship the UK is failing to uphold the rights of freedom of religion or belief for our children. Compelled Christian worship is totally inappropriate in a pluralistic society made up of peoples of many different faiths and none.
"We call on the government to urgently scrap the laws on collective worship to ensure the human rights of all citizens are respected."
Image: Jandrie Lombard, Shutterstock
