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.
Polling has found 70% of senior teachers "disagree" or "strongly disagree" with the law mandating worship, and 66% of teachers say their school does not even hold collective worship.
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Collective worship laws are outdated relics of a society unrecognisable from the diverse and pluralistic Britain of today, where citizens hold a wide variety of religious beliefs, and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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Ask them to help end compulsory worship in schools
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Latest updates
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
Ruling: Collective worship and RE in NI schools breach human rights
Posted: Tue, 5 Jul 2022 13:47
Collective worship and Christian-biased religious education in Northern Ireland breach human rights, a high court has ruled.
In a groundbreaking ruling today, the High Court of Northern Ireland found the current arrangements for collective worship and religious education (RE) breach an article in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which provides that the state "must respect the right of parents' religious and philosophical convictions in respect of education and teaching".
The case was brought in 2021 by a father and his seven year old daughter. They were granted leave to seek a judicial review of the arrangements after the girl's family, who are non-religious, discovered her praying late into the night.
This led them to investigate how her school was imposing Christianity on young children through religious assemblies and RE lessons.
They argued that a complete focus on Christianity, to the exclusion of all other faiths and with no meaningful alternative, is an unlawful violation of the human rights of children in NI.
They were represented by human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who has discussed the case at a recent NSS conference and podcast.
The law in NI compels state-funded schools to "include collective worship whether in one or more than one assembly" every day. The right to withdraw children from collective worship is available to parents, but no independent right of withdrawal is available to pupils.
Similar laws exist in England, Scotland and Wales.
RE in NI schools is controlled by religious bodies to a greater extent than anywhere else in the UK, and aims to "develop an awareness, knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the key Christian teachings… and develop an ability to interpret and relate the Bible to life". RE is not thoroughly inspected and is often delivered partly by external evangelical organisations.
The ruling said the court "considers that the unlawfulness it has identified requires a reconsideration of the core curriculum and the impugned legislation" in relation to the teaching of RE and the provision of collective worship.
It said the matter is "currently under review" and that in carrying out a reconsideration and review, the Department of Education and NI Assembly "should ensure that the arrangements for the teaching of RE and CW in Northern Ireland are compliant" with the provisions of the ECHR.
It added the court will "allow the parties to reflect on the judgment and will invite further submissions from counsel before making a final order."
NSS: "NI must now make its schools truly inclusive of all children"
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans congratulated the family and their legal team, saying the ruling was "a significant step forward for more inclusive and pluralistic schools in Northern Ireland".
He said: "Christian privilege has dominated education in Northern Ireland for too long, fuelling its serious problems of segregation and sectarianism. Under this historic ruling today, this cannot continue.
"Northern Ireland must now make its schools truly inclusive of all children and their families, whatever their religion or belief.
"We also hope that other UK governments are watching closely. In light of this ruling, laws imposing collective worship in UK schools look shakier than ever."
Image: davidf, Shutterstock
