NSS: Scotland should repeal religious observance laws

The Scottish Government should repeal laws mandating collective worship in schools, the National Secular Society has said.

Responding to a Scottish Government consultation, the NSS said laws mandating collective worship – known in Scotland as religious observance (RO) – are incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The law in Scotland requires state funded schools to hold "community acts" which promote "the spiritual development of all members of the school's community". Non-denominational schools are "encouraged to draw upon" Christian traditions in RO.

While the law allows parents to withdraw their children from RO, there is no independent right to withdrawal for children, even when they are over 16.

In its response, the NSS noted the Committee overseeing the convention has repeatedly recommended laws mandating RO be repealed, most recently in 2023.

Last summer, the Scottish Government incorporated the CRC into Scots Law, creating a legal duty for public bodies to act in compliance with the convention.

The NSS said the Scottish Government's proposed legislative changes, which would only require parents to give "due weight" to a pupil's views when exercising their right of withdrawal, were "entirely misguided" and "unworkable".

Instead, the Scottish Government should repeal collective worship laws, the NSS said. If collective worship was to remain mandatory, the Scottish Government should introduce an "independent right to withdrawal for all children".

Article 14 of the CRC enshrines a child's independent right to freedom of religion of belief.

The right can only be curtailed by "to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others".

The NSS called on the Scottish Government to "set out explicitly" how curtailing children's Article 14 right was necessary in this respect.

The NSS noted that RO in non-denominational schools is frequently delegated to the Church of Scotland – which reinforces "the widely-held view that non-denominational schools are de facto Protestant" - whereas RO in Catholic schools is explicitly Catholic.

The NSS said this was "splitting communities along Catholic and Protestant lines" and "entrenching sectarian division".

The NSS said it was "impossible to justify" RO laws in light of the 2022 Scottish census, which revealed the majority of Scots are non-religious.

Religious and Moral Education

The NSS also called for Religious and Moral Education (RME), known as Religious Education (RE) in Catholic Schools, to be "broad, balanced and inclusive".

It said the presence of unelected religious representatives on local education committees led to RME/RE being "distorted by religious interests".

It called for RME/RE to be replaced by "a broad and balanced citizenship subject", which would include education about religion and worldviews.

Until such a time, the NSS said pupils must have an independent right to withdrawal from RME/RE.

NSS: 'Religious observance incompatible with children's rights and may exacerbate sectarianism'

National Secular Society spokesperson Alejandro Sanchez said: "Mandatory religious observance in Scottish schools is not only incompatible children's right to freedom of religion or belief, but may also exacerbate sectarianism.

"The Scottish Government's proposed changes are mere lip service to upholding children's rights. Meaningful reform requires the repeal of laws mandating religious observance.

"The Committee on the Rights of the Child have repeatedly made this plain to the Scottish Government. It is high time the Scottish Government abided by these recommendations."

In the media:

Ministers told school religious observance reform must go further (Scottish Legal News)