Tags: Collective Worship
Schools should be liberated from the compulsion of worship
Posted: Thu, 16 Sep 2021 by Stephen Evans
As a bill to reform collective worship progresses in parliament, Stephen Evans argues that the time has come for lawmakers to recognise that laws mandating worship have no place in modern Britain. Read More »
Schools aren’t there to save the church
Posted: Thu, 22 Jul 2021 by Stephen Evans
The Church of England's new evangelical missional strategy should lead us to question its entitlement to proselytise in schools, argues Stephen Evans. Read More »
Mandated worship can never be inclusive
Posted: Wed, 19 May 2021 by Alastair Lichten
Church of England guidance which aims to promote an 'inclusive' form of collective worship in schools misses the point and highlights the need to stop imposing religion on children, says Alastair Lichten. Read More »
Ending compulsory worship in schools should be next on the agenda for Wales
Posted: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 by Alastair Lichten
Following major curriculum reforms in Wales, Alastair Lichten argues that the Senedd should now turn its attention to ending the collective worship requirement in schools. Read More »
Most Brits don’t pray. It’s time for our institutions to stop imposing worship
Posted: Tue, 03 Mar 2020 by Megan Manson
As figures show most people in Britain never pray, Megan Manson says institutionalised prayer has no place in our parliament, councils, schools or public ceremonies. Read More »
Promote religious freedom in schools: abolish the worship requirement
Posted: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 by Stephen Evans
A private member's bill to replace compulsory worship with inclusive assemblies should prompt the government to reform the archaic collective worship law, says Stephen Evans. Read More »
The 1944 Education Act was a landmark law – but let’s reconsider the privileges it granted to religion
Posted: Wed, 18 Dec 2019 by Keith Sharpe
Three-quarters of a century ago an enduring piece of legislation secured free education for all – but gave churches substantial control over schools in return. Keith Sharpe says this settlement needs updating. Read More »
The requirement to hold collective worship in schools is crumbling and not worth saving
Posted: Thu, 05 Dec 2019 by Alastair Lichten
After two parents forced a school trust to provide an alternative to religious assemblies for their children, Alastair Lichten says the law which requires schools to hold acts of worship needs to change. Read More »
Election 2019: pledges that should be in the parties’ manifestos
Posted: Tue, 05 Nov 2019 by Stephen Evans
As the UK's political parties consider their manifestos for the upcoming election, Stephen Evans outlines a series of secularist pledges they should include to advance freedom, fairness and equal citizenship. Read More »
The government must respond to pressure to end compulsory school worship
Posted: Mon, 05 Aug 2019 by Alastair Lichten
As opposition to compulsory worship gathers and its defenders grow increasingly out of touch, Alastair Lichten says ministers should reconsider the law and its implementation. Read More »
Students should be free to excuse themselves from worship
Posted: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 by Stephen Evans
After two students pushed the Welsh government for a response to a petition to remove schools' obligation to hold acts of worship, Stephen Evans says pupils should be free to opt out of religious practices in schools. Read More »
My children’s school has become Christian by default
Posted: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 by Lee Harris
Lee Harris didn't choose a faith school for his children. But when he challenged evangelism at his local school, he learnt that community school status doesn't necessarily prevent religion from being imposed on children. Read More »
Case study: Difficulty exercising the right to withdraw from collective worship
Posted: Wed, 03 Jan 2018 by A Pupil
Thanks to campaigning by the NSS, sixth-formers have the right to withdraw themselves from collective worship. But faith schools often make this nigh-on-impossible, as this pupil's story from one academy shows.
My sixth form holds three assemblies a week based... Read More »
Food for thought! Imposing worship in Australian schools
Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 by A Parent
Blinkers go on when the topic is religion. So one parent in a Queensland school thought she would use food to explain the impact of the school's version of 'inclusiveness', which involves telling them her child can go somewhere else while the prayer is being... Read More »
Church and State united in denying religious freedom to young people
Posted: Tue, 05 Jul 2016 by Keith Porteous Wood
NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood writes on the union between church and state that is denying freedom of religion to young people – in defiance of the United Nations and human rights.
The UN recently recommended that the UK "repeal legal provisions... Read More »
The surprising origin of Collective Worship in schools
Posted: Thu, 10 Mar 2016 by Ed Moore
Collective worship has its history in a murky compromise between politicians and the church dating back to the Second World War – and it is long since time the arcane requirement was removed, writes Ed Moore.
There is a growing consensus among educators,... Read More »
God “is the man who saves people” – a parent discovers what Religious Observance in school has taught their child
Posted: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 by A Parent
A parent writes of their shock at discovering Religious Observance in the non-denominational Scottish school attended by their daughter, and gives their perspective on the problems caused by archaic Religious Observance rules in Scottish schools.
Towards the... Read More »
A parent’s perspective: collective worship and evangelism in schools
Posted: Thu, 17 Sep 2015 by A Parent
Even where parents have the option of a community school, securing a secular education can be difficult. One parent offers their perspective on negotiating appropriate boundaries which respect children's rights to form their own beliefs.
My support for secular... Read More »
Parent's perspective: The Collective Worship dilemma
Posted: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 by A Parent
One parent speaks out about the damaging impact of excluding her young child from mandatory collective worship in school, and how withdrawal isn't really an option at all.
My four year old son has just started primary school. Starting school was a very exciting... Read More »
Sixth formers: You have the right to withdraw!
Posted: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 by Stephen Evans
Sixth form pupils can excuse themselves from acts of worship – but it appears some schools aren't so keen on recognising their students' rights to religious freedom.
Sixth form pupils over the age of sixteen have, since 2006, enjoyed the right to withdrawal... Read More »
A parent’s perspective: a review of the ‘collective worship’ requirement is long overdue
Posted: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 by Alison Fenwick
As a parent of a 6 year old daughter, Alison Fenwick argues that the obligation on schools to 'worship' impinges on her parental right to raise her child in accordance with her own beliefs.
I first became concerned about the status of the Christian religion... Read More »
Why the time has come to end compulsory worship in schools
Posted: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 by Stephen Evans
With the launch of a new petition calling on political parties to make the removal of the collective worship requirement part of their education policy, NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans explains why the time has come to relieve schools of the obligation... Read More »
Secular petitions highlight the sectarian issues in Scottish education
Posted: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 by Alistair McBay
The last few weeks have seen the topic of religious observance (RO) in schools hit the headlines in Scotland. Two petitions have been lodged, one at central government and one at local government level.
Secular Scotland, a group of Glasgow secularists, launched... Read More »
