Humanist Society teams up with children’s rights charity to call for an end to compulsory religious observance in schools
August 13, 2024
As children head back to school across Scotland this week, we have teamed up with Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) to demand action on religious observance from Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth.
Back to school, same old rules
Humanist Society Scotland has long called for an end to compulsory religious worship in Scotland’s state schools. As an organisation working to uphold the rights of children and young people in Scotland, this is a key cause for us.
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religious observance. But no equivalent right is afforded to pupils themselves, irrespective of their age or competency. The present rules have been criticised by the UN for failing to promote children’s rights to freedom of thought. Recent census figures show that the school-age population is now majority (60%) non-religious for the first time.
That’s why we’ve written to Jenny Gilruth MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, along with our allies at Together. We’ve asked for urgent assurance that the Scottish government intends to implement pupils’ right to opt out of religious observance as soon as possible.
The case for children’s right to opt out
Together has recommended pupil rights to opt out of religious observance in five of its last six State of Children’s Rights reports.
What’s more, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has repeatedly called for the repeal of compulsory collective worship in state-funded schools in Scotland. And in 2020, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland recommended that the Scottish Government conduct a review of religious observance. They stated that this review should consider whether religious observance should be offered at all in non-denominational schools.
In December-January 2023-24, the Scottish parliament passed an act to incorporate the UNCRC into Scottish law. This means that all laws in Scotland now have to follow United Nations regulations on children’s rights. This includes the right to opt out of religious observance.
A lack of progress
Our members and supporters have grown increasingly concerned at the lack of progress from Scottish Government on this issue. In May this year, Elena Whitham MSP lodged a question at Holyrood about progress on implementing UNCRC guidance. She received a reply from Jenny Gilruth MSP which did not offer any commitment to progress.
That’s why we’ve written, asking for reassurance that the Scottish government will implement legal changes to ensure children’s rights are respected.
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