Graphic showing a group of school children answering a question from a teacher in class.

New religious observance bill fails to respect children’s rights

Joe Higgins, Policy and Campaigns Officer

November 14, 2024

This week we received an important update from the Scottish Government on compulsory religious observance in schools. Ministers’ proposals fall far short of what is required to comply with their own landmark children’s rights legislation.

Our My Beliefs, My Choice campaign calls on the Scottish Government to let school pupils independently opt-out of religious worship. The current set-up denies young people this important choice. It also fails to respect their right to be heard and their freedom of religion and belief. Several experts, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, have described the lack of a pupil opt-out as incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

In Scotland, the current requirement for religious observance gives primacy to the Christian faith. It also constrains teachers’ ability to properly include pupils of all faiths and belief systems, particularly given our increasingly secular and religiously diverse society. Up to now, only parents have had the power to withdraw their children from religious worship at school. Pupils have no equivalent right to opt-out themselves, no matter their age, maturity, or personal beliefs.

The recent census found over 60% of school-age children in Scotland now identify as non-religious, with fewer than one in four belonging to either of the historically dominant churches. It’s about time that the secular majority of young people have the choice to opt-out of religious worship.

In January this year, the Scottish Parliament passed a bill to incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law. The new legislation requires devolved public authorities to embed children’s rights into everything they do. Ministers began formally implementing the Act in July. In August we teamed up with our allies at Together Scotland to demand that the government complies with its own law and allows school pupils to independently opt-out of religious worship.

In response, the Education Secretary announced this week that she intends to introduce a new bill on religious worship. This would update existing legislation to include guidance that asks schools to consider pupils’ views on religious observance. However, the Education Secretary has made no clear commitment to introduce an opt-out for young people who wish to independently withdraw from religious worship.

We await more detail on the government’s plans. But we fail to see how the bill will address our concerns. The final decision on attending religious worship would still ultimately rest with parents and teachers. As is the case today, the bill would give young people a voice, but they would remain without a choice. But now the UNCRC breach would be made explicit in the statute book, as opposed to solely in school guidance.

Ministers are asking the public for their views on the proposal in a new consultation. We’ll be making clear that the bill falls far short of what is required. The recent census found over 60% of school-age children in Scotland now identify as non-religious, with fewer than one in four belonging to either of the historically dominant churches. It is about time that the secular majority of young people have the choice to opt-out of religious worship.

Read the Scottish government’s new bill on religious worship

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