MSPs question Scottish Government on ‘widespread Christian worship’ in schools

Joe Higgins, Policy and Campaigns Officer

September 18, 2025

Questions from MSPs Emma Roddick and Elena Whitham highlight the ‘hierarchy of beliefs’ created by new opt out rights for religious worship in schools. The Scottish Government also responded to our new report, Preaching is not Teaching, which finds that non-religious pupils are still being forced to worship in school.

Compulsory religious worship highlighted at Holyrood question time

Religious observance (RO) in schools was a hot topic at this week’s Education Questions in Holyrood (18 September). The SNP’s Emma Roddick asked Education Secretary Jenny GIlruth why her new Religious Observance Bill gives school pupils the independent right to opt-in to religious worship, but no right to opt-out without their parent’s permission. The Highlands MSP said there was a ‘fundamental inequality’ baked into the proposals. She also raised her concern that by taking the views of religious pupils more seriously than their non-religious classmates, the new opt-out process will create a ‘hierarchy of beliefs’ in schools.

Meanwhile, Elena Whitham MSP brought up Humanist Society Scotland’s new report on religious observance, Preaching is not Teaching. The report shows that children are being forced to take part in worship and prayers at school, even when it goes against their own beliefs. The SNP MSP expressed concern at the case of one pupil who was pressured to pray out loud and reprimanded when she chose to stay quiet, leaving her distressed and ashamed. Whitham also questioned why schools were still permitted to deliver an “exclusively Christian” RO programme in a secular and religiously diverse country like Scotland.

Read Preaching is not Teaching, our report on religious observance

In response, the Education Secretary welcomed the Humanist Society Scotland report and said her officials were looking at how religious observance could be delivered inclusively in all schools. However, she failed to commit to giving pupils the independent choice to opt out.

The Religious Observance Bill: No choice for non-religious pupils

Schools in Scotland are required to provide religious observance (worship) on a “sufficiently frequent” basis. In non-denominational schools this is mostly delivered by Church of Scotland clergy. Parents and guardians have always had the right to withdraw their children from RO, but pupils cannot opt themselves out.

Under a new Bill, pupils would be given a new independent right to opt in to RO if their parent tries to withdraw them. But non-religious pupils who don’t feel comfortable taking part will still need their parent’s permission to opt out. Humanist Society Scotland has warned Ministers that, in attempting to find a “middle ground”, schools will be required to enforce one set of rules for pupils who believe in a God and another for those who don’t. If passed by MSPs, the Bill will leave the majority of school pupils who don’t hold religious views disempowered, devalued and discriminated against.

The lack of opt-out rights for pupils in Scotland has been repeatedly criticised by human rights organisations. The children’s rights charity Together, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and the Scottish Human Rights Commission have all called on the government to fulfil the recommendation of the UN children’s committee and give pupils the independent right to withdraw from RO. In its evidence to the equalities committee, Humanist Society Scotland told MSPs that the proposed changes would not comply with children’s right to be heard (Article 12) or their right to freedom of thought, religion, or belief (Article 14) under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Humanist Society CEO Fraser Sutherland said:

“Compulsory Christian worship is widespread in non-denominational schools. The Scottish Government knows this, yet is point blank refusing to give young people the choice to opt themselves out. In a bizarre capitulation to the religious establishment, the government’s Bill only removes the need for parental consent when a pupil wants to opt in to worship. It’s no wonder that MSPs are raising questions. After today’s response from the Education Secretary, the majority of school pupils who don’t hold religious beliefs will be left wondering why their rights and beliefs don’t matter.”

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