‘Children are not stakeholders to be appeased’: Education Secretary criticised for bowing to church pressure over school worship bill

Joe Higgins, Policy and Campaigns Officer

October 28, 2025

Humanist Society Scotland has called out comments made by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills at the Holyrood equalities committee today. Jenny Gilruth MSP was giving evidence on the government’s Religious Observance Bill. The proposals fail to protect non-religious children and will create a hierarchy of belief in schools.

The Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth appeared to dismiss children’s right to their own beliefs in her evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice committee this morning (28 October). Ms Gilruth was taking questions on a new Bill that would reform opt out rights for religious worship in schools.

Schools in Scotland are required to provide acts of religious observance (RO) with the right to withdraw extended to parents. Pupils have no equivalent right to opt themselves out. The UN has criticised the status-quo for breaching children’s right to be heard and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Our new report, Preaching is not Teaching, also found that RO is exclusively Christian and worship-based in many non-denominational schools.

Humanist Society Scotland has previously warned that the Religious Observance Bill risks “creating a hierarchy of beliefs” in schools. Religious young people or pupils who are keen to explore their faith will be given a new independent right to opt in to religious worship against their parents’ wishes. But humanist young people will have no equivalent right to opt out where their views differ from their parents. Children should have the final say on religious worship no matter their beliefs.

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During today’s evidence session, Ms Gilruth was asked why her government had ignored the UN committee recommendation to allow school pupils in Scotland to opt themselves out of collective worship. In response, the Cabinet Secretary remarked that “We could have gone down that road. We might have appeased some stakeholders. We wouldn’t have appeased them all.”

In response, our CEO Fraser Sutherland had this to say:

“In Scotland today, most young people have no religion, yet many are still compelled to sit through Christian worship. How can the Cabinet Secretary think it is acceptable to describe protecting pupils’ right to their own beliefs as ‘appeasing stakeholders’? When a Minister frames basic compliance with children’s rights as merely keeping some groups happy, it reduces freedom of belief and the right to be heard to a lobbying contest. One clearly the well funded religious establishment is winning given pupils’ voices have been locked out of this important debate from the very start. Under the UNCRC those are not favours to be traded; they are rights that belong to every child.

“Scotland can do better. We’re calling on the Government to amend the Bill so every pupil has an independent right to withdraw from religious worship, with clear guidance and inclusive and educational alternatives for all. If ministers are too feart to stand up to the churches lobbying and protect children’s rights then perhaps the MSPs on the committee will have to do the job for them. Children are not ‘stakeholders’ to be appeased; they are rights-holders whose freedoms Ministers are duty-bound to uphold.”