MSPs voice support for pupil opt-out as Holyrood presses ahead with flawed Religious Observance Bill

November 27, 2025

The Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill has passed a first-stage vote in the Scottish Parliament. We welcome MSPs’ decision to agree to the general principles of the Bill. But there’s still crucial work to do to persuade Holyrood that school pupils deserve an independent right to opt out of religious worship.

What happened this week?

On Tuesday (25 November), the Stage 1 debate on the ‘Religious Observance Bill’ was held in the Scottish Parliament. MSPs later voted to allow the proposals to proceed to the next phase of the legislative process.

The Bill seeks to give young people a new independent right to opt in to religious observance (RO) if their parent tries to remove them. But pupils who don’t wish to take part in religious worship will have no equivalent right to opt themselves out, despite repeated calls from the United Nations and the Scottish Children’s Commissioner. An opinion poll published this week also found that two-thirds of Scots support letting pupils decide for themselves whether to take part in RO.

Cross-party support for pupils’ right to decide

During the debate, MSPs from the Liberal Democrats, Greens and SNP all urged the Scottish Government to be bolder and allow young people to opt in or out of religious observance.

Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton spoke of his deep-rooted commitment to fighting for children’s rights, informed by his previous roles as a youth worker and convener of Together Scotland. The Edinburgh MSP remarked that “we need to allow for children themselves to withdraw from religious observance”, pointing to the repeated recommendations of the UN Children’s committee.

“We have legislation that incorporates the UNCRC into Scots law, yet concluding observation after concluding observation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is the guarantor of that convention, has said that Scotland is out of step with the intent of the convention on these issues.” – Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Scottish Liberal Democrats Leader

The SNP’s Elena Whitham recounted her own experience being withdrawn from RO as a child in a catholic school. She later chose to opt her own children out. As a humanist, Elena was adamant that her children should have the right to challenge her as “individuals capable of forming and expressing their own beliefs”.

The Ayrshire MSP offered her cautious support for the Bill. However, she pointed to the powerful case made by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, the National Secular Society and our charity that children who wish to withdraw from RO must be given that reciprocal, independent right. She expressed concern that this “fundamental asymmetry” risks creating a hierarchy of rights that fails to respect children’s right to their own beliefs.

WRITE TO YOUR MSP ABOUT ENDING COMPULSORY WORSHIP IN SCHOOLS

Green MSP Maggie Chapman declared she would bring forward an amendment to allow pupils to independently withdraw from religious observance. In her contribution, Maggie pointed out that “religious observance (acts of worship), especially when one faith is prioritised over another, should have no place in state schools”. Maggie also highlighted that “forced observance is incompatible with Article 14 of the UNCRC, which says ‘I have the right to have my own thoughts and beliefs, and to choose my religion’”. This follows concerning reports of pupils feeling compelled to pray against their own beliefs.

Maggie also took aim at the Scottish Government’s claim that RO in schools is inclusive, objective and pluralist. She pointed out that “it actually has no way of knowing this” due to a lack of evidence.

What happens next?

MSPs now have the opportunity to propose amendments (changes) to the Bill. These will be debated and voted on by the equalities committee on 16 December. This is known as ‘Stage 2’ of the Bill process. We urge the committee to support an amendment that gives all young people an independent, UNCRC-compliant right to withdraw from religious observance.

Do you stand with the overwhelming majority of Scots who support a pupils’ right to decide on religious observance? If you do, please consider contacting your MSPs on this important children’s rights issue. Our politicians need to hear loud and clear that compulsory worship has no place in Scotland’s schools. With our template letter (link below), it only takes a few clicks!