During the recent Parity of Esteem conference, the Humanist Society Scotland took the opportunity to record the thoughts of the main speakers for those unable to attend..

In April 2012, the Humanist Society Scotland supported a one-day national conference, organised by Mackay Hannah, called Affording parity of esteem: redressing the balance in moral, philosophical and religious education
seeking to provide a platform to all senior-level stakeholders across Scotland’s education system to discuss the future of moral, philosophical and religious guidance in schools.

The programme explored how teachers, pupils and parents can get the balance right for young people of all faiths and none and featured discussions around the right to religious observance and the right to opt out; the role and potential of school assemblies; and the benefits of including philosophy teaching within any religious and moral education

During the event, HSS took the opportunity to ask the speakers what parity of esteem means to them.

What is Parity of Esteem? from Humanist Society Scotland on Vimeo.

Other videos in this series look at:

• What makes for a great school assembly
• A parent’s experience with religious teaching in their child’s school
• A pupil’s experience trying to opt-out of religious observance
• The Norwegian humanist campaign to protect secular education
• Whether or not current guidelines meet the needs of Scottish pupils
• Maximising the potential of religious observance
• The power of teaching philosophy in schools

You can view the videos via the links below.

Please contact the Education team for more information about HSS’s work to support non-religious viewpoints in schools.