Call for Welsh Government review of school worship following landmark Supreme Court ruling

Emily Price 

Calls have been made for the Welsh Government to launch a review of worship in schools following a landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled that mandatory Christian collective worship in Northern Ireland amounts to indoctrination.

On Wednesday (November 19), the Supreme Court upheld an appeal brought by a pupil – known as JR87 – and her father.

It reinstated an earlier ruling that religious education and collective worship in Northern Ireland breaches human rights because it does not approach the subject in an “objective, critical and pluralist manner”.

The pupil had attended a primary school in Belfast in 2019 when she took part in non-denominational Christian religious education and collective worship as part of the curriculum.

The child’s parents complained to the school that their daughter’s education did not conform with their own religious beliefs.

The pupil’s father later sought judicial review against the Department of Education.

In 2022, the High Court in Belfast ruled that collective worship in schools in Northern Ireland was unlawful.

This decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal, so the family took their case to the Supreme Court.

Today, the UK’s highest court ruled unanimously in favour of the family and dismissed a cross-appeal brought by the department.

Judges concluded that parental withdrawal of a pupil from collective worship would not be a sufficient solution, as it would require students to be pulled out of communal activities such as school assemblies and leave them with little alternative.

The judges also found that such a withdrawal would be stigmatising to students.

‘Error’

Delivering the judgment, Lord Stephens said: “The Court of Appeal was wrong in its application of established principles of ECHR law and should not have departed from the (High Court) judge’s finding that the parents had valid concerns in relation to withdrawing JR87 from religious education and collective worship.

“Furthermore, the Court of Appeal fell into error in making a distinction between indoctrination and the state conveying information or knowledge in a manner which was not objective, critical, and pluralistic.

“The concepts are two sides of the same coin: conveying knowledge in a manner that is not objective, critical, and pluralistic amounts to pursuing the aim of indoctrination.”

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has also previously called for the nations of the UK to allow students under the age of 16 to withdraw from collective worship without the need for parental consent.

Requirement

In view of this, Wales Humanists has called for the Welsh Government to immediately initiate a review of the statutory requirement for collective worship in Welsh schools.

The national charity that advocates for the non-religious in Wales has argued that laws on collective worship go back to 1944, when the country was much less diverse and much more Christian.

They have called for collective worship to be replaced by inclusive assemblies designed to forward all pupils’ “spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development”.

Wales Humanists Coordinator Kathy Riddick said: “The Supreme Court’s decision makes clear that compulsory Christian worship in schools amounts to ‘indoctrination’ and are therefore unlawful.

“Wales must seize this moment to bring its law into the 21st century, making sure that all pupils – religious or non‑religious – are educated in a way that is objective and pluralistic. We urge the Welsh Government to act swiftly.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We note the Supreme Court judgment and that the context is very specific to Northern Ireland and its legislation. We will consider if there are any potential implications for Wales.

“Religion, Values and Ethics is a mandatory element of the Curriculum in Wales but it must be pluralistic in content and teaching and we expect children to learn about a range of religions and beliefs that are held by people in Wales.”