We are asking people to let us know why scrapping the law on collective worship should be included in the government’s new Freedom Bill, and we’ll use some quotes in our parliamentary briefing for MPs.
The government has finally published its Freedom Bill, which is meant to get rid of bad, restrictive laws and to restore liberties. There is, however, a rather conspicuous omission from the ‘Protection of Freedoms Bill’ – the law on compulsory collective worship in English schools.
In a press release (11/02/11) celebrating the publication of the Freedom Bill, the Liberal Democrats state that the Bill ‘also drew on views put forward by the public through the radical Your Freedom website set up after the coalition government came to power.’
As we reported back in July 2010, on the very first day the ‘Your Freedom’ website was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, a suggestion to repeal the law requiring compulsory collective worship in UK schools became the most popular idea suggested.
In fact, under the civil liberties section of the ‘Your Freedom’ website, where people were able to make suggestions of laws which they wanted to see repealed and also to comment on the suggestions of other participants, scrapping the law on collective worship in schools became the most rated idea within an hour of being submitted.
Yet, there is not even a hint of a mention of this law in the new Freedom Bill! The law requiring worship in schools clearly impinges on freedom, is discriminatory, unnecessary and should be one of the first restrictive laws to be scrapped.
We are going to brief all MPs about why compulsory collective worship is an outdated, restrictive and rights-infringing law that should be scrapped through the Protection of Freedoms Bill – see below for some more convincing reasons why! But we need your help. In that briefing, we want to include comments from ordinary people (we’ll anonymise them) about why the law requiring all schools to hold a daily act of collective worship is a bad law that restricts freedom and liberties.
How to tell us what you think!
Tweet us @BHANews – use #freedombill and tell all your friends!
Comment on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/humanism
Email naomi@humanists.uk with #freedombill in the subject (we may re-tweet suggestions)
You can also use our specially set-up facility to email your MP about collective worship.
Thanks!
What is the law on worship?
See our website for detailed information about the law on worship in schools.
In England all state maintained schools are legally required to provide daily collective worship for all their pupils. In community schools the majority of the acts of daily collective worship that are provided in a given term are legally required to be of a ‘wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character’.
In ‘faith schools’ the act of worship is provided in accordance with the school’s trust deed or the tenets and practices of the religion or religious denomination of the school.
Just some reasons to scrap law on collective worship:
It’s really unpopular: teachers, parents and pupils themselves have repeatedly opposed this legal requirement.
It infringes on young peoples’ rights to freedom of belief by forcing them to pray or worship in other ways.
Scrapping the law would reduce bureaucracy in schools and unnecessary obligations on hard-pressed teachers.
The law impedes schools’ ability to provide good inclusive assemblies.
The parental right of withdrawal is not a satisfactory solution – most pupils cannot opt themselves out.
Teachers are often put in an invidious position, having to lead acts of worship which may not reflect their own beliefs.
The removal of the compulsory nature of collective worship would not prevent faith schools from holding assemblies which reflect their religious character.
Scrapping the law would simply mean that schools could decide for themselves what kind of assembly is best for their pupils.