In the UK, a third of state schools (funded by the taxpayer) are designated as ‘religious schools’. Our set-up is quite unusual compared with other countries.

But because it’s frowned upon in some circles to speak badly of religion, a lot of people don’t realise the very negative effects these schools can have on individuals,  their local communities, or on wider society.

Defenders of faith schools sometimes like to make out that these negative effects are just a matter of opinion. But they’re not. They’re all confirmed, proven facts.

Sometimes defenders say that ‘not all’ faith schools do these things. And that’s true. But plenty do, and it’s no objection to reforming our law to help create a fairer society.

Want a fairer society? Then support reform.

Many people may passively support faith schools because they simply haven’t heard about, or can’t imagine, the direct harms they can have on individuals or society.

But the reality is, if you’re someone who believes in progressive causes and ideals, it’s hard to square that with any kind of support for faith schools. These are schools which undermine social mobility, segregate communities by race, class, and religion, and where discrimination against children in care, discrimination against children with special educational needs, and homophobic teaching and bias in lessons are acute problems,

Armed with the facts

Frequently, people in the UK also don’t realise that the UK system of religious-controlled schools that can turn away local families, or where ‘worship’ is required in school assemblies, is not ‘normal’ almost anywhere else in the world. It’s an anomaly in the democratic world!

Humanists UK is a UK charity campaigning for an education system where all children can learn side by side, regardless of their parents’ beliefs or backgrounds. We advocate for high-quality RE lessons to teach about world religions and humanism, as well as age-appropriate lessons about relationships to help keep children safe from abuse and protect their sexual health.

All our work is made possible by members, and our dedicated Faith Schools Campaigner’s work is funded by donations from parents, teachers, and members of the public. You can join us at humanists.uk/join, or get involved with an ongoing campaign at humanists.uk/action.

We are currently fundraising to keep on our Faith Schools Campaigner in 2024. Please support this work by donating at justgiving.com/page/nofaithschools.

More information

Fact sheet: Six facts about faith schools

Who else do faith schools discriminate against?

Petition: End discriminatory selection in schools

Growing evangelism in state schools

C of E outlines plans to use faith schools to evangelise

C of E schools take hundreds of children to ‘Jesus Died For Me’ concerts

American evangelists peddling creationism and homophobia in Welsh state schools

Help for parents

We produced the following guides for parents navigating a system that is rife with discrimination and hurdles to jump through.

Religion in schools (England)

Religion in Northern Ireland Schools

Download Religion in Schools (Wales)

Download Crefydd mewn Ysgolion (Cymru)