New Humanist Society Scotland report finds children forced to pray in school assemblies

A new report released by Humanist Society Scotland (HSS) on religious observance in schools has catalogued children being forced to pray, schools claiming such assemblies are justified as ‘this is a Christian country’, homophobic speaker visits, and parents and children being denied their rights to opt out. Preaching is not Teaching: Insights into religious observance in non-denominational schools gathers testimonies from pupils, parents, and teachers and sets out practical steps to make school life inclusive for all beliefs.

The report tells how children have been told it is ‘disrespectful’ not to pray, and how those pupils who opted out were left with little or no meaningful alternative. Teachers told HSS that guidance on religious observance was being ‘completely ignored.’ Preaching is not Teaching also highlights how parents are not always informed when religious observance is due to take place or told about their withdrawal rights. Some parents told of how their opt-out requests met with resistance from their child’s school.

Testimony highlighted in the report includes:

‘When I raised my concerns with the headteacher, they replied: “I won’t apologise, this is a Christian country”.’ Parent

‘The government guidance on RO has been completely ignored in the school I work in with pupils, some members of staff and parents believing they have to go to church each Christmas because it’s “the law”.’ Teacher

‘My son’s primary school “inadvertently” allowed a visit by a homophobic religious outreach project with no prior warning to parents.’ Parent

‘I don’t like to go to the church with my school because it feels like I’m being forced to paint my room a colour I don’t like.’ Pupil

‘We became aware that my daughter was being forced to pray because she told us how uncomfortable she felt. She went along with it the first time she was told to do it but the second time she just sat quietly. She was told by an adult very sharply that she was being disrespectful if she didn’t go along with it. She was upset and embarrassed by this.’ Parent

‘The last Easter service included a foot-washing activity that I found uncomfortable and inappropriate. Other teachers also commented that the religious elements were excessive.’ Teacher

‘I don’t think many people even know that they are allowed not to go if their parents tell the school.’ Pupil

Religious observance in Scottish schools is set by the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, which places a duty on schools to provide regular religious observance, and gives parents the right to withdraw their child. The Scottish Government is currently attempting to pass a bill on religious observance that does not offer pupils the right to opt themselves out. Although Scottish Government guidance allows for inclusive religious observance, called ‘Time for Reflection’, Preaching is not Teaching found how this model is frequently not being delivered in schools. It also found that communication about religious observance and the rights of parents and young people is often inadequate. The report recommends adopting a non-confessional ‘Time for Reflection’ model and guaranteeing meaningful alternatives, providing clear information for families and extending opt-out rights to competent young people, and conducting a school inspectorate review of the process as a whole.

Elsewhere in the UK, Humanists UK campaigns to end the legal requirement for daily collective worship and to replace it with inclusive, educational assemblies suitable for all pupils. Most recently Humanists UK supported a Private Members’ Bill by the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) Baroness Burt of Solihull to replace mandatory daily Christian collective worship in schools in England without a religious character with inclusive assemblies. Disappointingly, the Government has refused to support the Bill.

Commenting on the report, Humanists UK’s Education Campaigns Manager Lewis Young said:

‘This new report from Humanist Society Scotland is timely and important. It shows that, even with guidance in place, too many pupils still face pressure to take part in religious worship and too few are offered meaningful alternatives. Its recommendations – especially on Time for Reflection, proper information for families, and extending opt-out rights – point the way to a fairer, more inclusive approach.

‘It is time for both the governments of the UK to listen to pupils, parents, and teachers and replace this outdated requirement for religious collective worship or observance with inclusive assemblies that all pupils can participate in.’