Peers push UK Government to make vital reforms to RE and collective worship

The repeal of collective worship laws and the reform of religious education (RE) to be inclusive of non-religious worldviews were debated by Members of the House of Lords last night. Both were amendments proposed by All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) Vice Chair Baroness Burt, to the UK Government’s flagship Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. These are just some of Humanists UK’s education campaigns that have been discussed during the course of this Bill.

Collective worship 

Amendment 465 put forward by Baroness Burt sought to end the requirement for all state schools of no religious character to carry out worship of a mainly Christian nature and instead hold assemblies inclusive of all students. Baroness Burt has previously introduced two Private Members’ Bills on this. 

Speaking to her amendment, Baroness Burt stressed that her amendment was not about stopping faith schools from holding collective worship, nor about banning ‘prayers, Christmas carols, or any religious holidays’. She said:

‘This amendment is about freedom of choice and respecting the diversity of our society. It cannot be justified, when in the recent census over a third of the population in England and Wales had no religion, rising to over half of those in their 20s, that when non-religious parents send their children to a non-religious school, the school is still legally obliged to perform Christian worship. When the alternative is to pull children out of lessons or assemblies and leave them sitting in classrooms or corridors by themselves, this is not a real choice.’

Green Party peer and APPHG member Baroness Bennett spoke in favour of the amendment, describing it as a ‘20th-century arrangement for the 21st century, which, as others have said, simply does not fit our society any more.’ Baroness Burt’s amendment was also supported by APPHG members Baroness Thornton and Baroness Whitaker.

The amendment was not without its detractors. Describing the proposal as creating ‘humanist assemblies’, Democratic Unionist Party peer Lord Weir argued that removing acts of collective worship would in some way force religious parents towards faith schools and ‘create a situation that makes integration less likely, albeit perhaps in a relatively small fashion’. Conservative peer Lord Jackson called the amendment an ‘imposition of humanist beliefs’ and argued that it was ‘impossible to make moral judgments without [religious] beliefs’. 

Current law and government guidance discriminate in favour of religion in requiring daily acts of ‘collective worship’ in schools, and in favour of Christianity in requiring that for schools without a religious character, the majority of these acts of collective worship should be ‘of a broadly Christian character’.

Religious Education

Baroness Burt’s other amendment, number 471, sought to make sure non-religious worldviews such as humanism were taught alongside other major world religions in RE. In her speech, Baroness Burt made a passionate case for humanism, telling peers that it was ‘vital that children and young people learn about non-religious belief systems alongside the major religions’. 

Speaking against the amendment, Lord Weir argued the RE curriculum was already reflective of non-religious views, and that anyone, whether they are religious or not, could hold non-religious views. He then went on to state that his belief that Manchester United would win the Premiership again could amount to a non-religious belief. 

Despite a 2015 High Court ruling that said non-religious worldviews like humanism should be given ‘equal respect’ in RE syllabuses, a 2024 Ofsted deep dive into RE found that the curriculum lacked substance and there was a ‘profound misconception’ among teachers on how to teach non-religious worldviews. Humanists UK has called for a reform of RE to be inclusive of non-religious worldviews and be brought into the national curriculum as part of the ongoing curriculum and assessment review. 

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

‘We are pleased to see peers raising these important issues, and thank Baroness Burt for her continued championing of the inclusion of humanism in RE and for an inclusive approach to school assemblies. 

‘While some of the comments made by other peers were disappointing, in particular around what constitutes a ‘non-religious worldview, I’d argue that they are a perfect example of why religious education needs to be fully inclusive of non-religious worldviews such as humanism.’