Scottish Religious Observance Bill is a major blow to Children’s rights

In a disastrous move, the Scottish Government’s Religious Observance Bill has passed, which will not allow children to opt themselves out of mandatory religious observance.

Humanists UK agrees with Humanist Society Scotland that this legislation is fundamentally broken: it fails to give pupils an independent right to withdraw from religious worship in schools, despite repeated warnings from children’s rights experts, charities, and human rights bodies that Scotland’s current approach is incompatible with children’s rights.

This Bill flies in the face of a recent Supreme Court ruling that an exclusively Christian religious education and collective worship amounted to ‘indoctrination’.

What is the legislation?

The Bill’s formal title is the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill. The Bill passed its third and final vote at the Scottish Parliament on 17 February by 66 votes to 51, with seven abstentions.

Prior to the Bill passing, a parent had the right to withdraw their child from religious observance and religious education. This Bill changed the process by requiring schools to inform pupils when a parent asks to withdraw them, give pupils a chance to express a view, and, crucially, where the pupil disagrees with the parent, the school must follow the pupil’s wishes.

The new law will make it possible for pupils to opt in to religious observance against their parents’ wishes, but does not create a route for pupils to opt out. Humanists UK is concerned that this could open the door to further coercion and stigmatisation of non-religious pupils who do not want to take part in acts of worship.

Who is against it and why?

Humanists Society Scotland has said they are ‘extremely disappointed that the Scottish Government’s broken religious observance bill has passed.’ They recently published a report on religious observance in schools, which 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. Their Policy and Campaigns Officer Joe Higgins said:

‘[The Scottish] Government is not on the side of children and young people. When challenged by the church establishment, his Ministers fell into line and maintained the right to force school pupils to take part in Christian worship.’

The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland said they ‘cannot support Part 1 of the Bill in its current form’. Part 1 is the section dealing with withdrawal from religious observance and religious education.

The Scottish Human Rights Commission flagged ‘significant concerns’ about the Bill in evidence to Holyrood last year. Specifically about Part 1, they said: ‘The blunt prioritisation of the rights of the parent is maintained in these circumstances. The views of the child are not considered at all.’

Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) similarly warned ahead of the final vote that, as drafted, the Bill still does not guarantee an independent right to withdraw from religious observance and ‘risks embedding a discriminatory approach into law’.

Why does it open the door for court challenges?

In November 2025, the Supreme Court ruled on a case known as JR87 that an exclusively Christian religious education and collective worship were ‘indoctrination’. It also found that withdrawal arrangements were not only insufficient to deal with the issue, but also placed an undue burden on families and risked stigmatising children. While the case concerned Northern Ireland, the judgment has profound implications for collective worship in England, Wales, and Scotland.

Humanists Society Scotland has warned that ‘it won’t be long before a family with non-Christian children uses the courts to secure the rights the Scottish government has failed to offer them: freedom of religion and belief for their children.’

In a small piece of good news, an amendment was voted through which will allow ministers to create an opt-out right for pupils in future without creating new primary legislation. This creates a route for the Scottish Government to enact the changes needed to bring its education policy in line with UN and ECHR guidance. They will be able to do this without the need for another bill.

Karen Wright, Director of Human Rights and Advocacy at Humanists UK, said:

‘Humanist Society Scotland is right – the Supreme Court has made it clear that collective worship in schools can breach children’s rights, even where a parental opt-out exists, especially when withdrawal is difficult in practice or risks stigmatisation. Scotland should act now by guaranteeing an independent right for pupils to withdraw. 

‘Governments across the UK must urgently review collective worship laws in light of JR87 – not just simply update guidance – and move to replace them with inclusive assemblies and teaching that respect every child’s freedom of belief.’