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Over a year on from the landmark High Court judgment which ruled that it was ‘unlawful’ for Kent County Council to refuse humanist representation on its religious education (RE) committee, there are now 125 humanist representatives with full membership on these bodies across England and Wales.
A groundbreaking success for humanism in education
This is an increase of 42 from May 2023 when Mr Justice Constable ruled that it was ‘clearly discriminatory’ for the Council to exclude someone from group A of a Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) ‘solely by reference to the fact that their belief… is a non-religious, rather than a religious, belief’. There are 173 SACREs in total, meaning the number with full membership has gone from less than half to almost three-quarters in a year. Numbers were rising sharply even before the judgment – a decade ago, only around one in seven had full membership.
Since 2015, Religious Education (RE) (outside of faith schools) has been required to be equally inclusive of humanism as it is of the major world religions. For many maintained schools, RE syllabuses are agreed at a local level by each SACRE. The Bowen v Kent ruling was important because it was the first to say that not only must syllabuses not exclude humanism, but also that the local committees overseeing the subject cannot exclude humanists.
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The landmark High Court judgment
Chair of Kent Humanists, Steve Bowen, applied to become a member of group A of Kent SACRE in August 2021. After much delay, Kent County Council refused permission in June 2022, claiming that to admit him would be unlawful – and Steve decided to judicially review that decision with support from Humanists UK. In May 2023, the High Court ruled that Kent County Council acted unlawfully in rejecting Steve’s membership.
Following that judgment, guidance was issued by the Department for Education (DfE) that stated ‘applications for Group A membership from persons who represent holders of non-religious beliefs should be considered in the same way as applications from those who represent holders of religious beliefs’. Since then Humanists UK has been supporting humanists to gain full membership of their local SACRE and help shape RE syllabuses so they are inclusive of humanism. This is especially important following a recent Ofsted report into RE which found that curriculums typically have little in them about humanism, and do not reflect pupils’ experiences of living in a complex world.
Humanists UK’s Director of Understanding Humanism Luke Donellan said:
‘We are delighted by the progress that has been made since Steve Bowen’s High Court win, to make sure humanists are taking up their rightful place on their local RE committees. These are important bodies that advise local authorities responsible for RE syllabuses and support schools with the delivery of the subject. As such it is vital that humanism is given equal treatment to major world religions when syllabuses are being drawn up.
‘There’s still work to do to make sure every SACRE has a humanist representative with full voting rights, and we are continuing to work with volunteers and local SACREs to achieve full humanist representation across all 173. If you would be interested in volunteering on your local SACRE and supporting us with this important work, we’d love to hear from you.’
Get quality lessons on humanism into the classroom
A balanced, objective approach to religion and belief education is essential. Humanists on their local RE committees can make sure this happens, and that high-quality lessons about humanism is an essential part of any child’s education. Join your local RE committee
How humanists help councils offer better RE: interview with Greta Farian from Kingston SACRE
An essential part of our work for greater inclusivity in schools is to make sure humanists are represented in local Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs) in England and in Wales, the bodies responsible for overseeing the local RE syllabus. We caught up with Greta Farian, humanist rep for Kingston upon Thames SACRE to find out more about the humanist values that underpin her work, as well as reasons you should consider becoming a rep too. Read Greta’s interview
Notes
For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Director of Public Affairs and Policy Richy Thompson at press@humanists.uk or phone 0203 675 0959.
Read more about our work on religious education.
Read more about volunteering to represent humanism on a SACRE.
Read about the 2023 Bowen v Kent County Council judgment.
Read more about Understanding Humanism.
Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 120,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.