Welsh Government must urgently review collective worship laws in light of Supreme Court ruling

Today, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court has found that mandatory Christian collective worship in schools in Northern Ireland amounts to indoctrination. In view of this, Wales Humanists has said that the Welsh Government needs to immediately initiate a review of the statutory requirement for collective worship in Welsh schools. Wales has identical requirements around collective worship to Northern Ireland.

The judgment found that the collective worship laws are not sufficiently ‘objective, critical, and pluralistic’. Parental withdrawal is not a sufficient solution to this, as it requires students to be pulled out of important communal activities such as other parts of school assemblies and often left with little alternative. The judges also found that it is stigmatising to such students. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has also previously called for the nations of the UK to allow students under the age of 16 to withdraw from collective worship without the need for parental consent.

The laws on collective worship go back to 1944, when the country was much less diverse and much more Christian. Nowadays there are more non-religious people in Wales than Christians; schools must reflect this. Collective worship should be replaced by inclusive assemblies designed to forward all pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development.

Wales Humanists Coordinator Kathy Riddick commented:

‘The Supreme Court’s decision makes clear that compulsory Christian worship in schools amounts to “indoctrination” and are therefore unlawful. Wales must seize this moment to bring its law into the 21st century, making sure that all pupils – religious or non‑religious – are educated in a way that is objective and pluralistic. We urge the Welsh Government to act swiftly.’