The UK Supreme Court rules that Northern Ireland’s Christian-focused religious education in schools violates human rights standards, deeming it unlawful.
In a historic result, the court upheld an appeal filed by a Belfast school student and her father, upholding a previous court decision that teaching RE and corporate worship violates human rights because it does not handle the subject in an "objective manner."
In 2019, the student, JR87, attended a controlled primary school in Belfast and participated in non-denominational Christian religious education as part of the curriculum.
Concerned that their daughter's education did not seem to align with their own religious and philosophical beliefs, her parents submitted a letter to the school.
In response, the school affirmed that it adhered to the core curriculum and that its religious instruction and group worship were "Bible-based."
Their attorneys claimed that the school's religious instruction and group worship violated their human rights, which mandate that the government
"respect the right of parents to ensure such education is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions."
In 2022, the Belfast High Court ruled in favor of the family, ruling that Christian RE instruction and group worship in Northern Ireland's schools are illegal.
The family appealed to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal overturned this.
The UK's highest court dismissed the department's cross-appeal and granted the appeal filed by JR87 and G in a unanimous ruling on Wednesday.
DUP deputy leader and former education minister in Northern Ireland Michelle McIlveen described the court ruling as “deeply disappointing”.
She said:
“While we respect the court and the legal process, this ruling will concern many parents, governors, teachers and faith communities across Northern Ireland for whom the ethos is so important.
For generations, Christian values have shaped the moral character of our school system.
Through assemblies, school activities and the everyday life of the classroom, those values have helped form young people with integrity and respect for others.
That heritage is not something we apologise for, nor is it something we are prepared to see diminished.”
Humanists UK has called on the UK Government to “urgently review” the RE and collective worship laws in state schools in England.
Education campaigns manager Lewis Young said:
“Today’s judgment makes it crystal clear that you cannot respect families’ human rights simply by telling them they can opt out of a system that is, at its core, religiously one-sided.
In light of this ruling, the position on faith-based RE and collective worship has become impossible to justify.
The UK Government must urgently review the RE and collective worship laws in England and move to replace them with inclusive assemblies and teaching that respect every child’s freedom of belief.”
What changes to the RE syllabus does the Supreme Court judgment require?
The RE curriculum must be objective, critical, and pluralistic, meaning it can not convert or educate scholars with simply Christian training. The syllabus must incorporate a balanced representation of colorful religious andnon-religious beliefs, moving beyond its current heavy Christian emphasis with only minimum content of other world faiths.
The court ruled that the right of maternal pullout from shaft or collaborative deification is n't a sufficient safeguard against indoctrination or lack of pluralism within the class. The judgment requires that tutoring must admire the freedom of study, heart, and religion of all pupils, reflecting different worldviews in an inclusive manner.
The current core syllabus, written generally by Christian church representatives, must be reformed to insure children admit education rather than evangelism or proselytism.