Peers slam attempt to impose ‘humanist assemblies’ on schools

Peers have warned that forcing humanism on schools would undermine Britain’s Christian heritage.

During the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill’s Committee Stage in the House of Lords, Peers debated amendments to scrap Christian assemblies in non-faith schools and require Religious Education to teach about “non-religious beliefs” such as humanism.

Currently, state-funded schools in England and Wales must conduct acts of collective worship that are “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. In England, RE must be “in the main Christian”. In both cases, parents have the right of withdrawal.

‘Two-tier system’

Lord Jackson of Peterborough stated: “It is not possible to understand British society and culture without regard for the religious beliefs that have shaped its literature, music, art, history and institutions. The exclusion of religious belief from a social and cultural education in assemblies is illogical and will restrict pupils’ understanding.

“The assumption that it is possible to provide an assembly ‘directed towards furthering the spiritual, moral education of the pupils’, without regard to belief, is illogical. In effect, these new assemblies would promote humanist beliefs and provide pupils with a highly partial account of spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

“Currently, all parents have the right to withdraw their children from collective acts of worship, but this amendment allows parents to withdraw their children from assemblies in schools that contain an act of worship but does not allow parents to withdraw their children from humanist assemblies. This two-tier system is deeply inconsistent and unfair.”

He emphasised that the reason values such as generosity and kindness are valued in British society “is due in large part to the impact of Christianity”, saying it is “impossible to explain the development of these values to pupils without regard for the context of the religious beliefs from which they arose”.

‘Unacceptable’

Lord Weir of Ballyholme noted that the amendment to ditch Christian assemblies “almost replaces a religious assembly with what is, in effect, a humanist assembly”.

He also warned that the RE amendments risk “the non-religious belief side overwhelming the religious side of RE” and diluting it to an “unacceptable extent”.

He highlighted that “a lot of our laws and collective values ultimately rely on Judeo-Christian values and traditions. We should not abandon those in a school setting, on a casual basis without specific consultation. These amendments take us too far in that direction.”

Flexibility

Speaking on behalf of the Government, Baroness Blake of Leeds stated: “The Government value collective worship and assemblies as an essential part of school life, encouraging reflection on beliefs, traditions and ethics. As mentioned by several noble Lords this evening, the right to withdraw from this remains.”

“Existing legislation already gives schools the necessary flexibility to deliver collective worship or assemblies in ways that support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and this flexibility is also guaranteed for schools designing their religious education curricula to include ‘non-religious world views’.”

She highlighted that the independent curriculum and assessment review is set to report on several subjects, including Religious Education, later this year, and the Government “would not want to pre-empt its recommendations on any subject”.