The National Secular Society has warned a bill passed by the Scottish Parliament “makes matters worse” for children and parents who wish to withdraw from religious observance (RO) in schools.
This week, the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill passed in a final Holyrood vote, at 66 votes to 51.
The bill means pupils’ views will be prioritised if they wish to remain in RO against their parents’ wishes – but it does not introduce a right of withdrawal pupils can exercise themselves.
The NSS has raised concerns this could leave pupils, especially those in Catholic schools, vulnerable to pressure to remain in RO even if they and their parents want them to be withdrawn.
The NSS campaigned throughout the bill’s progress for the law requiring RO to be abolished and for an independent right of withdrawal for pupils if the law is left in place in place.
Children’s rights groups concerned about lack of pupil opt-out
An amendment to include a right of withdrawal for pupils was voted down in December.
This is despite many children’s rights organisations and religious groups – including UNICEF, the Scottish Human Rights Commission, the Law Society of Scotland, the Jewish Council of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland and Humanist Society Scotland – all supporting a pupil right of withdrawal.
The bill also removes the parental right of withdrawal from religious education (RE) and Religious and Moral Education (RME), despite it being confessional in some schools.
The right of withdrawal was also removed from religion, values and ethics (RVE) education in Wales in 2021. But unlike in Scotland, faith schools in Wales must provide families with the option of RVE according to the locally agreed syllabus, which is more pluralistic than the faith-based alternative.
An amendment to allow ministers to create a pupil right of withdrawal in future without creating new primary legislation was passed. The NSS said it will lobby for this to be enacted.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was incorporated into Scots Law in 2024. Articles 12 and 14 of the convention enshrine a child’s right to be heard and to freedom of religion and belief respectively. The committee which oversees the CRC has repeatedly recommended laws mandating RO be repealed, most recently in 2023.
The Scottish Greens abstained from the vote, citing concerns that the bill is not fully compatible with the CRC.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that Northern Ireland’s similar collective worship law is an unlawful breach of human rights despite there being a parental right of withdrawal, due to the detriment parents and children suffer from using this right.
NSS: Need to abolish RO “clearer than ever”
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: “This is a regressive move which makes matters worse for the rights of children and parents.
“It should have been an opportunity for Scotland to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to child rights, by giving pupils the choice to withdraw themselves from religious observance or, even better, abolishing RO laws altogether.
“Instead, it has undermined the rights of parents who wish to withdraw their child from RO, while failing to provide children the right to withdraw themselves. It means it’s easy for schools to keep children in RO, and now much more difficult for parents and children to opt out.
“It is also deeply concerning that parents will no longer be able to withdraw their children from RE, despite its confessional nature in many schools.
“Scotland has truly failed to protect children and parental rights to freedom of religion or belief. The need to abolish RO altogether is clearer than ever.”