The National Secular Society has urged the Government to abolish the statutory requirement for collective worship in publicly funded schools in England, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling which found collective worship in Northern Ireland breaches human rights. The law in England requires that children at all maintained schools “shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship”. Even in schools with no religious character, the worship must be “wholly or mainly of a Christian character”. Similarly, Northern Ireland compels state-funded schools to “include collective worship whether in one or more than one assembly” every day. Writing to Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson, the NSS said the Court’s ruling provides a “clear opportunity for principled reform”, with many of the fundamental human rights conflicts “equally present in England’s collective worship law”. The judgment clarified that education and school practices which are not delivered in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner amount to “pursuing the aim of indoctrination”, thereby breaching human rights law. Additionally, it found NI’s approach to religious …