The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the Christian-focused religious education and collective worship taught in Northern Ireland’s state-funded primary schools is unlawful.
The decision upholds a 2022 High Court judgement which found that the subject is not delivered in an objective, critical and pluralistic way.
The case was brought by a non-religious father and his daughter, who argued that the curriculum and lack of a genuine alternative breached their human rights. The court said withdrawing children from RE or collective worship is not an adequate safeguard, especially when it may lead to pupils feeling singled out or excluded.
The teaching of RE in schools is still legal, as well as hymns and prayers in school assemblies.
Rt Rev Donal McKeown, the Catholic Bishop of Derry, said he was not surprised by the judgement.
He told BBC NI: “Northern Ireland has changed a lot since the last core curriculum was put together. It is time for a revision of what is taught and how.”
Bishop Donal said he would not want the ruling to be interpreted as a sign that religion should be removed from schools.
The Northern Ireland Department for Education states that religious education is a compulsory part of the curriculum. It also says parents have the right to withdraw their children from part or all of RE or collective worship, and that schools must publish arrangements for pupils who are withdrawn.
