High Court ruling over RE lessons welcomed

A NEW ruling by the High Court, which says that laws requiring all schools in Northern Ireland to provide faith-based Christian religious education (RE) and collective worship breach human rights legislation, has been welcomed by a Tyrone man who has been vocal in recent years around the need for inclusion for all faiths – and none – in classroom teaching.

Scott Moore, a former pupil at Strabane Grammar School (now Strabane Academy), has hopes that the ruling will now open up RE to include all different religions and points of view, religious or secular.

While at school, Mr Moore fought for, and successfully gained, the right to opt-out of religious education and faith-based activities because they adhered to an exclusively Christian outlook.

Mr Moore said, “From the age of 12, I decided that I was of a non-religious outlook and was entirely capable of choosing my own path and beliefs. The way that the law was back then meant that schools were not required to acknowledge that pupils were ‘allowed’ to have a non-Christian or religious outlook if it went against the overall ethos of the school itself.

“I was told ‘we live in a Christian country’ and was therefore bound to learning about Christianity in religious education classes, which I believe was wrong. Different religions and ideas, such as humanism, are ignored, which is not giving students the skills and information which allow them to decide for themselves their beliefs.

“This ruling is vitally important for those of different faiths or no faith at all who attend schools which have an exclusive outlook on a certain religion. The current position is in contravention to Humans Rights legislation. To hear this ruling given by a High Court judge is significant for me personally as I feel that my beliefs and arguments are being validated.

“I should clarify that I am not anti-religious. However, there are students in schools who do not have any religious beliefs whatsoever, or follow a religion which is not Christianity, and their needs have to be catered for. I firmly believe in secular education and equality in all beliefs.”

The case was brought by a Belfast-based father and his child against the Department of Education and the child’s school, who argued that the privileged status of Christianity across the school system is discriminatory on the basis of religion or belief under the Human Rights Act, also highlighting the lack of a meaningful educational alternative to Christian worship and RE.

Mr Moore acknowledges that an overhaul of the religious education system will take time and that a limited amount of students may hold secular beliefs so putting on different classes may not be sustainable in the long-term.

However, asked what he would like to see happen in schools now that the ruling has been handed down, Mr Moore is adamant a more inclusive solution is the way forward.

“In the short term, I would like to see an ‘opt-out’ in place for students who feel that they don’t want to religious classes or events as it goes against their beliefs. I would have no issue with religion classes and assemblies as long as they teach, acknowledge and explore different religions and world views impartially, providing comparative ideas and what underpins them in a regular, secular school system.

“It’s about giving students the tools to enrich their lives with all manner of ideas, both religious and secular.”