The fight over religious observance in schools is baffling for The Herald’s American-born education correspondent, Garrett Baylor Stell. Regardless, he writes, a potential solution may be right under the government’s nose.
I am used to fights about the presence of religion in schools, but not like this.
The recent controversy over a new bill proposed by the Scottish Government has reminded me of the incredible complexity of the interaction between these two powerful social forces.
I was taught that religion has no place in publicly funded schools. Even in the rural and predominantly Christian part of the country where I grew up, this was understood as the norm.
But to believe that there will ever be an unassailable barrier between the two is a complete misunderstanding of how religion, or any type of worldview, operates in a person’s life.
People’s beliefs influence everything that they do.
In the United States, the powerful influence of religion on the decisions of religious people has contributed to a long history of battles over the relationship between church and state.
This history has made me particularly interested in the situation in Scotland, in which many of the key assumptions are reversed.
Here, there is a long history of assuming that religion, in fact, belongs in schools. The burden of action lies with individuals who wish to remove or diversify religious activities in these spaces.
Every time the issue of required religious observance is raised, I go and read Sections 8 and 9 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.
I do this because every time I see it written that non-denominational public schools in the country are “required to offer religious observance”, I feel Thomas Jefferson reaching out from the grave and slapping me awake.
I forget that I have already checked the law on this question a dozen times, and I think to myself, “That cannot be right.”
It always reads like an exaggeration to me. And yet, that is the phrasing used by most groups interested in this issue, including the Church of Scotland and the Humanist Society Scotland.
My next thought is that, surely, instead, schools are “allowed” to offer religious observance events.
That is the picture painted by Section 8 (1) of the Act, which describes practising religious observance and teaching religion as the “custom in public schools”, a custom that education authorities “shall be at liberty to continue”.
Section 2, however, tightens the belt. Section 2 states that it is not lawful for education authorities to discontinue religious observance or education, without carrying out what is essentially a referendum on the matter.
In short, schools are allowed to continue with the custom of practising religious observance, but if they wish to stop, they face a major obstacle.
I have no principled opposition to the inclusion of religious observance or education in schools. Without a doubt, RME would have been my favourite subject.
I also understand that Scotland has a very different historical connection to its established Church, particularly when it comes to the education system, which said Church helped to build over hundreds of years.
Yet, even though the assumptions and history differ from those of the United States, the tension and negotiation of customs, law, and belief are familiar.
Opposition to religious observance often highlights the fact that Scotland is no longer the Christian nation it once was. The 2022 census found that 51% of people reported no religion, the first time that the majority of Scotland identified as non-religious in a census.
Because of this, critics argue that society is not served by maintaining a place for a minority worldview in schools, especially when it can also lead to infringing on the beliefs of pupils from other minority religions and ethnic groups.
A new report released this weekend backs up what is common knowledge for most people, which is that religious observance sessions in Scottish schools are predominantly Christian affairs.
Critics reject young people being informally “compelled” to participate in exercises that contradict their beliefs, either because they feel ostracised for opting out or because their school does not offer them any meaningful alternative.
Read more:
Kate Forbes coverage shows we need to stop attacking those of faith
A new bill proposed by the Scottish Government could have resolved much of this, but instead, it only complicates the issue. It allows children to opt into, but not out of, religious observance. This has critics asking more loudly whether the law is meant to serve young people or preserve a historic relationship with religious authorities.
Under the law, there is no requirement for religious observance to be Christian in schools. In fact, government guidance is explicit that religious observance should be sensitive to Scotland’s traditions but “equally be sensitive to individual spiritual needs and beliefs, whether these come from a faith/belief or non-faith perspective”.
Evidence suggests that this is not generally how the law works in practice, but even to my American brain, the policy itself is not unreasonable. I can think of plenty of people who would have benefitted from a “sensitive” exposure to other belief systems early in their lives.
The law requiring religious observance is based on an old principle that religion plays a significant role in Scottish tradition and that should be recognised in schools.
However, the Scottish Government’s new bill is a nod to a new principle, one that the Scottish Government has sought to champion when it suits: young people have the freedom to make certain decisions for themselves.
The bill is written to pit these two principles against each other. But there is no reason for it to be that way. The government can preserve a place for religious observance for those who want it, while fully recognising the rights of children to opt in or out as they see fit.
I have spoken to multiple school leaders, including some from denominational schools, who have discussed the positive impact of diversifying religious observance at their institutions. Children from different communities have a chance to learn about one another, they tell me, and that is no bad thing.
If the government wants young people to participate in religious observance at school, they may be more inclined to do so if they feel the message has something to say to them. Or, if they feel their voice has a place in the process.
Even though this sounds like an idealised version of events, it is actually what the law calls for. The problem is that this is not the reality for thousands of pupils, who report that their schools are not holding up their end of the bargain.
A law should not be kept on the books just because it is hard to change. But if the government is committed to upholding a principle, should it try to enforce it first?
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