Exclusively Christian religious education taught in primary schools in Northern Ireland is illegal, a High Court judge ruled today.
r Justice Colton ruled that requiring the core curriculum to be based on Scripture violated human rights.
The ruling came in a legal challenge brought by a father and daughter to the current curriculum at controlled primary schools.
He said: “The unlawfulness established … calls for a review of the core curriculum and the challenged legislation in relation to the teaching of Religious Education (RE) and the provision of Community Worship (CW).”
Judicial review proceedings were brought against the Department for Education on behalf of a seven-year-old girl who attends a school in Belfast.
Her lawyers argued that the total focus on Christianity in RE and CW, to the exclusion of all other religions, violated the rights to education protected by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Described as a non-religious family, the child’s parents expressed concerns that he might adopt a particular worldview.
Although they did not dispute that much of the focus was on Christianity, they argued that there was no meaningful alternative teaching in state-funded primary schools in Northern Ireland.
In a challenge which focused on provisions in the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986, it was argued that the current arrangements lacked pluralism and involved proselytizing the Christian faith.
Counsel for the Ministry insisted that the system was flexible and lawful, with potential scope to complement the statutory curriculum.
But Mr Justice Colton said: “It is no answer that the core curriculum is a minimum requirement if it results in a failure to provide religious education in an objective, critical and pluralistic way.”
It cited a statement that the Ministry does not know whether individual schools provide additional opportunities for students to learn about other religions or not.
“This is a damning admission and, in the court’s view, highlights the need for a reassessment of the core curriculum as it relates to RE and the provision of CW by schools,” the judge found.
After the girl’s father raised concerns that she might be isolated or bullied if they took the step of excluding her from religious education or group worship activities, Mr Justice Colton ruled that those concerns were well founded.
“While there is an unfettered right to opt out, it is not a sufficient response to the lack of plurality found by the court,” he said.
“There is a danger that parents will be deterred from seeking an exclusion for a child. Importantly, this also carries the risk of stigmatizing their children.
He confirmed: “The court therefore concludes that the impugned legislation is in violation
the rights of the two applicants under Article 2 of the First Protocol to the ECHR read with Article 9 of the ECHR.’
A lawyer representing the family predicted the ruling would have wider implications for religious education in Northern Ireland schools.
Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, said: “The court ruled that the core curriculum must be changed so that it teaches children about Christianity rather than being Christians – that is not the job of a school.
“Now this needs to be corrected so that children learn about Christianity but are not indoctrinated or proselytized to be Christians.”
He added: “Religious education needs to become fair and objective, which as a result would reflect the wider society we now live in.”
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