The UK Supreme Court has held that the statutory framework governing religious education and collective prayer in state-funded schools in Northern Ireland is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. In particular, the manner in which religious instruction is delivered and worship is practised does not satisfy the Convention requirements that teaching in this field be objective, critical and pluralistic (Article 2 of Protocol No. 1, read in conjunction with Article 9 ECHR).

A central element of the Court’s reasoning was its assessment of the so-called “core syllabus”, which was found to be essentially confessional in nature. The curriculum is largely centred on Christianity and, in particular, reflects to a significant extent a Protestant doctrinal perspective, while affording only minimal space to other religions and to non-religious philosophical convictions. From the Strasbourg perspective, such an approach does not meet the degree of pluralism inherent in the Convention guarantees.

The Court also rejected the argument that the parental right to withdraw children from religious activities is sufficient to counterbalance the potentially indoctrinatory character of such instruction. On the contrary, the withdrawal mechanism may impose an unreasonable burden on parents and carries a risk of stigmatisation for excluded pupils. A system that is structurally lacking in pluralism cannot, according to the Court, be rendered Convention-compliant merely through the recognition of an opt-out right.

 

(Comment by Tania Pagotto)