In the matter of an application by JR87 and another for Judicial Review (Appellant), [2025] UKSC 40, 19 November 2025

According to the UK Supreme Court, religious instruction in Northern Ireland is incompatible with the ECHR 

Art. 2, Procol 1, ECHR 
Art. 9 ECHR 

1. Religious education provided in state-funded schools must comply with the principle of confessional neutrality and ensure an objective, critical and pluralistic approach; the establishment of a curriculum structurally oriented towards a specific religious tradition constitutes a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 ECHR, read in conjunction with Article 9.

2. The right to withdraw from religious instruction or collective worship (opt-out) does not constitute an adequate remedy capable of rendering Convention-compliant an educational system that is, at its core, devoid of pluralism, where the opt-out mechanism imposes a disproportionate burden on parents or produces potentially stigmatising effects on children.

3. The adoption of a model of religious education incompatible with the principle of pluralism results in the concurrent violation of the child’s right to education and the parents’ right to ensure education in conformity with their religious and philosophical convictions, thereby rendering unnecessary the examination of further issues concerning administrative responsibility.

(Case in which parents of pupils attending state-funded schools in Northern Ireland challenged the compatibility with the ECHR of the system of religious education and daily collective worship, alleging that it was indoctrinatory and non-pluralistic, and that the right of withdrawal was an inadequate safeguard.)