Supreme Court Northern Ireland religious education: Parents could sue for Christian assemblies, says EA

Peter Lynas, UK Director of the Evangelical Alliance, was speaking after a landmark judgement from the Supreme Court which found that Christian religious education in Northern Ireland schools does not comply with human rights standards and is unlawful.

However Mr Lynas, who practised as a barrister for five years, believes the judgement is not as negative as feared. He says the judgement affirms that;-

:: Collective Worship must remain in schools and must focus on the Christian religion

:: It is RE lessons which must incorporate other worldviews

:: But this must also be done within a Christian framework - which he welcomes

In support of his case he points to some introductory remarks in the judgement.

It says: "Historically and today, Christianity is the most important religion in Northern Ireland. It is within the Department’s margin of appreciation in planning and setting the curriculum for the greater part of religious education to focus on knowledge of Christianity."

It also adds that, "there is no challenge in this case to collective worship in schools in Northern Ireland being focused on the Christian religion".

Mr Lynas says the judgement clarifies The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, but does not change it.

The 1986 order requires RE and a collective act of daily worship “based upon the Holy Scriptures [bible],” he notes.

He understands that not all schools are currently providing this daily Christian collective worship.

"I suspect a savvy parent might now take a case the other way, to ask ‘why their school is not providing this?’"

He is aware unionist parties have expressed concern about the judgement and is willing to meet them.

"I don't totally disagree with their analysis, but let's look also at what this judgment is reminding us of;- There has to be RE taught around the holy scriptures and it also reminds us that the daily worship must be done across all school years in one collective act."

The law says RE must be Christian focused, he says.

So the Department of Education will be required “to put together a curriculum that will help children understand other worldviews - from within a christian framework or context”.

This, he takes as a positive way forward.

He also welcomes teaching “an objective and critical view” of Christianity required by the judgement.

"The evidence for Jesus as an historical figure who lived and died and rose from the dead is overwhelming.”

It is for the department to work out options for children who wish to opt out of worship or RE lessons, he says, noting that some schools already provide a classroom where another productive activity is laid on.

The judgement means "conversion calls” in assemblies would be “inappropriate” he says.

"I think it's permissible to teach 'what the Bible says' on a given issue like Radio 4's Thought for the Day. Organizations like Scripture Union should be producing short videos or lesson plans for this."

His understanding is that because Catholic schools were formed under different legislation, they will be allowed more discretion to teach their doctrine.

Ciarán Kelly, Director of The Christian Institute gave a very similar analysis.

“Schools in Northern Ireland were originally founded by churches and only later transferred to the state – that’s why non-denominational Bible-based teaching is required,” he said.

“Despite secularist pressure to enforce a multi-faith mish-mash, the Court was clear that there is no objection to the teaching about Christianity, or even to RE focusing primarily on Christianity.

"While there may be some change in emphasis, pupils should still learn about core Christian beliefs, and in deciding what they think about them, pupils will still need to respond to them.

“Attempts to exaggerate the judgment’s scope to further marginalise faith groups should be resisted.

"It is important that the Supreme Court judgement is not used as an excuse to further weaken the position of controlled schools in particular or ignore their distinctive ethos."