It's a dark day. In the week before Christmas, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that Christian education in Northern Ireland is unlawful, citing its “proselytising” nature and its lack of a “pluralistic” approach.
The case, brought before the court by an unnamed father and daughter, challenged a public school’s religious education and prayer practices, arguing that they amounted to “indoctrination” and could stigmatise students who chose not to participate.
“The word ‘indoctrination’ ordinarily has negative connotations but in the context of the Christian faith it is a synonym for evangelism or proselytising,” stated the Court.
“It means winning others over so that they believe in and practice the Christian faith…To teach pupils to accept a set of beliefs without critical analysis amounts to evangelism, proselytising, and indoctrination.”
The court ruled in favour of the father and daughter, who, according to court documents, do not oppose the teaching of religion in schools so long as it “does not amount to indoctrination.”
“The State is forbidden to pursue an aim of indoctrination that might be considered as not respecting parents’ religious and philosophical convictions.”
In response, Bishop Alan McGuckian, SJ, of the Down and Connor Diocese, questioned if Catholic schools could be next in the suppression of “indoctrination.”
“Many people have asked me; while it is explicitly noted in the judgement that this ruling applies to a controlled grant-aided primary school and does not apply to Catholic schools, what difference is this Supreme Court ruling going to make to the provision of Religious Education across [Northern Ireland] schools more widely?” asked McGuckian.
“Is religion being driven out of schools? More specifically, some are asking ‘Is Christianity being driven out of schools?’”