Withdrawing from Religious Education: researching the views of teachers?

This paper will discuss the right of parental withdrawal from the statutory subject Religious Education (RE) in Scottish primary and secondary schools. The background, history and current legislative situation relating to this right are considered, as well as current discussions and debates about this issue, both in Scotland and in other national jurisdictions. Comparisons with other countries where this right manifests differently are considered, as well as the wording and interpretation of Human Rights framings for education (principally the UNCHR) which present guidance as well as challenges in terms of their interpretation about when children may develop the capacity to exercise their freedom of belief, expression, and religion. The intentions are to establish how often and for what reasons parents opt to withdraw their children from RE in Scotland, as well as to investigate how schools and local authorities respond to requests for withdrawal. This research is informed by a survey of primary and secondary schools within two local authorities in particular. It emerges that there are relatively few cases of withdrawal. A majority of participating schools argued for the abolition of this right. The persistence of this right is also connected to the perception that RE remains confessional, and the discussion of policy, as well as the empirical evidence gathered, suggests that the non-confessional subject RE continues to be conflated with acts of worship, particularly in primary schools. Arguments for the continuation of the right to withdraw and its abolition are considered. Interesting aspects and challenges of conducting this empirical research include accessing class teachers’ views as well as school managers, confusions and conflations around the withdrawal policy and its context and making sure respondents can navigate the confusing terrain of RE policy. These aspects will, along with the findings, be surfaced during this paper.