The Supreme Court has ruled that the religious education (RE) taught in schools in Northern Ireland is unlawful, finding that it was not approached in an objective, critical and pluralistic
manner and amounted to indoctrination.
The landmark decision came after an appeal by an unnamed father and his daughter, who objected to being taught that Christianity was an absolute truth. The court stated that the right for parents to withdraw their children from such lessons placed an undue burden
on them, as doing so would have left the child stigmatised
by being the only one not participating in class.
The ruling does not mean that RE will cease to be taught in schools, but it is expected to lead to a curriculum that includes more information about a wider range of faiths alongside Christianity.
The case highlighted concerns that the current syllabus was not sufficiently balanced and failed to adequately represent the diversity of beliefs and philosophies.
This ruling is based on the case detailed in the document NI RE Supreme Court case.
