Church schools unaffected by Muslim prayer-ban ruling, says Genders
by Hattie Williams, Church Times:
A HIGH COURT ruling that upheld a school’s decision to ban Muslim prayer rituals does not challenge the principle of freedom of religion or belief, the Church of England’s chief education officer, the Revd Nigel Genders, has said.
Michaela School in Wembley — a non-faith state secondary school — was taken to court by one of its female students over the school’s policy, which she argued was discriminatory (Comment, 2 February). There is no legal requirement for schools to allow pupils a time or place to pray.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Linden dismissed the case. In his 83-page written judgment, he said: “The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion.”
[…] The National Secular Society also welcomed the decision. Its chief executive, Stephen Evans, said that it “also serves as a useful reminder that claims of religious freedom do not trump all other considerations. If a school wishes to uphold a secular ethos, it should be entitled to do so.”
Mr Genders agreed. He commented: “This case does not appear to be about banning prayer in schools but relates to day-to-day decisions of a particular school in its own circumstances.
“We agree that heads and governing bodies of individual schools are best placed to address these issues locally and would uphold their right to do so. We do not believe this judgment challenges the principle of freedom of religion or belief, or indeed, collective worship in schools, which we strongly support.”
Read here (£)
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