Forcing pupils to study religious education is an abuse of their human rights assert Members of Parliament in the UK. The Parliamentary joint committee on human rights said in a report that pupils aged 16 and over should be able to opt out of religious education lessons.
Ministers have already conceded that older pupils should not be forced to take part in collective worship, a move which represents one of the biggest reforms of the laws governing religion in schools for more than 60 years.
The joint committee of peers and MPs, established to scrutinise legislation and ensure it does not contravene human rights, welcomed the reform but said it did not go far enough.
They said that under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, pupils should be able to “enjoy the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.
“This is a right they enjoy in their own right, not a right belonging to their parents.”