The Supreme Court judgment on religious education in the north of Ireland has confirmed what many parents, educators, and equality advocates have argued for decades: the current system is outdated, exclusionary, and incompatible with ensuring the rights of all children, according to Workers’ Party Republican Clubs representative Chris Bailie.

Bailie said: “By ruling that the Christian-centred religious education curriculum and mandatory worship in state schools is unlawful because it is not ‘objective, critical and pluralistic’, the Court has highlighted a deeper structural issue in our education system: it is one still shaped by division and religious control.”

“This ruling makes clear that merely adding other viewpoints to a religiously-dominated curriculum is no longer sufficient. A modern, secular approach to education is needed, one that treats every child equally regardless of their background, belief or non-belief.”

“A secular model does not erase religion. Instead, it ensures that no church or religious body directs the curriculum of state schools, that pupils learn about all belief systems in a balanced and respectful way, that parents are not forced to withdraw children from core lessons to protect their rights, and that classrooms become shared spaces where diversity is normalised, not segregated.”

“There is now a real opportunity to move beyond a system historically divided along religious lines. True integrated education, rooted in equality, inclusion and secular governance, would ensure that young people learn with each other, not about each other from a distance.”

“A secular, integrated model would replace single-tradition RE with world-beliefs education taught objectively, end the stigma placed on children who opt out of worship or certain lessons, give teachers clearer guidance and professional independence, and reflect the reality of a society where many families are mixed, secular, or hold diverse beliefs.”

“We urge the Department of Education and all political stakeholders to begin formal steps towards a fully-secular RE curriculum across all school sectors, ending compulsory Christian worship and replacing it with inclusive assemblies, expanding and supporting integrated education as a core pillar of policy, not a peripheral option, ensuring children’s rights, and not institutional interests, come first.”

“This judgment is more than a legal decision. It is a reminder that an education system shaped by the past cannot meet the needs of a diverse, modern society. Children deserve a school system where everyone is equal, everyone belongs, and no one’s identity marks them out as different. The path forward is clear: secular, integrated education is not only compatible with rights, it is essential for a shared and inclusive future.”