Religious Education 'not suitable' for NI society, study suggests

The Religious Education (RE) taught in schools is not suitable for Northern Ireland's increasingly plural society, new research has suggested.

The Queen's University of Belfast (QUB) study, which looked at attitudes to RE in Northern Ireland, was carried out before the UK Supreme Court recently ruled that the Christian-focused RE taught in schools in Northern Ireland was unlawful.

The court said that RE was not taught in "an objective, critical, and pluralistic manner".

But the judgement said that "historically and today, Christianity is the most important religion in Northern Ireland," and knowledge of Christianity would still make up the greater part of the RE curriculum.

The Education Minister Paul Givan has said the court's judgement cannot be ignored but had not struck down existing law on RE.

He said, though, that the RE syllabus would be reformed and he would set out how soon.

The QUB study aimed to find out attitudes to RE among the population in Northern Ireland.

It was carried out in February 2025 and its findings are based on a representative sample of around 1,050 people as well as focus groups, including with primary school teachers.

Well over a third of respondents (38%) said they were unhappy that primary school children were only required to learn about Christian beliefs and practices in RE.

However, almost the same proportion (37%) said they were satisfied with the Christian focus in RE, though Protestants were more likely to be happy than other groups with the current curriculum.

The majority of respondents (60%) in the study, though, said for primary school pupils to learn about a range of religions and faiths in RE would bring benefits like reducing prejudice.

Some respondents expressed concern that RE was "confessional Christian teaching," and some felt it came close to "indoctrination."

The study also looked at attitudes to religious assemblies.

"Assemblies are closely linked to religious education and school ethos through acts of collective worship," the study said.

"Teachers and parents reported discomfort regarding some visitors who deliver age-inappropriate, judgemental, or fear-inducing messages as part of assemblies."

"There are concerns that children are not being protected from messages that may make them confused or fearful."

The report's authors recommended that a code of conduct for external visitors to schools should be put in place.

The report said that there was "widespread support for forms of religious education in schools which are inclusive of diverse religious and worldview perspectives."

It recommended the development of a new RE syllabus, with input from a range of faiths and beliefs not just the four main Christian churches.

The research was carried out by Dr James Nelson from Queen's University Belfast and Dr Rebecca Loader from the University of Cambridge, with funding from Culham St Gabriel's Trust, and support from the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum and Parents for Inclusive Education.

Dr Nelson told Good Morning Ulster that some of the findings "chime" with the Supreme Court requirement that RE should be objective, critical and plural.

He said that the standard set by the Supreme Court is something that the majority of people in NI will be welcoming.

Dr Nelson made clear that the survey found people are still supportive of compulsory RE and that they did not find anyone attacking RE or wanting it out of the syllabus.

But the takeaway is that "people are keen to have a RE that is person-centred, where all pupils can be included and no one feels left out because of their beliefs".

He described how the survey found people want RE for a social purpose in Northern Ireland, for "building respect", "a more peaceful society" and "positive relations between people".