It sounds reassuring to be told that your right to practise your religion, and your right as a parent to have your child educated according to your beliefs, are enshrined in human rights law in the form of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Unfortunately a decision last Wednesday, 19 November, from the UK Supreme Court shows just how hollow this right has become.
In Northern Ireland, religion is central to many state schools. Some are Catholic, some Church of Ireland or Presbyterian, and some Christian but non-denominational. In all of them, however, Christian belief is taken as a theme permeating the enterprise of education, rather than just another subject of critical study.
