A FEW years ago, I wrote to all West Sussex Country Council (WSCC) councillors regarding Humanist membership of the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education, SACRE (this is the group that advises the council on Religious Education and the daily act of worship in schools).
The SACRE members voted against co-opting a Humanist. SACRE comprises four voting groups: county council, Church of England (C of E), teachers, Other Religions. Only the C of E voted for Humanist membership. Of the 160 SACREs across the country, 7
1 have co-opted Humanist members.
West Sussex County Council was unwilling to appoint a Humanist as a full member of SACRE. They based their decision on government guidance Circular 1/94, which is currently under review. And yet nine other SACREs have a full Humanist member, including two Chairs and one Vice-Chair. Circular 1/94 is guidance only; there has never been a legal challenge for the inclusion of a Humanist.
The new SACRE membership will shortly be announced, but I do not know if a Humanist member will be included. I made a formal application for full membership some months ago.
In view of recent equality legislation and government guidelines in education, the SACRE should include a non-religious representative, such as a Humanist. The new Religion and Belief equality strand puts non-religious belief systems, such as Humanism, on an equal footing with religious beliefs. Also, the Human Rights Act states that references to 'religion' should be interpreted to mean 'religion and belief'.
In a recent self-evaluation exercise, the membership of SACRE stated that they were highly representative of the diversity of the local community. How can they make such a claim when they do not have a member representing the non-religious residents of West Sussex? The 2000 Census showed that the non-religious are the second largest belief group in West Sussex (C of E is the largest).
Bearing in mind that 69 per cent of people either did not claim membership of a religion or said that they never attended a religious service (British Social Attitudes survey) and that 36 per cent of people preferred Humanist explanations (MORI poll), isn't it time that the non-religious had a say in how their children are taught about religion and belief?
You can download a detailed argument for Humanist membership of SACRE at www.MidSussexFreethinkers.org.uk/CaseForHumanistOnSACRE.doc
Andrew Edmondson
(British Humanist Association)
Stumblemead,
Balcombe
