Topics / Religion and the public square
Should faith schools receive state funding?
Should schools with a designated religious character be funded by the state in the UK, and if so on what terms, particularly on admissions? The question weighs parental and religious freedom, equal access to public services, educational outcomes and community cohesion. Arrangements differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and most of the evidence below relates to England.
Positions
- Yes: The state should continue to fund faith schools on broadly current terms, including faith-based admissions when oversubscribed. Parents have a right to an education that reflects their convictions, faith schools are a long-standing partner in the public system, and they serve their communities well.
- Yes, but with limits on selection by faith: The state should keep funding faith schools, but they should be required to admit a substantial share, or all, of their pupils without reference to faith. That way public money supports schools open to the whole community while their religious ethos is preserved.
- No: State-funded schools should not have a religious character. Public money should fund secular, inclusive schools open to every child regardless of their family's beliefs, religious formation should be left to families and faith communities, and existing faith schools should be brought into a common system over time.