Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
During the period under review, the UK was signatory to international conventions on human rights, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, which held it to commitments regarding religious freedom and belief. The European Convention, which outlines the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (Article 9), is fully incorporated into UK law. According to parliamentary sources 2022’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill will have “human rights implications”. However, since this is a “framework Bill which provides extensive powers to Ministers”, it is very difficult at this stage to assess what these implications will be and how they might potentially impact religious freedom and belief.
The Church of England, as the established church in the most populous of the four nations, has dominated public religious life since the sixteenth century and enjoys a small number of legal privileges, for example 26 Anglican bishops sit in the UK parliament’s House of Lords. The presbyterian Church of Scotland is also legally established. However, the 2021 Census for England and Wales saw the number of those self-identifying as Christian falling below 50 percent, to 46.2 percent, for the first time (although it was substantially higher in Northern Ireland where 79.7 percent identified as Christian). Indeed, regular Church attendance fell dramatically during the late 20th century. Responding to the census data the Most Rev’d Stephen Cottrell, Anglican Archbishop of York, said “We have left behind the era when many people almost automatically identified as Christian”.
With the exception of Scotland, where “religious observance” must be held six times per annum, by law all state schools must hold a daily assembly. In England, the majority of assemblies must be of “a broadly Christian character” but it is not necessary for every assembly to be so, and assemblies may broadly reflect other religious traditions. Parents have the right to remove their children from these activities, and in England and Wales Sixth Form students (those aged 16-18 studying for A-Levels or similar qualifications) may also absent themselves.
State schools must also legally provide a form of Religious Education – which involves the study of Christianity and other world religions. In England parents may remove their children from lessons, and students aged 14 and above can exempt themselves. The Welsh Government removed the rights of parents, and older learners, to withdraw in 2022, despite a January 2020 impact assessment noting that the “decision to not to include a right to withdraw… will have a negative impact on some religious groups.”
The UK government has taken steps to support freedom of religion or belief during the period under review, hosting the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London between 5th-7th July, on the theme of “increased global action on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all.” National governments represented at the conference were invited to co-sign an overarching conference statement and seven thematic statements relating to freedom of religion or belief. Most of these were well received, but the “statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality” saw a number of FoRB groups asking that the clause committing signatories to challenge laws that “restrict women’s and girls’ full and equal enjoyment of all human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, bodily autonomy” be changed. However, Humanists UK objected to its revision, organising an open letter to then Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs Liz Truss, urging her to keep the original text, and placing the issue in the context of the debate that followed the US Supreme Court overruling Roe v Wade. The episode highlighted significant – even neuralgic – differences between different stakeholders in the FoRB community, which raises questions as to why a divisive area like “reproductive health and rights” was included in an initiative aimed at securing broad support.
Incidents
According to the Pew Forum’s latest assessment, religiously motivated social hostilities remained high in the UK – and indeed government data broadly supported this analysis. Reflecting a general growth in hate crime in England and Wales, Home Office figures noted that from April 2021 to March 2022, religiously motivated hate crimes increased by 37 percent, to 8,730 offences. This was up from 6,383 in the previous reporting period (April 2020 to March 2021) and “was the highest number of religious hate crimes recorded since the time series began in year ending March 2012”. In Scotland, the trend was different with 512 religiously aggravated charges reported in 2021-22 – a fall of 16 percent from 2020-21 – which represented the lowest figure since 2004-05. Sectarianism is still a major issue in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland reported 856 sectarian crimes or incidents for the period October 2021-September 2022, up from 802 for 2020-21. The level of sectarian incidents was the highest recorded for a 12-month period since 2016. The force additionally noted 35 religiously motivated crimes in the latter period, which could not be attributed to sectarianism, down from 54 in the previous period.
A)Judaism
The May 2021 Israel/Palestine crisis resulted in “the most intense period of anti-Jewish
hatred seen in the UK in recent years” recorded by the Community Security Trust (CST). (The crisis in the Middle East included Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing more than 2,900 mortar attacks, which killed 10 people, including two children, following protests and rising tensions in East Jerusalem. In response to these attacks, 950 airstrikes on the Gaza strip were carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). These completely or partially destroyed 40 schools and four hospitals, among other buildings, and killed 181, including 52 children.) As British Jews were scapegoated or otherwise unreasonably targeted for the IDF’s actions, CST recorded 628 hate incidents during the period of 8th May to 7th June 2021 – the highest number it has on record for any month-long period. 585 of these “involved language, imagery or behaviour linked to the conflict in Israel and Gaza”. Incidents during this period involved a violent assault on Rabbi Rafi Goodwin, who sustained head injuries when he was attacked outside Chigwell and Hainault United Synagogue, and a Jewish woman’s car being chased and rammed by a vehicle flying Palestinian flags in Hendon, north-west London. 360 of the incidents recorded occurred in Greater London, including Jewish schoolgirls having “Free Palestine and f*ck Israel” and “Stupid Jews” shouted at them by a pupil from another school while on a bus. With such events occurring during it is perhaps unsurprising that CST logged 2,255 antisemitic incidents for 2021, the greatest number the organisation has ever recorded for a single calendar year.
CST also logged 786 antisemitic incidents during the first six months of 2022. The data suggests that hate crimes against the Jewish community are continuing to rise, as “More than 100 antisemitic incidents were recorded in each month from January to June 2022, continuing the pattern of historically high antisemitic totals recorded in recent years.” There were 49 direct threats made against members of the Jewish community during the period, including a couple being threatened as they walked to a train station in London. As they were making their way a man came towards them and started shouting, “I hate you f*ck*ng Jews with your hooked noses, I want to beat you up”. Ignoring him they walked on, but were followed. Catching up with them, “he placed his hand under his belt as if to pull out a knife” saying: “I will shank you” (“shank” being an American slang term for slashing or stabbing).
In April 2022 Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, expressed worries about “systemic antisemitism” within the National Union of Students (NUS). This followed the Union of Jewish Students raising concerns over the NUS’ then president-elect Shaima Dallali tweeting an Islamic battle cry connected with a historic massacre of Jews, in 2012: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza.” Ms Dallali apologised for the decade-old tweet, saying “I’m not the same person I was”. The NUS set up an independent inquiry into antisemitism within the organisation led by QC (Queen’s Counsel) Rebecca Tuck. In September 2022, Ms Dallali was suspended after the conclusion of the first stage of the inquiry. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies described her suspension as “a clear extension of institutional Islamophobia within the education sector”. In November 2022 the NUS terminated Ms Dallali’s contract after the inquiry found “significant breaches of NUS policies”.
Previous editions of the Religious Freedom in the World report found that a number of Jewish schools that were ranked as outstanding in previous years had been downgraded to inadequate, often the reason that the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED) downgraded faith schools was that their religious views conflicted with what are often perceived to be current societal norms, particularly in the fields of gender and sexuality. OFSTED lost a judicial review after it downgraded King David High School in Crumpsall, Manchester from “outstanding” to “inadequate” in 2019 inspection on the grounds that teaching boys and girls in separate streams amounted to “discrimination”. However, in March 2022 OFSTED put the school into special measures after a new report judged the school to be “inadequate” again. Again among OFTSED’s reasons were concerns relating to the separate instruction of boys and girls. Joshua Rowe, chairman of the governors, said OFTSED’s new report “presents a picture of the school which is unrecognisable to those who know it” – adding: “From the very first morning of the inspection, the message from both staff and pupils was that inspectors appeared to be determined to find fault rather than to conduct an impartial inspection.” Faced with another negative OFSTED report, following a two-day visit in July 2022, Jonathan Dover, the interim chairman of governors, said the school had “worked assiduously to satisfy OFTSED’s demands”.
Education was also the key issue when Haredi Jews wore yellow stars – of the type they were forced to wear under Nazi rule in Germany – as part of a demonstration outside the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on FoRB. Around 200 protesters expressed their opposition to the government’s Schools Bill which would compel yeshivot – traditional Jewish schools focusing on Rabbinic literature – to teach secular subjects and bring them under OFSTED oversight. While some in other parts of Judaism have criticised the schools’ lack of a modern curriculum, yeshivot still enjoy wide support within the Haredi community. The protest aimed to highlight the disparity between the British government hosting an international meeting on FoRB and the regulations facing yeshivot under the new law. Defending the use of yellow stars in the protest, Rabbi Chaim Sofer vocalised the strong feelings the proposals had elicited: “Nazi Germany wanted to destroy the Jewish body. The British government wants to destroy Jewish souls.” Adding: “In 2022, they can’t build gas chambers, but they hate the Talmud and our traditions.”
B)Islam
While 23 percent of the religiously motivated hate crimes in England and Wales (2021-22) targeted members of the Jewish community, 42 percent were experienced by Muslims, with 3,459 incidents recorded. Members of the Islamic faith continue to experience high incidence of harassment and a report published in July 2022 by Kent University and the charity Belong noted that 73 percent of British Muslims reported experiencing some form of discrimination. Stressing intersectionality in incidents of discrimination, researchers found that 85 percent of Muslim women aged 18-30 reported experiencing discrimination.
Another study found that 42 percent of Mosques or Islamic Centres surveyed had suffered religiously motivated attacks in the last three years, with the most common form of attack being vandalism. Perhaps more concerning was data showing that at 17 percent of Mosques that experienced attacks in that period some form of physical assault occurred – including, in one case, the stabbing of an imam. To give just one example of such assaults, in May 2021, during Ramadan, five worshippers at Ilford Islamic Centre were pelted with eggs and stones as they left the building at 11pm following Taraweeh prayers. Worshippers were targeted by the perpetrators as they drove by in a silver estate car.
Anti-Islamic sentiment was also a key driver of the firebombing of a Border Force immigration check point in Dover on Sunday 30th October 2022, which made national news. An hour before the attack the perpetrator, 66-year-old Andrew Leak, tweeted: “We will obliterate them Muslim children are now our target. And there disgusting women will be targeted mothers and sisters Is burn alive” [sic]. Mr Leak had previously tweeted support for far right-wing groups.
Also in October 2022 the UK government shelved plans to issue an official definition of Islamophobia. It was first mooted after a definition of Islamophobia drawn up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims – a cross-party group of MPs – was rejected by the government in May 2019, following concerns that it was too vague. Imam Qari Asim MBE, Deputy Chair of the UK government’s Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, was appointed to lead work on a definition of Islamophobia, but the project stalled during Boris Johnson’s tenure as prime minister. Imam Asim said he had been given no resources or terms of reference and claimed that letters to ministers had gone unanswered, including one to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, requesting a meeting. Mr Gove fired the imam in June this year after he was accused of supporting “a campaign to limit free expression” over his involvement with protests over cinema screenings of The Lady of Heaven. The film depicted the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima from a Shi‘a perspective. Imam Asim said the film “risked fuelling extremism and tension in communities that would undermine cohesion in British society”.
Anna Firth, the Conservative MP (Member of Parliament) for Southend West, raised concerns that – despite a 2014 pledge – the Department for Education had not moved forward with plans to provide Shari‘a compliant student financing for Muslim students in higher education, as an alternative to the current student loan system. Mr Firth referred to a survey that found 4,000 Muslim students had not entered higher education because of the financial arrangements.
C)Christianity
While Christians in England and Wales experienced fewer religiously motivated hate crimes than members of the Jewish or Muslim communities, 701 incidents(8 percent of the total number of crimes) were still recorded for the period 2021-22. In February 2022, Rev’d Emyr Gwyn Evans, reported that young people in Tumble, Carmarthenshire, had pelted his home with eggs and other objects. Police referred two of the culprits – who called the Non-Conformist Minister “a Bible basher” – to a scheme which aimed to stop them reoffending.
Research published in November 2021 identified 1,731 incidents of vandalism or criminal damage, including arson committed at churches in the UK over a twelve-month period. Among the attacks on churches during the period covered by this Religious Freedom in the World report was the torching of the wooden cross at the entrance to St Mary’s Church in Riccall, North Yorkshire on Friday 24th June 2022. Police treated the incident as a hate crime, as it appeared the religious symbol was deliberately targeted.
Some Christians have experienced problems when views based on their religious world view conflict with what are perceived to be current societal norms. In this scenario progressive norms are often seen as trumping the rights of Christians to express or articulate their perspectives. The contested issue of Buffer Zones around abortion clinics is one such area.
In September 2022 SNP (Scottish National Party) whips issued a written warning to John Mason, MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) for Glasgow Shettleston, for posting “Surely these signs are very gentle and offering help?” and “I do not see anything hateful or harassing about these signs” on Twitter in response to posts condemning placards at a vigil outside of an abortion clinic. The SNP was considering bringing in legislation introducing Buffer Zones at the time. Mason had previously stated that he personally believed abortion was “seldom essential or vital”. The Christian parliamentarian was told by whips that, while he had the right to believe whatever he wanted to, “The verbalisation of your views has caused great distress and trauma to many women and have also been regarded as misinformation by medical professionals”.
On 6th December 2022, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested near the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham and charged with breaking a Public Space Protection Order which had set up a Buffer Zone. A video shows police approaching her, when she is standing near to the clinic, and asking what she is doing. She states she is not protesting, but after further questioning by officers says she might have been praying inside her mind. Police then arrested her. All prayer is defined as “protesting” under the Public Space Protection Order issued by Birmingham city Council. Ms Vaughan-Spruce was charged with “protesting and engaging in an act that is intimidating to service users” even though the clinic was closed at the time.
A number of street preachers arrested in England have been exonerated following their arrests. In October 2022, London Metropolitan Police apologised and paid £10,000 in compensation after wrongfully arresting Christian preacher Hatun Tash on two separate occasions. When she was arrested on 23rd May 2021, Miss Tash, a convert from Islam, was being harassed by a group of Muslim men at Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner. Police officers asked both the men and Miss Tash to leave. When she refused Miss Tash was arrested for breaching the peace and later also charged under section 4 of the Public Order Act. In November 2022, John Dunn had charges against him under section 5 of the Public Order Act dropped. The charges followed Mr Dunn telling a Lesbian couple that “It says in the Bible that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God” (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) while preaching in Swindon. The Crown Prosecution Service alleged that he had breached the Public Order Act by having “offended” and “upset” the women, but his legal team stressed that the law set a higher bar, only criminalising individuals using “threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour… within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby”. The Crown Prosecution Service further suggested: “There are references in the Bible which are simply no longer appropriate in modern society and which would be deemed offensive if stated in public.” Responding on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, Lord Stewart of Dirleton said that, following a review, the Crown Prosecution Service acknowledged that the statement regarding the Bible had been “inappropriate”.
Christians who experienced problems in the health sector have generally found themselves vindicated. In December 2021, an employment tribunal found that 61-year-old Catholic nurse Mary Onuoha was constructively dismissed when the NHS (National Health Service) fired her for refusing to remove a small cross she wore around her neck while working. Similarly, in November 2022, 73-year-old lay chaplain Derek Timms received a public apology from the Solihull Marie Curie Hospice where he was a volunteer, after a new chaplaincy organiser, Methodist minister Dee Yeadon, told him remove a half-inch lapel cross on the grounds that it might create a barrier between him and the patients, and that he could not continue volunteering if he wore it.
Prospects for religious freedom
Growing levels of social hostilities against members of religious groups are deeply concerning, as the UK witnessed the highest number of religiously motivated hate crimes since records began. Given this there seems little ground for hope that the trend will be reversed across the UK over the next few years.
There are a number of incidents in which one can trace the mentality of the Culture Wars, whereby one side is playing a zero-sum game, which demands the other side capitulate to their values and norms. This seems to be seeping further into society, and colouring dealings with religious groups. Not only is this leading to heavy handed responses by authorities, but it is, arguably, encouraging a polarising mentality in which religious groups are seen as on the ‘other side’ which in turn is leading to assaults and attacks on members of religious communities. However, courts and tribunals have upheld the rights of religious believers in situations where authorities have taken steps to restrict them.
While there have been some positive signs, such as the Ministerial on FoRB, by and large, UK government and official organs have shown themselves to be broadly religiously illiterate in a number of instances. This is highlighted by OFSTED’s dealing with traditional Jewish schools, and it is difficult to see how some of the problems being faced by the community’s schools, such as King David High School, Manchester, do not constitute infringements of religious freedom.
Strategies to improve religious literacy among a broad range of UK authorities, and promote genuine community cohesion are needed to tackle some of the problems outlined above. Without such initiatives the outlook for religious freedom cannot be entirely positive.
United Kingdom