Next month The New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Policy and Practice is hosting a Symposium on Religion in Schools.
This symposium will look into the arguments for and against religious instruction in schools, including a discussion as to how it fits under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
The decision to hold the Symposium comes after the New Zealand Herald’s recent articles on religion in schools programmes once again prompted public debate over the issue.
The ability for state primary and intermediate schools to close for up to an hour a week for the purposes of religious instruction given by outside voluntary instructors is preserved under s 78 of the Education Act 1964.
Approximately one in three New Zealand primary schools exercise this opportunity, with parents being able to opt their children out.
Teachings are overwhelmingly based on the Christian faith.
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