A High Court judge today rejected a student’s challenge to a ban on praying at her school, saying the right to freedom of religion does not confer an ‘absolute right’ to manifest religious beliefs.
The anonymous student had sued the Michaela Community Schools Trust over its policy of prohibiting its pupils from performing prayer rituals on its premises. But Mr Justice Linden ruled today that the prayer ritual policy (PRP) did not interfere with the claimant’s rights under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
‘I recognise that this may appear to some to be a surprising conclusion’, the judge said, but added that ‘Article 9 protects “freedom” to manifest religious beliefs rather than conferring an absolute right to do so’.
The judge continued:
The anonymous student had sued the Michaela Community Schools Trust over its policy of prohibiting its pupils from performing prayer rituals on its premises. But Mr Justice Linden ruled today that the prayer ritual policy (PRP) did not interfere with the claimant’s rights under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
‘I recognise that this may appear to some to be a surprising conclusion’, the judge said, but added that ‘Article 9 protects “freedom” to manifest religious beliefs rather than conferring an absolute right to do so’.
The judge continued:
The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion. She knew that the school is secular and her own evidence is that her mother wished her to go there because it was known to be strict.
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