Religiously Selective School Admissions: Corporate Religious Freedom, Parental Choice and Freedom of Association

A number of liberal democratic states partially or completely exempt religious institutions from non-discrimination requirements. This paper addresses one controversial manifestation of this form of religious accommodation, by asking whether religiously selective admissions policies in state-funded schools can be normatively justified. This issue has become politically salient in recent years. In Ireland, for example, where over 90% of schools fall under religious patronage, the 2016 Education (Admission to Schools) Bill has been criticised for failing to remove the ‘baptism barrier’. Meanwhile, in England, where about 30% of schools have a religious ethos, the government has been criticised for proposing to remove the 50% cap on religiously selective admissions in newly created faith schools. This Paper identifies and evaluates three different arguments for permitting schools with a religious ethos to refuse enrolment on religious grounds. All three agree that discrimination may be necessary for schools to preserve their distinctive ethos, but they offer different grounds for permitting such discrimination. The corporate religious freedom argument emphasises the value and importance of religion itself, and treats religious institutions as quasi- or partially-sovereign entities, entitled to a broad range of immunities. The parental choice argument says that parents have a right to send their children to a school with an ethos of their choosing, and that securing adequate choice may require permitting discrimination. The freedom of association argument says that members are entitled to exclude others from their associations, at least provided certain conditions are met. The Paper will conclude by suggesting that since each argument identifies a different rights-holder (religious authorities, parents, members), the case in favour of religiously selective admissions cannot draw on all three. Moreover, both the parental choice and freedom of association arguments supply grounds for scepticism about the current legal arrangements in both Ireland and England.