I can remember my first Strictly RE conference in 2016. We had a stall and a banner, but the Understanding Humanism website hadn’t even launched. Teachers approached to ask ‘Who are you?’ and ‘What is humanism?’ Not everyone. Some teachers were familiar, but general subject knowledge wasn’t strong and many teachers lacked the confidence to teach about non-religious worldviews.
Understanding humanism recently celebrated its 10th birthday and a decade on things feel very different. At Strictly we’re now much more likely to hear ‘We use your resources in our school,’ and ‘Our students love learning about humanism.’
There has been a real sea change in inclusion of non-religious worldviews. NATRE’s survey in 2024 revealed 71% of primary schools were teaching about non-religious worldviews such as humanism, up from 36% in 2016. Secondary schools have moved slower, perhaps as GCSE remains focused on teaching about two religions. However there has still been growth and NATRE’s 2023 survey said ‘Non-religious worldviews, usually Humanism is now taught as commonly and, in some cases, more commonly than some of the religious worldviews at key stage 3.’
Since we launched, the resources on the Understanding Humanism website have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times; we’ve trained over 3000 teachers, supporting them with their subject knowledge and providing practical ideas for the classroom; and our school speakers have spoken to half a million young people, answering their many insightful questions. (Our speakers say that, however hard they prepare, young people will always surprise them!) We now speak to ten times more young people every year than we did when we started.
We’ve launched over 500 resources for primary and secondary schools, from Early Years to sixth form, including popular animations (such as One life, live it well, with Alice Roberts, and our recent short film What is secularism?), resources to support students taking their religious studies GCSE, our Humanist Heritage website, and our online courses, taken by over 20,000 people. Humanists now sit on 160 of the 170 SACRES across England and Wales, and humanism is referenced on nearly every locally agreed syllabus.
One significant shift in the quality of teaching about the non-religious has been an increased focus on what they do believe in, rather than what they don’t. No longer can an investigation into some of the flaws in the ontological argument for the existence of a god constitute enough to say one has covered non-religious worldviews. Good classroom practice focuses on the ways humanists describe their humanism, the values and goals they hold, the way they live their lives (it’s about much more than atheism). We’ve provided quotes, case studies, and interviews to help illustrate the humanist approach to life.
We’ve also sought to support teaching and learning through models that connect humanist beliefs and values: for example, through the humanist understanding of human nature, our capacities, and our potential. More about this model and our accompanying animation can be found here. I’d love to hear more about what is happening in classrooms. What is working for you? What challenges do you face? Get in touch and let me know.
Much of the positive change has happened not because of changes from the top but because of the good work of teachers on the ground, recognising the need for teaching about religion and worldview that reflects the young people in their classrooms and the world they live in.
There is still, however, a long way to go. Many young people still don’t encounter humanism at school or have the opportunity to hear about non-religious perspectives on life’s big questions. Sometimes teachers still don’t feel confident they have the subject knowledge. There is still a lot of confusion about what is and isn’t a non-religious worldview.
My hope is that we’ll soon see religion and worldviews on the National Curriculum and a subject that will explicitly include the requirement for all young people to learn about humanism – a subject fit for purpose in 21st century Britain. Whatever happens, Understanding Humanism will be here to help teachers with their needs.
About
Luke Donnellan is the Director of Understanding Humanism at Humanists UK where he manages Humanists UK’s school speakers programme, teacher CPD, and the production of educational resources. He is the co-author of Understanding Humanism (Routledge, 2023) and a former primary school teacher.