Hello, my name's Mrs. Rawbone, and I'd like to welcome you today to this RE lesson on freedom of religious expression.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain what freedom of religious expression means and what is important in society.

Some key words we'll be using today are censorship, extremism, and freedom of religion.

Censorship is when an authority, such as the government or a media company controls or limits what people can see, read, hear, or say.

Extremism is holding radical views that reject others' rights or promote hatred.

Freedom of religion is the right to follow or reject religion and express beliefs respectfully, without harming or forcing others.

Our lesson will form two parts.

We'll be looking at freedom of religion, and we'll be looking at censorship and extremism.

So let's get started on Freedom of Religion.

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

This right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private." This applies to all people and it gives everyone the right to choose whether they want to follow a religion.

It also means that as well as having beliefs, people have the freedom to express their beliefs.

Freedom of religion is a human right and it applies to both religious and non-religious people.

So for religious people, this includes holding religious beliefs and expressing them through actions such as prayer, dress, festivals, or speech.

And for non-religious people, it includes holding beliefs that are not religious and expressing them through action, symbols, speech, or lifestyle choices.

Let's have a look at the history of freedom of religion in the UK.

In 597, Christianity spreads in Britain and Paganism is slowly replaced.

In 1290, all Jews are expelled.

They're forced to leave England and aren't allowed back until the 1600s.

In 1534, the Church of England is created.

Henry VIII breaks from the Catholic church.

Being Catholic becomes illegal.

In 1559, Elizabeth I allows some tolerance.

People must attend Church of England services, but punishments for Catholics and others become less harsh.

In 1689, the Toleration Act means that some Protestant groups can worship freely, but not Catholics, Jews, Muslims, or atheists.

In 1829, Catholics get civil rights.

Catholics are allowed to vote and sit in parliament.

In 1858, Jews can sit in parliament.

Jews are officially allowed to take public office.

In 1871, universities become open to all.

Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham dropped their religious rules.

People of other faith and no religion can work there.

In 1948, the UK signs the human rights declaration, and this includes freedom of thought, religion, and belief for everyone.

In 2006, we have the Racial and Religious Hatred Act.

It becomes illegal to stir up hatred against someone because of their religion.

And in 2010 we have the Equality Act, which protects everyone from discrimination because of their religion or beliefs including non-religious people.

The level of freedom of religion around the world does vary between countries.

So let's consider two questions.

Can you follow any or no religion? And can you express your religion in public? And we're going to use three examples.

The United Kingdom, France, and North Korea.

Can you follow any or no religion in the United Kingdom? Yes, all religions and non-religious beliefs are allowed.

In France, yes, but religion must stay private in some places.

In North Korea, no.

Religion is banned or controlled by the state.

Can you express your religion in public? In the United Kingdom, the answer is yes, people can wear symbols, speak about their faith, and worship freely.

In France, sometimes, but it's not allowed in schools or government jobs.

And in North Korea, no.

Expressing religion can lead to punishment or imprisonment.

So we can see that in the United Kingdom, we have more freedom of religion compared with North Korea at the other end of the scale where there is less.

Let's check your understanding.

What is freedom of religion? Take a moment, pause the video, jot down your answer, and then come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

So well done if you wrote down that it is the right to follow or reject religion and express beliefs respectfully without harming or forcing others.

Freedom of religion means that people are free to express their religious beliefs or to express beliefs that are not religious.

So for example, with religious freedom of expression, a Muslim woman may wear a hijab.

With non-religious freedom of religious expression, we might have a humanist attending or choosing a naming ceremony for their child.

Let's check your understanding of what freedom of religious expression is.

So which of the following is not an example of religious expression? Is it A, we have A.

Look, calculate the picture.

We have B, different picture there, and we have C with a third picture.

So pause the video, take your time to look and to decide which is not an example.

Come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you chose A.

This looked like an athlete about to start a race.

This is not an example of religious expression.

This data from 2021 measures religious freedom using two scores.

We have government restrictions, which are laws or actions that limit religious practise, and we have social hostilities which are conflict or violence between people over religion.

Look carefully at the bar chart.

Which countries have the highest government restrictions on religion? Pause if you need to.

Come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you spotted that the highest countries were China, Russia, and Egypt.

Freedom of religion is protected under UK law.

This can be found in Article nine of the Human Rights Act of 1998, which protects freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

It upholds the right to hold and express any religious or non-religious beliefs.

However, this right can be limited to protect public safety, health, or the rights of others.

The equality act of 2010 makes it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their religion or belief or their lack of belief.

So freedom of religion is both a right and a responsibility.

It protects religious and secular views and it prevents discrimination.

It also encourages respect in diverse societies.

However, freedom of religion does not protect views that cause harm to others.

It does not include the use of threats, coercion, or hate speech.

So which responsibilities do those who exercise freedom of religion have? Take a moment to think about your answer.

Pause if you need to.

You can turn and talk to someone nearby if there's somebody around, and then come back when you're ready to move on.

So well done if you discuss the fact that it means you can't use hateful or harmful speech when practising your own freedom of religion.

Brandon is a humanist, and although he's not religious, he explains why freedom of religion is important to him.

Brandon says, "I believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right.

Everyone should be free to follow a religion, change their beliefs, or have no religion at all.

But this freedom also comes with responsibility.

We must respect others' rights and never use our beliefs to harm, exclude, or silence anyone." How does this view reflect humanist values like equality and respect? Pause the video, have a read of what Brandon said again, and come back when you're ready to move on.

Which of the following is a responsibility of someone exercising freedom of religion? Is it A, pressuring others to accept their religion; B, respecting someone's right to hold a different view; or C, using religious teachings to support negative talk about others? Pause if you need to, jot down your answer, and then come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you put down that it is respecting someone's right to hold a different belief.

Task A, I'd like you to read the situations below.

And for each one, decide whether it is a protected expression of religious freedom and explain why.

Number one, a religious leader uses hate speech to attack people of another faith.

And number two, a Muslim pupil chooses to fast during Ramadan at school.

To pause the video, take your time to explain whether it is a protected expression of religious freedom, and also to explain why.

Come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said for number one, a religious leader uses hate speech to attack people of another faith.

This is not a protected expression of freedom.

While freedom of speech and religion are protected rights, they do not allow the promotion of hatred or violence.

Hate speech is illegal in the UK under laws such as the Public Court Act of 1986.

And for number two, a Muslim pupil chooses to fast during Ramadan at school.

This is a protected expression of freedom.

This is a peaceful religious practise and is protected under the Human Rights Act 1998, Article XI, which defends the right to freedom of religion.

Schools are expected to respect people's religious observances such as fasting as long as they do not cause harm or disruption.

So well done if you spotted the difference between these two scenarios and that one is protected and the other is not.

For the second part of our lesson, we are going to be thinking about censorship and extremism.

Censorship is when an authority such as the government or a media company controls or limits what people can see, read, hear, or say.

There is a long history of censorship.

Here's one example.

During World War I and World War II, soldiers letters home were read and censored to make sure they didn't reveal military positions, strategies, or details that could be useful to the enemy.

This helped keep operations secret and troops safe.

Letters were censored.

So a letter home might contain blackout sections.

For example, we are leaving for a town near tomorrow.

Or in some cases, sections of the letter were actually cut out with scissors.

Censorship can be both positive and negative.

As we have seen with the example of soldiers' letters, its aim was to protect society.

It can restrict dangerous content.

Now, this could include accidental dangerous content as in the case of the soldier's letters, unintentional, or it might be inciting hate speech or incitement to violence.

On the negative side, censorship can aim to silence minorities, and there are governments that have used it to do this and currently do use it to do this.

It can hide the truth, it can limit freedom of thought.

So one example might be banning religious clothing.

Aisha and Sam are discussing censorship.

Aisha says, "Did you hear about some schools in US banning books? In Florida, they've removed titles to include topics like LGBTQ plus rights or even atheism because they think this will protect students." Sam says, "Hmm, I think this is more about preventing students from learning about different worldviews than it is about protecting them from harm.

The next step is to censor religious expression like they do in France where religious clothing is banned in schools." Aisha responds, "I agree that censorship can go too far, but not in all cases.

In 2019, after a white supremacist carried out a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, social media companies worked with governments to censor the footage and take down content that praised the attack." Sam says, "Hmm, so maybe the challenge is finding the balance, protecting people from harm without blocking access to knowledge or freedom of belief." So what do you think? Is it more important to protect people from harm, even if it risks preventing them from accessing knowledge or expressing their beliefs? If you're able to turn and talk to someone nearby, please do.

Or you can pause and talk to me, and then come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following is an example of positive censorship? A, a government bans peaceful protests in public spaces; B, a school blocks violent websites on its computers; C, a teacher refuses to let students discuss politics; or D, a company deletes customer reviews that criticise its products? So take a moment, have a think about which of those is an example of positive censorship.

Pause if you need to and then come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you put B, a school blocking violent websites on its computers.

Extremism is holding radical views that reject others' rights or promote hatred.

It can be religious, it can be political, or it can just be ideological.

It's not the same as having a strong belief.

Extremism may involve regression.

It's not open to dialogue.

It can threaten other people's rights and it may break laws, especially around hate or violence.

In contrast, a strong belief is usually expressed peacefully.

The person expressing it is open to dialogue.

They respect the rights of others, and strong beliefs are protected under freedom speech.

So they are lawful.

Extremism is often regarded as dangerous by both religious and non-religious groups.

Firstly, extreme views develop.

This leads to other opinions being rejected and that stops open discussion and encourages intolerance.

From there, hate and division spread, which damages communities by spreading fear and distrust.

It may lead to people being radicalised.

So individuals can be influenced to support harmful or violent actions.

And that in turn can lead to terrorism.

This of course, puts lives at risk and it creates fear in society.

Let's check your understanding.

What is extremism? Pause if you need to.

Jot down your definition and then come back when you're ready to see an answer.

So well done if you put holding radical views that reject others' rights or promote hatred.

Several key laws cover censorship and extremism in the UK.

We have the Obscene Publications Act of 1959.

This bans obscene or harmful material.

The Public Order Act of 1986 outlaws hate speech and inciting hatred.

The Terrorism Act of 2000 bans support for terrorism.

The Communications Act of 2003 criminalises offensive online messages.

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act of 2015 introduces the prevent duty in schools.

And the Online Safety Act of 2023 requires platforms to remove harmful content.

Brandon is a humanist.

He's explaining his views on censorship and extremism.

Brandon says, "I believe that people should be allowed to question beliefs, express opinions, and explore new ideas.

However, this freedom comes with responsibility.

Censorship should only be used when necessary to prevent serious harm, such as inciting violence, promoting hatred, or encouraging extremism.

Silencing ideas just because they're offensive or controversial goes against humanist values of reason, open dialogue, and equality." According to Brandon, what are the pros and cons of censorship? Take a moment to turn and talk to someone nearby or you can talk to me, pause the video, come back when you're ready to move on.

Is this statement true or false? Humanists believe censorship should only be used to prevent serious harm like extremism or hate, not just to silence offensive ideas.

Decide whether it's true or false, but also have a think about why you have chosen whether it's true or false.

Pause if you need to and then come back when you're ready to check your answer.

So well done if you put true.

But why is this true? Well, it's true because humanist value freedom of expression and they believe that censorship should protect people from harm, but not stop open discussion.

For part one of our task, we're going to look at the statement.

Censorship protects people from harm without affecting their freedom of religious expression.

I'd like you to complete the table by developing each point into an argument for the statement.

The first point, censorship targets extremism, and the second point is censorship keeps people safe.

So pause your video, take your time to think about how to develop each of those points into an argument that could be used in a discussion around that statement.

Come back when you're ready to see what you could have said.

Let's have a look at what you could have said.

For the first point, censorship focuses on stopping dangerous content that encourages violence or hatred.

It does not stop people from practising their religion or expressing peaceful beliefs.

By removing extremist messages, it protects society without taking away freedom of religious expression.

For the second point, by removing harmful content by hate speech or extremist videos, censorship helps protect people from violence and discrimination.

It creates a safer society while still allowing people to follow their religion peacefully.

For part two of our task on the same statement, we're going to be completing the table by developing each point into an argument against.

So just to remind you, the statement again is, censorship protects people from harm without affecting their freedom of religious expression.

The first point, censorship can ban peaceful religious expression, and the second is censorship can silence both religious and non-religious beliefs.

So pause the video, have a think about how to develop each of those points into an argument against the statement, write down your answer, and come back when you're ready to see what you could have said.

You could have said for the first point.

In some countries, laws ban religious clothing like hijabs, turbans, or crosses in schools and public spaces.

For many, religious clothing is part of their identity and moral values.

This type of censorship limits personal freedom and unfairly targets harmless expression.

And for the second point, freedom of religion includes the right to have no religion, but censorship can silence this.

In some US states, schools have handbooks that include atheist or humanist ideas, such as those questioning religion or exploring morality without God.

So well done if you manage to develop both of those points against the statements.

And you can see hopefully now that we've looked at some arguments for and some arguments against.

In today's lesson, we have learned that freedom of religion includes the right to follow, change, or reject religious belief.

That this freedom is protected in law and by Article 18 of the United Declaration of Human Rights.

That religious expression includes prayer, worship, symbols, dress, and sharing beliefs.

That censorship limits freedom of religious expression and can protect or violate rights depending on the context.

Extremism can threaten rights and safety, leading to limits on expression.

We've looked at some really challenging questions today.

Thank you for all of your hard work and effort on that.