LETTER: Secularism in Surrey schools means neutrality, not dogma
Published 6:00 pm Thursday, April 2, 2026
Editor,
Re: Secularism is the de facto ‘religion’ in schools (Letter to the editor, March 21 online)
The writer is mixing up neutrality with ideology. Secularism in schools isn’t a competing belief system; it’s meant to make sure no single belief system dominates.
What’s happening here is a misunderstanding about the topic: treating the absence of religion as if it were a religion itself. That’s not really how secularism works, especially in public schools.
In this context, secularism doesn’t mean ignoring religion altogether. It means schools don’t teach from the perspective of any one religion. Students can still learn about different beliefs, but the school itself stays neutral.
At its core, secularism is about keeping religious authority separate from public institutions so that people of all backgrounds can feel included.
Kyle Martin