I went through high school in Wales when attending “morning assembly” was compulsory. The predominant effect of watching bored teachers, who evidently did not believe in what they were doing, go through the motions every day was to engender in me a revulsion to Christianity: as far as I was concerned Christianity was an exercise in hypocrisy and tedium.

A couple of teachers who partially reversed this effect were a chemistry teacher who was an evangelical Christian – and a prim fusspot – and a math teacher who quietly subverted the establishment efforts to Christianise the school population. The former was not afraid to engage in debates with students about his faith and the latter – who called himself a “seeker” – tried to make us think about the consequences our beliefs.

Having adopted the affectation of devout atheism in my teens, I tried to extricate myself from the compulsory assembly by cajoling my parents into writing a letter asking for me to be excused.

If the National Secular Society gets its way, all that is about to end and, from the perspective of someone who found meaning in rebelling against morning assembly, I can’t help thinking that it will be a shame if it does.

From here:

Christian assemblies in schools face axe over claims they infringe children’s human rights.

Christian assemblies in schools could be scrapped it campaigning atheists and teachers get their way.

According to the National Secular Society, a legal requirement for schoolchildren to take part in a daily act of collective worship ‘of a broadly Christian character’ discriminates against young atheists and non-Christians, and infringes human rights.

And the campaign has support from headmasters who claim that many schools already ignore the requirement, despite it being set in stone since the passing of the 1944 Education Act.