Poll: Should schools be allowed to admit or refuse pupils based on their religion?

In a new manifesto, the Accord Coalition, which includes representatives from the Anglican, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faiths among others, laid out proposals for school admissions, teacher employment, the curriculum, school inspections and collective worship.

The group said it was united in its concerns about the way faith schools in England currently operate - due to their impact on pupils that attend them, and their effect on society generally.

Do you think schools should be allowed to admit or refuse pupils based on their religion? Vote now in our poll below.

The document sets out six key points, and Accord said it was calling on all political parties to include these in their own manifestos for next year's general election.

"As the new school year begins, and the general election in 2015 approaches, we write as religious leaders from a broad spectrum of faith groups who are united in our concern over the way faith schools currently operate - both because of their impact on the children that attend them, and their effect on society at large," Accord's document says.

"We value faith but do not wish it to be abused, be it for jumping ahead of others to gain entrance to a popular school, or blinkering children's educational experiences. Faith can be a means of enriching children's lives, but it can also be used to segregate and sow seeds of suspicion. We are calling for a rebalancing of how faith affects the school years of children."

The first point in Accord's manifesto says work should be done towards ending an anomaly that allows state-funded schools to distinguish between children on religious grounds in their admissions procedures, while the second says that in the meantime, all state schools should be brought into line with free schools and only allowed to select 50% of their intake on the basis of faith.

It goes on to say that it should be made clear that no school should be allowed to refuse to employ teachers on the grounds of religion, and that the compulsory nature of collective worship should be removed. Assemblies should instead be used to bring pupils together to celebrate shared values and to help them explore ethical questions.

What do you think? Should schools be allowed to admit or refuse pupils based on their religion? Vote now in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comments section below.