Why I love RS – Celia Warrick

My subject doesn’t have a great reputation. When I mention my job, I get a range of responses and most of them aren’t all that great. Some people complain that I’m ‘indoctrinating’ children, despite my semi-agnostic take on Anglican Christianity and refusal to tell my pupils about my personal beliefs. Some point out how easy RS is, despite grappling with issues such as euthanasia and nuclear war. Some decry it as not a ‘real’ humanity, despite theology and religious studies being under the humanities faculty in universities and a lot of schools. The EBac hasn’t done much to help my subject’s standing in education, with even the Education Secretary failing to recognise RS as a subject sharing the same academic rigour as its cousins history and geography. But, no matter how many jibes and denigrations I hear, I am resolutely in love with every aspect of religious studies, and here’s why.

It describes the world

I’m sure you’ve heard that saying ‘science tells us how the universe came to be, religion tells us why,’ and my first reason is somewhat rooted in this. Now, I’m not about to sit here and claim that God made the world, but I am going to point out that most people on the planet think that He (or some other Higher Power) had at least a part in it. As such, it would be ridiculous to go through life without learning about as many different ideas and opinions about this emotive subject – we wouldn’t expect to ignore vast swathes of history or geography just because it doesn’t directly affect you, and we should have the same attitude towards religion. Even if you think that all religious belief is fundamentally ridiculous, childish and naïve, then it would still be churlish to ignore it. By understanding religion you understand people’s motivations and values, even the people themselves.

It’s the history of the world

If religion describes why people behave in certain ways, then it can certainly help us to understand history. While there’s usually an underlying political or social concept, it’s no secret that many wars have been fought under the banner of faith. Countries have been conquered with religion, inspiring political radicals influenced by it and revolutions fought against it. America was founded by people looking for freedom of religion and the UK has been a nominally Christian country for centuries (thanks to Henry VIII and his rejection of Papism). It would be incredible to expect children to understand the causes of Hitler’s animosity to Judaism without some kind of understanding of Jewish history. The two are intrinsically linked, and as such we must study both to understand each properly.

It breaks the cycle of ignorant intolerance

I have several students who come to lessons with inherited prejudices. The thing is, to begin with I can’t be angry at them because they simply do not know any better – they are borrowed ideas from parents, opinion placeholders that will eventually be replaced by genuinely considered ones. However, this will only happen if education is allowed to take place. In the wake of 9/11 and 7/7 this has become even more important, to counteract the vitriolic ideas pouring forth from right-wing media. Because these views are often passed on through parents or other adult influences who may not know better themselves, the best way to break this cycle is through education children in what these religions are really about and the nature of extremism as a minority view.

Freedom of curriculum

What a lot of non-specialists often don’t realise is that RS isn’t part of the National Curriculum in the same way as any other subject. We have ‘locally agreed syllabuses’ that set out what the schools in an LEA must cover and how much time they must spend on RS over the year, but the degree of specificity varies widely from place to place. In my LEA, we have a certain minimum time, a directive to study at least 2 religions a year and to cover 6 by the end of KS3 (my school is on the two year KS3, so we’re a little more restricted). This year, I have taught Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism across KS3, but I’ve also been allowed to do a module about religion in the Supernatural, the Philosophy of Religion, Old Norse and Music. This means that you can connect the subject to your students in ways that other subjects may not be able to. I can use video games, films, TV, music, superheroes and even zombies to impart philosophical and theological concepts to my cohorts, and it’s amazing.

Critical Thinking

All subjects require a certain degree of analysis and reasoning, and RS is no different. However, I would argue that RS allows this in far wider scope than any other subject. Because RS can encompass philosophy (and in my classroom always does) then students are given the chance to tackle questions that have no answers and are therefore wide open for discussion. There is no right answer, no wrong answer, so as long as any answer you give is backed up by evidence, and so I insist that every answer given in class can have its reasons explained right from the beginning. This is an excellent foundation in critical thinking, particularly when students are ready to move on to analysing and doing rudimentary evaluations of existing philosophical theories. It’s probably my favourite part of teaching the subject, as approached in the right way even the weakest student can offer their opinion on something and give a simple reason. It makes higher-order thinking accessible for every student, and that’s never something to be ignored.

Religion is fascinating

My last reason isn’t academic, and neither will it persuade anyone who has decided that RS is a waste of time, but it’s the reason that I will always find the subject amazing – it’s bewildering varied and stunningly complex. There is endless fascination to be had with the myriad combinations of beliefs, rules, festivals and philosophies that abound in study of modern religion. From the mystics of Eastern religion to the skeptics and empiricists of Western philosophy there is a constant stream of new ideas and no possibility of being bored. No matter what my students personally believe, there is bound to be one philosopher, theologian or piece of religious wisdom that will resonate with them and help them to define what it is they really hold as true.

It still makes me angry when people are disparaging about the subject that I’m utterly dedicated to, and I know that many will never be swayed by my ideas – like all arguments on anything it only serves to preach to the converted. However, it helps me to remember why I’m doing the job that I’ve chosen. Besides, it’s statutory and that status won’t be going anywhere soon – and that’s awesome.

Celia Warrick

Summer 2012