The GCSE debate: The resistance to studying religion

This is Part 3 of my search to map the landscape of the debate around GCSE and maybe help us come closer together in our thinking.

This is possibly one of the most disturbing features of our recent discussions. A number of colleagues have said they don’t want to have to teach about religions at Key Stage 4 as part of a subject called ‘Religious Studies’. The punters will walk away! One person even posted on Facebook to say they didn’t want to return to having to teach religious studies in Religious Studies! Can you imagine a historian saying s/he doesn’t want to teach history in the History GCSE?

I think we do get it. If you reduce teaching about religions to dreary, bloated lists of content then it will be dull. Also we know that for many students the ‘religious view of the world’ is outmoded and lacking in credibility. We need to strongly acknowledge the ‘contested’ nature of religion in their learning.

What we have failed to do in recent years is find enough models of teaching about religion and religions which are engaging and which students see as relevant to questions they are asking. Many teachers say they can keep students’ interest in religions going through Key Stages 2 and 3 but feel it falls away by the time they get to Year 9.

What is going on? I am quite sure there is nothing intrinsically boring about studying religion. GCSE students are willing to study atomic structure and the periodic table, geomorphic processes and landscape, early medieval history!

This is a massive wake up call for the RE community. If we really can’t make the study of religion(s) interesting at GCSE we are in serious trouble.

Five thoughts:

• We may have to accept that the study of religion(s) is only of real interest to some, not all – Move to optional GCSE and remove the statutory requirement at KS4 – my clarion call.
• If learning about religions is reduced to covering that content set out in the Annex to the GCSE Consultation then we may be doomed. Dull, undifferentiated content is very bad news.
• We must acknowledge that the study of religion(s) at Key Stage 4 needs to be energised by starting with questions that are challenging and engaging AND start closer to where the students are.
• We need to remember the students have already done up to 9 years of RE – we can’t keep doing more of the same. We need progression into more challenging learning about religion.
• If we start with the idea that teaching about religion is dull we will find we fulfil our own prophecy. The teacher’s infectious enthusiasm for the matter is crucial ….. but exciting course specifications can help!

The way forward

A more imaginative interplay of Part 1 and Part 2 of the GCSE subject content proposals might offer a more coherent and credible way forward. So, if you are studying Christianity, I would integrate some of the social, ethical and cultural questions into the study of the way the religion engages with the modern world. Are Christians effective in dealing with gender and equality issues? What has been the Christian response to issues around social injustice? How has Christianity dealt with the issue of war and conflict? Explore these questions as PART of the study of Christianity not as separate topics.

If you are studying Hinduism the issue of social justice, equality and mobility is particularly important in relation to the continuing use of Hindu concepts to justify the caste system.

If we take Islam the issues topics might be: What are the issues that challenge Muslims in the modern world? What are the debates around the place of Jihad and Sharia law within Islam? Why does controversy always seem to follow Islam?

This would also allow us to match the ‘issues’ to the religion in a more meaningful and challenging way.  Some issues are more relevant to some religions than others. My examples are just that – examples – we would need to spend a little time deciding what the best questions might be. This also might involve looking again at the assessment criteria and curtailing the emphasis on comparing religions – always a dubious exercise at the best of times.

So we could end up re-configuring Parts 1 and 2 of the subject content in the consultation document:

 To repeat what I said at the outset of these blogs: it is crucial to remember that so far we have been presented with criteria not course specifications and the exam boards have the opportunity to be creative. And there is still plenty of time to respond to the consultation.

I am not sure whether we can rely on the Boards to be creative OR how far we need to amend the criteria to foster that creativity – both I suspect.