Three possible outcomes for RE…a choice to be made

Religious Education was the first subject to be required by law to be taught in the school curriculum. RA Butler’s 1944 Education Act represented a compromise between the Churches and the State both of which had for centuries provided school education for communities throughout the country.

The current, nationally mandated, National Curriculum was established 44 years later. The 1988 Education Act requires all public schools to teach all children the main subjects. RE was excluded from this national curriculum quite deliberately – apparently because of concerns about extending parents’ right to withdraw pupils from the RE curriculum to the whole national curriculum. Whether this fear was well founded or not, the exclusion of RE from the national curriculum had serious consequences.

RE found itself in the anomalous position of being required by law to be taught in all schools but not as part of the national curriculum. It was a half-way house which, particularly in community schools, led many teachers, parents and pupils to downgrade the study and understanding of religion and other beliefs. Efforts became increasingly focused upon strong academic performances in the national curriculum subjects, so not including RE.

Despite the interest of many pupils in the study of religion and the related subjects of beliefs, morals, ethics and philosophy it became increasingly difficult to timetable RE in the school week (except in faith schools); the general quality of RE teaching and assessment has fallen, and recruitment of RE teachers became increasingly difficult. In very many schools the basic legal requirement to teach RE is not being fulfilled.

The time has come to re-establish the importance of RE in the school curriculum.

The opportunity arises with the establishment of the curriculum and assessment review. This will report on an interim basis early this year and then finally in the autumn. This will be the most thoroughgoing review of the school curriculum for decades. Issues which are not addressed in this review are unlikely to be tackled seriously in coming decades. It is an important point of decision.

This means that all those concerned to establish a balanced place for religion in our national life and in our schools face a choice between 3 possible outcomes.

First some will argue that religion has no place whatsoever in our schools. They will cite countries like France and the United States which, on the basis of their histories, prevent publicly funded schools from teaching about religion. I believe this view to be profoundly wrong, whatever your individual religious beliefs. The plain fact is that religion is an inescapably important aspect of our modern world. Even those who hoped that social and scientific progress would lead to the decline of any form of religious belief concede the continuing significance of religion. The most cursory examination of the world today demonstrates the importance of religion and belief in the affairs of the world. Moreover, high quality religious education promotes community cohesion.

Second is the course of inaction, making no change to the current arrangements. This will commend itself to those who hope to steer clear of thinking about the problems of the status quo and to avoid stirring up hornets’ nests. However, procrastination will not make the issues disappear. It would be dangerous to allow RE to continue in its current anomalous position – outside the mainstream school curriculum, ignored by many and declining – as described by Ofsted – in many respects.

Neglect simply allows unbalanced, even propagandistic, pictures of religious beliefs to be fostered in ways which can stimulate dangerous conflict. High quality religious education in schools is the best weapon to tackle that. The reformed curriculum should promote this.

The third option, which should now be seized, is to put RE into our national curriculum and give it the status it deserves as an essential part of a child’s education about the world in which we live.

This is not straightforward. There are important issues about the name of the subject itself (I favour ‘Religion and Worldviews’), about who should determine the content of the RE curriculum, and about the new role, if any, of the local Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) However these are subsidiary questions.

The fundamental choice, which I hope that the curriculum and assessment review body will recommend, is to include RE in our new national curriculum to equip children as they address the challenges of our modern world.