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Megha, aged 17, has taken a very creative approach to blog writing. We loved the idea that the classroom cannot hold the flood of ideas, and that there is a tapestry of ideas to be explored. Be swept along as you read this blog and allow your curiosity to be sparked….

It started in another world.

Among glistening marble columns, in the middle of the marketplace, it started when scholars probed the universe with tentative hands. Some people were not content with ‘just enough’. Trusting old myths was not enough. Then Curiosity took the plunge.

“Why?”

The dam burst.  Mercilessly, the torrent of questions ravaged for millennia. Why do we exist? Why is there evil? Why is there belief in God? Consequently, curiosity rooted itself in the minds of the people: imperceptible, inevitable, incredible.

Millenia later, it goes on. Myriads of voices weave a tapestry of ideas, an endless conversation spanning generations. Mankind is still at war with itself, struggling to find satisfying answers. Like being stuck on one island and attempting to understand the archipelago.

But that is barely touching the surface of the ocean. Some choose to navigate by God’s light, having faith in his boundless grace. Some choose their own moral compass as an infallible guide. Some choose to trust both, some stay safe on dry land. Journey into the unknown, try not to sail in circles. So why bother? Why try at all?

Augustine believed in repairing mankind’s relationship with God. Kant argued for instinctual reason laying down incorrigible laws. Differing perspectives on the universe, on human nature, on life and death and so the list continues, as exhausting as human existence. Perhaps there will be, never be universal agreement. Perhaps it is the universal willingness to try that is important.

And then, it becomes real. From academic texts to our day to day lives, this willingness, this curiosity, springs into life as thousands march on the streets. It seems utterly ridiculous to connect Kant’s theories to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Nevertheless, Kant would have approved of every peaceful protest. The congruent belief in freedom ties together Kant’s theories and the protestors campaigns. When debate about euthanasia, the role of businesses, the duty of society arises, there must be new people to challenge stale ideas with insistent interjections of ‘Why?’. Why do we exist only to die? Why should there be evil in the world? Why does religious faith offer salvation?

The classroom is not big enough to contain this flood of ideas. As young people, qualities like determination, empathy and flexibility cannot be emphasised more. To accept and to question. To debate well by raising our argument, not our tone. To understand how massive the world around us is. By opening our minds, by combining both the abstract and the concrete, we start here. The curiosity starts here.

In this world, we carry on sailing.

Jessica, aged 17, tells us that an education in Religion and Worldviews matters because of the many transferable knowledge and skills. However, most importantly we loved the fact that the R&W classroom gave Jessica a place to exercise her argumentative nature without annoying anyone else!!

Upon arriving at my school as the infamous ‘new girl’ in year nine, I was thrust into a GCSE RE classroom, it was a subject I had never really done before and as someone from an atheist background I knew very little about the practicalities of religion in everyday life or the worldviews of many of those who partook in those religions. As the GCSE course progressed and I began to settle in, I found that many of the issues discussed in RE related directly to what was occurring in the world around me and the class debates and discussions allowed me to come out of my shell and get to know some of the people around me based on their opinions on pretty heavy topics as well as developing my own opinions! Throughout those (almost) three years RE always interested me because of the way it helped to develop my skills in debate and memory, since I was always trying to remember a better teaching than the classic, Love thy neighbour.

Another more important aspect of why an education in religion and worldviews is so integral, is the fact that even in an increasingly secularised world, everything throughout history has ultimately been influenced by religion and it is the reason why so many things are the way that they are. Having a deep understanding of religious views and the history behind them has helped me so much within my other subjects particularly when studying the A-level English Literature course as so many of the texts take place in a time period steeped in religious influence. Knowing what I know due to studying RE has allowed me to contextualise and develop my points when writing about both History and Literature, which further suggests just how relevant RE is to the world at large. Knowledge and understanding of Religion and the varying worldviews that have stemmed from it, has allowed me to become a more well-rounded student in the sense that I have another layer of interpretation to offer in my essays.

I also believe that taking a subject where the contrasting opinions of others must be studied in depth and detail helps to encourage pupils to take care and understanding of those around them which is an indispensable skill for later life. We, as humans, do not always agree, in fact studying Religion makes that quite obvious to you, but learning about different perspectives from your own and challenging your beliefs frequently, can make you far more eloquent and diplomatic when voicing these opinions outside of the classroom.

In conclusion, an education in Religion and Worldviews has strengthened my skills in empathy and understanding as well as brought entirely new ways of interpreting the world around me and the media I consume. Overall, not to sound overly sentimental, it has enriched my life and I am a better person for having taken the subject, as well as giving me free license to exercise my argumentative nature without annoying my friends or family!

Ella, aged 16, presents a personal perspective on the nature of humanity itself and why therefore an education in Religion and Worldviews is vital. For Ella, this subject is at the heart of education itself.

To ask the question of ‘Why does an education in religion and worldwide views matter?’ is to basically ask why we should have an education at all, Religious studies is the one subject that makes me feel somewhat prepared to go out into the real world. Without it I wouldn’t have a deep understanding of how other people live their lives and what they believe in. In my opinion it is the most useful subject I have been taught as it is all about other people and their lives and beliefs. I think everyone is extremely narcissistic and doesn’t want to learn about religion or anyone else apart from themselves, so instead they just say they hate the subject and that it is useless. No matter what job anyone goes into religious studies and worldwide views will always be useful and necessary.

My knowledge of worldviews and religion also makes me an interesting person, allowing me to talk to anyone with understanding and knowledge of their life choices whether they are religious or not. Just because it is called Religious studies doesn’t mean it disregards atheists. In many of my essays I commonly use the perspective of an atheist compared to one of a religious person. It allows me to explore every view anyone might have.

An education in this subject matters, due to the massive amount of discrimination towards peoples beliefs and religion. Which is usually stemmed from the attacker’s lack of education and prejudice towards the innocent person.

Unfortunately, or fortunately however you want to look at it, we do not live in a perfect world. It fascinates me how people preach love, kindness and peace (religious or not) yet there is still so much hate, anger and violence in the world. Learning RE has provided different perspectives and ways to look at the world and everything in it.

I don’t think I’m religious or believe in a God perhaps. But to hate, disregard and say that this subject doesn’t matter in education and schools would be like telling anyone who ever believed in anything that they are wrong and have no meaning in the world whatsoever and they should carry on being selfish and narcissistic.

“Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.” – Timothy Keller

RE matters as it not only enables you to support your own beliefs, but it teaches you to accept other people’s. With RE, you gain a new understanding and respect for views that differ from your own. You learn something that you just can’t get from any other subject. You learn tolerance.

It can be difficult to truly accept others without understanding them first. In a country with growing multiculturalism, this understanding has never been more important. Much of what we see on the news seems sensationalised, and this can leave people with misguided views. For instance, one word we often hear is “jihad”. As a younger student, I’d only heard this word in the Western media, shrouded in a vague mist with talk of holy wars. It wasn’t until GCSE RE that I learnt an alternate meaning of the term: a personal struggle against evil. This context seems to me massively important in the battle against Islamophobia. It brings with it a new perspective, and dispels dangerous generalisations and myths. Being a very topical conversation, students could then spread this message themselves, and teach others the opposition to erroneous journalism. Fight ignorance with education.

Due to its relevance in the wider world and the offer of a new light to the world around us, RE can also be a highly engaging subject. It could spark a lifelong interest, and feed directly into a range of careers. Perhaps the practice of evaluating different worldviews and developing structured arguments would be of use in diplomatic roles, such as being a mediator, or it could even aid in law. Maybe your deep and refined understanding of the world could summon a passion for helping others, which could be materialised in counselling, or international aid. Alternatively, it could lead to a yearning to educate others, either providing alternative journalism or secondary-level education. Even if your official education in RE comes to an end with your school exams, it’s a subject that will never be wasted because of its real-life prevalence. It allows for meaningful interpretations of daily interactions or online articles, and provides you with tools for refined discussions. In essence, RE can link you to the world like no other subject.

The philosophical nature of RE can be traced back to ancient times, and the figures we often think of as the wisest of all have come from this background: Confucius, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. This handful of people is so diverse, yet the love of philosophy links them all, and it guarantees the survival of their names and ideas. ‘The greats’ all shared this interest, and it’s one that we can tap into with the study of religions and worldviews. RE is more than a school subject, more than a textbook. RE is a tradition, and a key to success.

Since the Palaeolithic periods, nearly 300,000 years ago, humanity has held on to belief. Whether it be God or another omnipresent entity, or the nihilist that believes in nothing, faith has been a core value of humans all over the globe.

Religion is- as a metaphor stated by Tolkien- a “big tree growing into time with its roots in eternity”. So, learning about religion plants a desire for the expansion of our cultural knowledge. I think that a tree is a good metaphor for religion, with each branch representing different faiths but all finding their roots in values, morals and history. Religious education gives us a chance to grow in our own opinions and gives us the freedom to understand human emotions and drives. Just like a tree, religion has roots that spread all over the world. Roots that are always there, always adapting and branching new paths. It is our duty to accept that the root is present and understand every aspect that we possibly can. How do we do this? Religious Education.

The more you read about people’s opinions on religion, you’ll find a common theme: nature. Friedrich Nietzsche said that “we are perpetually on the way thither, being by nature winged insects and honey gatherers of the mind”. It is human nature to gather knowledge that enriches our minds with opinion and depth, and no subject does this greater than RE. It is a subject that allows debate and fresh perspective. We have a responsibility to adapt to societal changes and RE births a respect and admiration for people whose views differ to our own. Through religious studies, you learn to accept that our similarity comes from our differences.

Religion lays the foundation for every aspect of life: politics, law, philosophy, sociology. As a young person who wants to study philosophy, I have realised that religion forms an important part of major philosophical debate. It is a vital subject in opening a path into questions that can’t be proven or answered and I have gained a greater understanding of what impact religion has not only on me, but on others and the wider global community. Religious studies or world-views is important no matter what we call it. Whether we feel that we are a strong religious believer or not, religious education will always be applicable and relevant for as long as humans exist.

Here’s another metaphor that I feel encapsulates the importance of religious studies: religion as rhizomes or river systems. Rivers may be unpredictable and change through centuries, but they are the source of life for earth as it is. When you stop the flow of a river it has an impact on not only the water that travels through it, but also its vast surroundings. Similarly to how religious studies provides a basis for many educational subjects.

Whether you believe the tree is the root of all evil, or the tree of life; the tree is always there and the roots are always growing so we should acknowledge the tree and all of its many branches.

Can you imagine a world where no one knows anything about other cultures, religions and how people live their lives? The world would be filled with so much hate, all because we don’t understand about other people.

When we are young our minds can be easily influenced by people, many of these people have a prejudice towards people who are different than them, simply because they are not educated about other people’s lives. By teaching Religion and Worldviews from a young age, it stops people growing up hating or disliking a certain group of people.

Personally, I find it so interesting that everyone has different beliefs. At the moment I don’t even know what I believe in but I find it easier to work out my beliefs when learning about others.

By having an education in Religion and Worldviews it can help people understand ourselves and others and makes us more aware of what is happening in the world. It can help us see into other people’s lives, and it can also help us create our own beliefs and work out what is important to us. People can feel more included if others are aware of their religion, it builds respect between communities and helps us understand why people have different beliefs from our own.

Having an education in Religion and Worldviews helps break down barriers as the more you know, the less you fear.

For me Religion is so captivating, I really enjoy talking to others in my class who have different views to me to get more information and to understand more. Although I know that many people don’t want to offend people by getting a question wrong, I believe that the classroom is a safe place and if you get a pronunciation or a definition wrong you don’t need to worry, whereas in the real world it could be a problem with some people. Therefore teaching these vital beliefs and words from a young age will help prevent people getting it wrong when they are older, this means people won’t get offended or feel like you are mocking their beliefs by mispronouncing or getting a belief wrong. But if you know a few basic facts it builds respect between everyone.

An education in Religion and Worldviews gives children and adults a chance to understand the world and other people and helps them build respect for other communities. Therefore, helping them grow up without prejudice towards certain groups.

I believe everyone should have an education in Religion, and that it should start from a young age. Some people my age didn’t have a real knowledge of any religion because it was overlooked in their previous schools.

Religion and Worldviews gives us valuable knowledge and helps us in the real world, by developing people’s knowledge it will help all of us!

And that is why an education in Religion and Worldviews matters.

For the most part, religious education is seen as monotonous and redundant in the increasingly secular society. Students see it as a tedious lesson of memorising biblical quotes or Islamic prophets, and a question that is heard all too much in secondary schools is: ‘why would I need to know this unless I want to be an RS teacher?’ What is often overlooked by students is how much further religious studies can stretch beyond the endless bible verses or prayers.

By teaching religious studies, we are given to opportunity to discuss and consider much deeper topics than algebraic fractions or the structure of the atom. It lets us consider the purpose of life, what occurs after death, what makes us human, what is morality, and what is truly good or evil. It is one of the only subjects where they are encouraged to have an opinion, to take our own stance and develop our own sense of identity, instead of mindlessly regurgitating facts that have been memorised by generations of students before us. Education has become more about forming a robot who will contribute skills to society, and less about developing sensitive and enlightened young people. Religious education not only widens knowledge and understanding of culture, but also gives students way to develop spiritually. If we are not given the chance to explore these philosophical questions, how could we possibly make sense of what we truly believe and think?

From the day they are born, children become a patchwork design of their parent’s ideas, their parent’s beliefs, their parent’s morality. By teaching them about religion we give them a chance to create their own patchwork, by presenting them with diverse and varied ideas and giving them the control to formulate their own opinions. It gives a way of looking beyond our own community, and gives an insight into the lives of those with cultures different to our own. It helps us to understand the varying practises of both religious and non-religious people, and by having an understanding it builds a diverse and cohesive society. Humans are conditioned to see anything that they see as different from themselves as strange and threatening, and will therefore act coldly to those who are different. Therefore, having an understanding of the religion helps to break down this fear of the unknown and sets a framework for a more united and tolerant society. Teaching religious studies helps us understand not only our differences, but what binds us together, the fact that we are all people, working our way through life on this planet. How much unnecessary conflict could be avoided if we all took the time to understand each other?

An Education in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics is essential in even beginning to understand the human race. No matter which path we decide to take in life, an idea of who we are, what our purpose is and what we believe will allow everyone to lead a rich and full life. RPE helps us find peace within ourselves, others around us, and the world as a whole.

I was sitting there scrolling through my phone until I was disturbed buy my 10-year-old cousin “Hey Scarlett may I ask you something?” he said. I put my phone down and sat up and looked at him “of course what’s up” I said looking at him. He sat next to me but in a way that he was looking at me, “Why did you pick religious studies as one of your options, it so boring?” I chuckled at his last statement. “well, what do you find boring about it?” “All of it I just don’t understand why I have to learn about it” he replied shrugging his shoulder “Did you pick it because you’re religious” he asked looking interested. “No, I didn’t, I believe certain things but I’m not part of a religion” I replied “Then why did you pick it?” “Because I believe religion is important as it shapes people’s morals, traditions, beliefs, and behaviour.” I said, “But how?” “That’s what I believe if you ask anyone else you may get a different answer” I answered his question looking down thinking he was finishing the questions. “Is that the only reason you picked it, you thought it would change your morals?” “no” I said looking back at him “religion is important as it gives me hope, peace, humility and respect for my society, it induces me to have compassion, serve others and help others in need.” My cousin is looking at me his face looking more interested. “oh, so like you are religious?” he asked “no this is what religious studies does this is what I believe. We also get to learn about some interesting topics like euthanasia” He was nodding his head to say he was listening “what is that?” He asked “It when someone who is terminally ill like say they had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and they just can’t cope with life anymore, so they decide they want to pass away as they believe they’d be better off that way” I answered his question. “Oh cool” He was smiling really interested now “what else do you learn?” “Well, I’ll say one more then you’ll have to find out more once you’re older” I said, “Yeah okay” “So you learn about religion peace and war and you get to learn about loads of different viewpoints on different situations” he was nodding his head again “Why can’t I learn that at my school?” He moaned “you will once you’re in big boy school and if you pick it as one of your options” I said smiling at him hoping I convinced him “Haha I will” He said hugging me and running off. As he ran off I heard him shout to his mum “Mum RS isn’t boring anymore it’s fun and interesting, just wait till I tell my teacher all the things I now know all because of Scarlett” His mother just laughed as said “That’s great to know” “Yeah but I’m not going to tell my teacher that she told me I’m going to say I know all this because I’m smart” As I heard this I walked into the room he just entered “Ah yes but that would be lying and in RS we learn lying is wrong, you are very smart and kind but lying is a big no” I said ruffling his hair “Okay Scarlett, if she asks me how I know this I’ll say you told me” He looked up at me and smiled ”Good good” I said and walked back to my seat.

A week later I got a, message from my auntie and it said, “Thank you for talking to your cousin last week, He’s come back today and said he actually enjoyed his RS lesson today as he saw how it affected you and he said once he’s older he’s sure going to try and understand and see your points and enjoy it as much as you do, once again thank you.” As I read the messaged, I smiled “You are very welcome, and I’m here if he wants to know anymore.”

Cara, aged 13, tells us that an education in Religion and Worldviews is developing a new language, a language of thinking. We loved the way in which Cara gives so many examples of the knowledge and skills being developed, as well as promoting confidence to have a voice in the public arena.

Learning RE – from a pupil’s point of view