Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.
There are many more subjects children and young people need to learn.
It's time to replace RE with something more appropriate for 21st century students.
It is important for children and young people to learn about different religions and beliefs. But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).
Surveys consistently show RE is one of the least popular school subjects, an indication of its increasing irrelevance.
58% of British adults think religious studies is unimportant at secondary schools. And a quarter of England's secondary schools do not offer RE.
Unlike any other compulsory subject, RE is determined at a local level in England. In each local authority the agreed syllabus for RE is determined by committees representing the Church of England and other religion and belief groups, as well as the local authority and teacher's groups.
As a result, schools not only face a local lottery regarding what their RE syllabus will contain; they will have to teach a subject under significant control from religious interest groups. These groups are strongly motivated to ensure their religion is represented in an overwhelmingly positive light. The current arrangements mean the subject lacks objectivity.
Many faith schools don't even need to follow the locally agreed syllabus and can instead teach religion from their own exclusive viewpoint.
A new nationally-determined civics and citizenship subject could encompass teaching about religious and nonreligious worldviews and allow students to consider moral and ethical issues. Religion and belief could also be explored in other relevant areas of the curriculum.
In Wales, RE has recently been replaced with Religions, Values and Ethics (RVE). While we welcome this broader and more inclusive subject, problems remain regarding the influence of religious groups and exceptions allowing faith schools to teach confessional RE.
We need a reformed subject to ensure education about religion and belief is broad, balanced and proportionate.
We've created a series of resources – Exploring Secularism – for anyone wishing to explore issues of religion, belief, ethics, and worldviews in schools. The resources aim to provide teachers with the material they need to engage with secularism in an informed way.
As British society considers how to respond to greater religious diversity and growing irreligiosity, it is become increasingly important for children and young people to develop their understanding of the interaction between religion, society, and politics. The study of secularism explores this interaction, together with questions about how we balance freedom of, and from, religion with other rights.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Support our campaign to ensure every pupil has the same entitlement to high quality, non-partisan education about religious and non-religious worldviews.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Laws requiring exclusively Christian RE to face court challenge in NI
Posted: Thu, 24 Jun 2021 10:37
The High Court in Northern Ireland has granted permission for a legal challenge against laws requiring confessional RE focused on Christianity and collective worship in all schools.
A father has brought the case against his daughter's primary school and the Department of Education, and will argue that the laws are discriminatory and violate the Human Rights Act.
Religious education in schools is controlled by the four major churches in NI. The syllabus for the subject says pupils should "develop an awareness, knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the key Christian teachings" and "develop an ability to interpret and relate the Bible to life".
RE is not inspected by the Department of Education and is often delivered partly by external evangelical organisations.
The law also requires that pupils in NI's schools take part in a daily act of collective worship.
Parents have the legal right to withdraw children from worship and RE, but stigmatisation, resistance from schools and a lack of a meaningful alternative mean this is not an option for many pupils.
Comments
Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who is representing the claimants, said: "Uniquely in this jurisdiction, religion, and specifically the Christian faith, and education are intertwined as a matter of law.
"It is our case that the state is not entitled to promote or privilege the Christian faith in this way. To do so only seeks to indoctrinate, and entrenches segregation."
National Secular Society head of education Alastair Lichten said: "A subject focused on narrow faith formation, and that excludes critical or different perspectives, should be regarded as inconsistent with Northern Ireland's human rights obligations.
"This case should spur the Department of Education to reform the subject so that all pupils have access to critical and pluralistic education about religions and beliefs.
"If schools are to raise the potential of pupils from all backgrounds, then all aspects of the school day need to be inclusive and suitable for everyone. Mandated worship and church-controlled curricula must go."
Criticism of relevant policies
The UN's children's rights committee has previously criticised Northern Ireland for its collective worship policy and religious segregation in schools, after the NSS submitted evidence on the subject.
And in 2019 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that states must ensure RE curricula are "conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner".
The court also ruled that states are "forbidden" from attempting to indoctrinate children in a way "that might be considered as not respecting parents' religious and philosophical convictions".
This came as the court found that Greece had breached the European Convention on Human Rights when it required parents to submit a declaration form to opt children out of RE.
Further notes
- The NSS recently received assurances from NI's education minister Peter Weir that concerns over confessional religious education and compulsory worship will fit within the scope of a major independent review of education.
- The case will proceed to a full hearing in November 2021.
Image: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com.
Major reform of teaching on religion and belief passes in Wales
Posted: Tue, 9 Mar 2021 18:37
Legislation which will substantially reform the teaching of religion and belief, including by requiring coverage of secularism as a key concept, has passed its final parliamentary vote in Wales.
The Senedd has today voted to pass a bill which provides the legal framework to introduce a new skills-based curriculum in all schools in Wales.
The National Secular Society, which has strongly lobbied ministers in Wales over curricular reform, has welcomed some significant changes introduced by the bill.
These include:
- Replacing religious education (RE) with religion, values and ethics (RVE), a new subject which will fit in a humanities section of the curriculum.
- Introducing statutory relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in all schools, under a health section of the curriculum.
- Explicitly requiring RVE to cover secularism as a key concept and include non-religious worldviews alongside major religions.
- Requiring faith schools to provide families with the option of RVE according to the locally agreed syllabus, which is more pluralistic than the faith-based alternative.
Ongoing NSS concerns
But the NSS also warned that the bill represented a missed opportunity in other regards, noting that:
- Some faith schools will continue to be able to teach faith-based RVE, meaning they are likely to face practical difficulties in running two syllabuses and undervalue the locally agreed option.
- Ending parents' right to withdraw children from RVE may lead to legal challenges where the subject is insufficiently pluralistic and objective.
- The RVE syllabus will continue to be determined by local bodies, known as SACREs or ASCs, where representatives of faith and belief groups hold significant influence.
- Faith schools will continue to teach RSE from a faith-based perspective. NSS research has shown this has led to inaccurate, shame-based or incomplete coverage of issues deemed 'controversial' by some religious groups.
- The curriculum reform does not address the legal requirement on all schools in Wales to hold a daily act of broadly Christian collective worship, despite recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten said: "This landmark piece of legislation will give pupils across Wales access to a more objective way of learning about religion and belief.
"But government concessions will mean religious groups' interests continue to enjoy a privileged input into this subject area – and to shape the way it's taught in many faith schools.
"All children should be entitled to an impartial and pluralistic education on religion and belief. Policy makers across the UK should work to make this a reality.
"We also welcome the Welsh government's move to make relationships and sexuality education statutory. This represents a significant step forward for children's rights."
Notes
- Ministers will consult on and agree statutory guidance by September 2021 to allow the new curriculum to come into effect in September 2022.
- Religious interest groups unsuccessfully lobbied against several of the changes in the bill, including the inclusion of secularism and non-religious worldviews on the curriculum.
- The NSS campaigns for all children to have an entitlement to a pluralistic and objective education on religion and belief.
