Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.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 But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).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
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.
Religious pressure resisted as Welsh RE reform plans progress
Posted: Wed, 9 Dec 2020 13:11
A major curriculum reform bill which would replace religious education with a more pluralistic alternative in Wales will proceed to the next parliamentary stage after a Senedd committee's recommendation.
The Children, Young People and Education Committee has recommended that the Senedd agree the general principles of the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill.
The National Secular Society was among groups who gave evidence during the committee's scrutiny of the bill, and the committee's report drew heavily on the NSS's evidence.
The bill will replace RE with religion, values and ethics (RVE), among other reforms, which include making comprehensive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) compulsory.
The committee did not recommend further religious exemptions or loopholes in the bill, despite calls from some faith groups including the Catholic Education Service (CES).
The CES has rigorously objected in particular to the fact the bill will require faith schools to offer a pluralistic RVE option that must be in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus.
NSS position on the bill
The NSS largely supports the Welsh government's efforts to reform RE, although it has warned that ministers risk falling short of their own ambitions.
The society's concerns include the fact that the new syllabus will still allow faith schools to teach a denominational form of RVE, although they will be required to offer a more objective and pluralistic option where parents request it.
The NSS has also raised concerns that some pupils will miss out on comprehensive rights-based RSE where faith schools are permitted to teach it through an often discriminatory religious ethos.
The NSS has long argued that children should receive an objective and pluralistic education on religion and belief.
Committee's key recommendations
In a report outlining its findings, published last Friday, the committee said the Welsh government should:
- Consider concerns around the purpose of local bodies which determine RE curricula, currently known as standing advisory councils on religious education (SACREs). It noted NSS criticisms of SACREs, which tend to be heavily influenced by religious interests.
- Launch a myth-busting campaign around relationships and sex education – a recommendation which the NSS helped to secure.
- Clarify why the bill did not provide for older children to choose the form of RVE they prefer when they are mature enough.
- Consider how it can ensure the place of human rights, including children's rights, is "secure in the long-term" in the curriculum.
- Prescribe more key material where there are concerns it could otherwise drop off the syllabus.
NSS extensively quoted in report
The report featured mentions of the NSS's concerns around:
- Faith schools' ongoing ability to teach a denominational syllabus.
- Plans to remove the parental right to withdraw children from RVE while the potential remained for the subject to be used as a vehicle for proselytisation.
- The fact that the bill does not contain plans to abolish the requirement on schools to hold acts of collective worship.
In response to the report's publication the NSS has now briefed members of the Senedd, who are due to debate the bill and the committee's report next week.
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten said: "The committee has rightly resisted religious pressure which would water down children's right to a pluralistic and critically-informed education on religion and belief.
"It's also made several helpful recommendations which should prompt ministers to take further steps to put children's interests before those of religious groups."
