NSS urges government to replace “unpopular” RE

The National Secular Society has urged the government to replace religious education (RE) with a subject "more suited to 21st century schools".

In a letter to Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan, the NSS said the unwillingness of many schools in England to teach RE "reflects the prevailing public sentiment that RE is out of date, unpopular and lacking a clear purpose".

The letter follows recent lobbying from parliamentarians and members of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales for the government to offer funding for RE teacher training bursaries. It said some children are receiving "either tokenistic RE or none at all".

The NSS said the problems with RE are "more fundamental", citing recent polls which found RE to be the least popular subject, while over half of British adults do not think it is important for RE to be taught in secondary school.

The NSS said that "critical enquiry, religion and belief literacy and fundamental British values" should be promoted in schools. But it said this would be achieved "more effectively through a renewed citizenship curriculum rather than continuing to support and fund the declining subject of religious education".

RE Council members said a "postcode lottery in the provision of RE currently exists in the UK". The NSS said this is due to RE, unlike any other subject, being "locally determined and heavily influenced by religious interest groups".

The 'agreed syllabus' for RE is overseen by Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs), which include committees of religious representatives. All community schools, voluntary controlled schools and foundation schools must follow the agreed syllabus, and many academies choose to do so.

The NSS said the "postcode lottery" underlines the need to replace RE with "a nationally determined subject, free from bias or control from parties with separate agendas to the education of children".

NSS: 'Time is right for a significant change of approach to teaching about religion and belief'

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "If schools are reluctant to devote curriculum time to RE, that signals there's something fundamentally wrong with the subject.

"When it comes to the vital task of creating cohesive communities, RE simply isn't up to the job'

"Rather than pumping more money into such an unpopular and outdated subject, the government should consider replacing RE with a subject better suited to teaching civic values, critical thinking and debating all kinds of social issues, including religion or belief."

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