RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS IS "A PRIORITY" SAY MPS

This story appears on the BBC News website today:

Religious Education in schools is "a priority" say MPs

MPs have set up a new group to safeguard the teaching of religious education to pupils in England

By Judith Burns, Education Reporter, BBC News

The all party parliamentary group on RE wants the subject to be treated as a priority.

Last year 115 MPs signed a motion demanding a debate on including RE GCSE in the English Baccalaureate.

A government spokesperson welcomed the new group but said "the English Baccalaureate will not prevent schools offering RE GCSEs" Stephen Lloyd MP who will chair the group said the group would provide a real insight into the value of RE.

"In today's world where our children can be open to an enormous amount of misleading information I believe it is absolutely essential they are taught about different cultures and religions by trained, experienced RE teachers, allowing children to make informed choices," he said.

Mr Lloyd, a Liberal Democrat, tabled last year's early day motion on RE after the government left it out of the English Baccalaureate award to teenagers who get five good grades in key named GCSEs.

The subjects in the award are English, maths, science, a modern foreign language and a humanities subject - either geography or history.

Supporters of RE want to see it included in the humanities category.The new group has the support of a number of faith groups and RE teaching associations.

John Keast, chair of The Religious Education Council of England and Wales, said: "Recently the RE community has felt under fire and this represents an important step to give the subject a strong profile amongst parliamentarians."

"The coalition government is making policy decisions about academies, the national curriculum, qualifications and even teacher training provision.

"Directly or indirectly, all these will challenge how RE is taught to young people", he added.

The spokeswoman at the Department for Education said: "RE remains a statutory part of the school curriculum for every student up to 18. It is rightly down to schools themselves to judge how it is taught."

"We have been clear that pupils should take the GCSEs that are right for them and that we look to teachers and parents to help pupils make the right choice", she added.

RE: WE SHOULD TAKE A BROADER VIEW OF BELIEF

Allan Hayes has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:  

RE: We should take a broader view of belief

Allan Hayes calls for change in the position of religion in our schools' curriculum.

Thank you for your Opinion column, "Compulsory religion is out of date" (Mercury, September 7). It is time that we faced up to these issues. I write in a personal capacity, but with a long involvement with religion and its role in society: I am a director of Leicester Secular Society, a trustee of the British Humanist Association and Humanist representative on the Leicester Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).

The requirement of compulsory acts of worship could be simply dealt with – it could, and I think should, be removed. That not just because it is widely ignored and the majority of the population is in favour of its removal; compulsion in religion is morally offensive.

Of course, morning assemblies are a valuable part of the school day.

One of the most inspiring experiences during my year as chaplain to the Lord Mayor, was a visit to morning assembly at one of the city's infant schools.

It was a joyous and happy affair with children singing and reading, and reflecting on life and caring. It set the feeling for the school as a caring community – it was good.

Religious Education is a more difficult matter.

In spite of the efforts of teachers and advisers, the subject still gives the impression to many people of the state pushing religious views on to children.

And consider the make-up of SACREs, the local bodies responsible for what is taught: four groups, one for Church of England, one for other approved religions, one for teachers' representatives, one for representatives of the local council. What about other beliefs and the great number who just want to get on with their lives without reference to religion? Millions of people are essentially humanist in their outlook, but Government guidance is that humanists should most definitely not be full members.

In addition to these issues of principle, there are real worries among teachers of RE at the reduction in the subject's status and the resources available, and its not being included in the English Baccalaureate.

What might be done? Can the subject evolve and widen into one in which our humanity is nourished and celebrated, including our religions – a subject where we learn to value one another directly as people and where respecting someone's religion is a consequence of a wider respect for people?

I would like to think that it can, but I don't know. Perhaps, here in Leicester, we have the possibility of bringing this about.

Our schools should bring us together, and it is on this point that, while I welcome your opening up of the discussion, I have to say that I think that your suggestion of simply leaving RE and worship to individual schools would push us in quite the wrong direction. It would lead to division – it could also result in schools rather than the state exercising compulsion.

COMPULSORY RELIGION IS OUT OF DATE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Compulsory religion is out of date

The findings of a survey suggest many schools are failing to meet their legal obligation to provide pupils with a daily act of worship.

This is not surprising as an Ofsted report a few years ago found only one quarter of schools comply with the requirement. The new survey also found that the majority of respondents – 60 per cent – did not believe a daily act of worship should be enforced.

Given that the law is being widely ignored and most people do not care, is it not time to change it and drop this requirement?

And while we are on the subject, could the same not be said for the obligation placed upon schools to provide religious education?

We have the greatest respect for those who regard religious faith as important. However, that increasingly does not apply to a large proportion of the population who would regard themselves as agnostic, if not atheist.

It would therefore make more sense for schools to make their own decisions, based on the background of their pupils and their own ethos, over issues such as daily acts of worship and whether to teach religious education.

Clearly, religious schools, and the number of these are growing, would want to do these things. Other schools in areas where there are large numbers of religious families might want to do so also.

That would allow parents for whom faith is important to choose accordingly.

However, in an increasingly secular society where many people clearly regard religion as having little or no importance to them, it is surely pointless to tell all schools to have daily acts of worship and teach religious education.

COMPULSORY RELIGION IS OUT OF DATE

This opinion editorial is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Compulsory religion is out of date 

The findings of a survey suggest many schools are failing to meet their legal obligation to provide pupils with a daily act of worship. This is not surprising as an Ofsted report a few years ago found only one quarter of schools comply with the requirement. The new survey also found that the majority of respondents – 60 per cent – did not believe a daily act of worship should be enforced. 

Given that the law is being widely ignored and most people do not care, is it not time to change it and drop this requirement? 

And while we are on the subject, could the same not be said for the obligation placed upon schools to provide religious education? 

We have the greatest respect for those who regard religious faith as important. However, that increasingly does not apply to a large proportion of the population who would regard themselves as agnostic, if not atheist. 

It would therefore make more sense for schools to make their own decisions, based on the background of their pupils and their own ethos, over issues such as daily acts of worship and whether to teach religious education. 

Clearly, religious schools, and the number of these are growing, would want to do these things. Other schools in areas where there are large numbers of religious families might want to do so also. That would allow parents for whom faith is important to choose accordingly. 

However, in an increasingly secular society where many people clearly regard religion as having little or no importance to them, it is surely pointless to tell all schools to have daily acts of worship and teach religious education.