Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.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 But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).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
Most Brits don’t consider religious studies important, poll finds
Posted: Thu, 3 Dec 2020 15:42
A majority of adults in Britain don't consider it important to teach religious studies at secondary school, according to a new poll.
A survey by YouGov has found that 55% of Brits think teaching RS is either "not very important" (31%) or "not at all important" (24%).
Just 12% regarded it as "very important", while 27% said it was "quite important".
The poll investigated public attitudes to 18 subjects and only three – drama, classics and Latin – gained a lower combined score in these two categories.
Meanwhile 63% thought citizenship education was either very (24%) or quite (39%) important.
The data comes amid ongoing debate over the future of education on religion and belief – particularly in Wales, where the government is planning significant reform.
The National Secular Society, which argues that education in this area should be more pluralistic and objective, said the numbers should be "a wake-up call".
NSS comment
NSS head of education Alastair Lichten said: "These findings are just the latest sign that religion and belief education needs significant reform to gain public confidence.
"Policy makers should be prepared to confront the dominance of religious interests and instead adopt an approach where a broader range of worldviews is critically considered."
Current moves towards reform
- Earlier this year the Welsh government published legislation to replace religious education (RE) with a more pluralistic subject, called Religion, Values and Ethics.
- In 2018 a report from the Commission on Religious Education recommended replacing RE with 'Religion and Worldviews' and introducing a national entitlement to it in England.
Further notes
- The YouGov poll didn't distinguish between RE and RS.
- YouGov surveyed 1,645 adults between 21 and 23 November 2020. The poll was highlighted in the November edition of the Counting Religion in Britain blog.
NSS gives evidence to Senedd committee over Welsh curriculum reform
Posted: Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:52
The National Secular Society has called for children's rights to be prioritised over religious interests in the formulation of a new curriculum for Wales in evidence to the Senedd.
The NSS's head of education Alastair Lichten made the call as he gave evidence to the Senedd's children, young people and education committee on Thursday, alongside representatives from Humanists UK.
The committee is currently considering legislation for a new curriculum for Wales, which is set to replace religious education with a new subject – religion, values and ethics (RVE).
The plans would continue to allow faith schools to teach the subject from a religious perspective, though they will be required to offer a pluralistic RVE course where parents request it.
Mr Lichten welcomed the ambition behind the proposals but warned that concessions to faith groups risked undermining the attempt to fulfil it.
"The ambition that all children in Wales have access to critical, pluralistic RVE was a really important and positive part of the new curriculum project. It's concerning and sad to see any effort to water that down.
"If we start from a child's rights perspective, rather than religious interests or the faith schools lobby's preferences, then it's very hard to justify children not having that entitlement."
Elsewhere he:
- Commented on the potential removal of parents' right to withdraw their children from RVE. He said this would be likely to be subject to a legal challenge if RVE was still taught through a religious lens to families who did not want that.
- Criticised the continuation of SACREs – bodies which determine RE curricula at a local level – and the failure to consider the requirement to hold collective worship as part of the new curriculum.
- Expressed support for plans to introduce comprehensive, rights-based relationships and sexuality education (RSE), but also voiced concerns over faith schools' ability to teach the subject through a religious lens.
- Said it was "insulting" to LGBT pupils, non-religious pupils or pupils from LGBT and non-religious families to suggest some schools could opt out of mentioning issues relevant to them in the curriculum.
The NSS is lobbying the Welsh government in an attempt to ensure its religion, values and ethics curriculum is genuinely pluralistic and balanced.
The society is urging supporters in Wales to write to their Senedd members over the proposals.
- Watch the evidence in full (starts after 1 hour 26 minutes).
- Transcript of evidence sessions
Image: Witnesses before the committee's session on Thursday. Alastair Lichten is at the top, in the centre.
