Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.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 But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).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
Broad consensus for reforming RE at NSS event
Posted: Wed, 18 Apr 2018 16:18
Experts have called for reform of the way religion and belief issues are taught in schools in England and Wales at an event hosted by the National Secular Society.
The 21st Century RE For All conference, which took place on Saturday, brought together panellists from educational backgrounds, philosopher AC Grayling, teachers, NSS supporters and members of the public.
During the keynote address Grayling called for teaching to look broadly at "the history of ideas", including topics such as classical mythology and different types of thought.
Education about religious traditions, he said, should be "one but only one component" of teaching about how humans have tried to make sense of the world.
"If you take religion out of the context in which it belongs you give it a false importance," he said.
Grayling also said that in "too many schools" children are given "education in a religious outlook rather than education about religious outlooks" and said it had been too difficult to get non-religious worldviews such as humanism on the curriculum.
He also reflected on the history of religiously-inspired suppression of thought and the challenges to it, criticised religious "moralists" and cited the history of religious conflict. He said religions should be subject "to exactly the same kind of scrutiny" as philosophy or the sciences.
He said religious instruction, which schools were required to teach under the Education Act 1944 until it was replaced by religious education, was "an attempt to keep religion alive" and "a powerful reinforcement of the role of religion in society".
During panel discussions Keith Sharpe, of the NSS's Secular Education Forum, called for a national entitlement to teaching about religion and belief.
He also recommended that: teaching should be broad, balanced and objective, with no inculcation of dogma; the requirement for religious education to be Christian should be scrapped; relevant teaching should be subject to Ofsted inspections; parents should not have the right to withdraw their children once the subject is reformed; and the content should be decided by a range of stakeholders, with no veto from any interested party.
He contrasted France's inclination to "find ways of keeping religion out of schools" with England's to "find ways of keeping it in".
Kate Christopher, a national RE adviser and former teacher of the subject, described the way RE was currently taught as "an absolute fudge". She said the subject was "labouring under incompatible aims", citing attempts to teach both "personal inspiration" and "critical intellectual enquiry" within the subject. She said the subject should focus on the latter of the two goals.
Martha Shaw, a senior lecturer in education at London South Bank University, said the main purpose of RE should be the academic study of religion and belief. She added that students should be taught to question their own beliefs and presumptions.
Alan Brine, a former national adviser for religious education, said there were two competing narratives in contemporary debates over teaching about religion. An "enthusiasts' narrative" suggests "RE is wonderful but there is not enough of it", while a "darker narrative" says there are major problems in the subject. He said a new national entitlement should reaffirm the secular nature of the curriculum within which the study of religion and belief fits.
Attendees also took part in two round-table discussions, focusing on issues including how religion and belief literacy should be defined, what pupils should learn about and where religion and belief education should fit in the curriculum. There was some enthusiasm for the possibility of covering freedom of religion and belief within citizenship.
Alastair Lichten, the NSS's education and schools campaigner, thanked the speakers and attendees and said the event had been "an important reminder of the case for change".
"The discussions made clear that there is plenty of good work being done in schools. But too often teachers are hamstrung by the excessive control which religious groups exercise over the subject and the often deferential curricula resulting from local determination.
"Last year the Commission on Religious Education said the subject needed 'strategic, urgent intervention'. We now need to ensure all pupils get a broad, rigorous education which covers a diverse range of religious and non-religious worldviews in a critically-informed way."
The NSS is campaigning for reform of teaching about religion and belief across the UK. RE curricula are determined locally in all of the UK's constituent parts. Locally constituted Standing Advisory Councils for RE (SACREs) only set the curricula in England and Wales.
See also: The panellists have shared the notes from their speeches at the conference.
Majority of Britons see religious studies as unimportant
Posted: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 17:23
The British public considers religious studies one of the least important subjects which secondary schools teach, according to a YouGov poll.
The National Secular Society has responded by reiterating its call for "fundamental reform" of the way religion and belief issues are taught in schools.
YouGov asked a sample of the British public how important they considered 18 subjects. The poll placed religious studies 15th, ahead only of Drama, Classics and Latin.
More than half of respondents said RS was either 'not very important' or 'not at all important', with more than a quarter saying the latter. Just 12% said it was 'very important'.
In contrast 60% of people said citizenship was either 'very important' or 'quite important' and 85% said the same about sex and relationship education, which came fifth on the list. Last week the NSS told the Government that young people's access to sex education should not be restricted on religious grounds.
RS was far behind the other traditional humanities: history gained the support of 84% of people and geography 83%. 'Religious education' was not included on the list.
The NSS's education campaigner, Alastair Lichten, said: "While there is value in learning about different worldviews and their influence in society, these findings should prompt questions about the hubris of those that overstate the importance of religion in society and wish to elevate its status."
In December the NSS called for a new national entitlement for religion and belief education to ensure pupils learn about a diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews and an end to local determination of the way it was taught. This was in response to a report by the Commission on Religious Education which said RE in England faces "a perilous future" unless it is subject to "strategic, urgent intervention".
Mr Lichten said: "All children and young people should be entitled to a basic, broad and balanced education about different worldviews. But with little enthusiasm for religious studies, as this poll reveals, it's questionable whether a specific timetabled subject called 'religious education' is the best way to achieve that."
In July Luxembourg's Government set a precedent in this regard when it announced plans to replace religious education lessons with 'life and society' classes. Mr Lichten said this was an "interesting" approach, adding: "We could have a strong 'worldviews' strand within citizenship studies. Such a subject could integrate well with politics and philosophy – which were not included in the poll."
On Friday the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC), warned that a shortage of religious education teachers could contribute to religious stereotyping and discrimination. Less than two thirds of the targeted initial teacher training spaces for RE in England have been filled this year.
Mr Lichten said: "We agree with the REC that 'specialist teachers are crucial for keeping young people properly informed'.
"We also have to consider whether the fact that one in three schools can apply a religious test when hiring RE teachers, may discourage recruitment. If an RE teacher is a 'specialist' in helping pupils learn about religion, not how to be religious, then there should be no justification for such discrimination.
"Part of the purpose of education is learning to live together. That has to include understanding of how different worldviews affect the society we share. However, 'religious literacy' is often held up as a panacea, or used as code encouraging a positive or aggrandising view of religion. In actuality, there is no convincing evidence either ignorance of or hostility to religion correlates with bigotry towards religious people."
