Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.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 But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).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
Secularist conference to explore ‘21st Century RE for All’
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 11:22
The National Secular Society is to hold a one day conference on reform of religion and belief education in schools, with speakers to include Prof. A. C. Grayling.
The conference will take place at Conway Hall in Central London on Saturday 14 April, and takes its name from the NSS campaign to reform RE. The campaign aims to bring RE into line with other subjects by ending local determination and introducing a balanced curriculum in all schools drawn up by educationalists, not faith groups, and inspected consistently by Ofsted.
Speakers include NSS honorary associate Prof. A. C. Grayling, who will offer a philosophical perspective on 'Learning about worldviews'. A panel of experts from the RE community will offer a range of opinions on what '21st Century RE for All' should mean. There will also be a series of roundtable discussions, for attendees to get involved with.
Panellists include: Dr Keith Sharpe, chair of the Secular Education Forum and a former professor of education; Alan Brine, former Ofsted national adviser for religious education; Kate Christopher, RE Today's national adviser who is completing a PhD in Philosophy of Education; and Martha Shaw, a senior lecturer in education at London South Bank University and an author of REforReal.
Education and schools officer Alastair Lichten said: "We hope this event will be an exciting opportunity to bring different groups together. Whether you're a teacher of RE who wants to bring balance and best practice to the classroom; an academic working on reform; a parent concerned about proselytisation; or an activist challenging religious groups' privileged control of the subject, this conference will have something for you.
"Although the reforms we argue for are widely supported in the RE community, there are powerful vested interests that see RE in schools as 'theirs'. Some who accept RE shouldn't be used to promote their faith, still see the subject as about promoting the idea of faith more generally.
"We hear a lot about problems in RE, vestiges of confessionalism, a narrow focus, poor inspection and confusion over its aims. But it's worth remembering there is a lot of good practice out there, parents, pupils and teachers are interested in exploring worldviews in a balanced, critical way, and in an education that prepares young people for life in 21st century Britain."
Tickets: Tickets are just £10, including lunch
Venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL
Date: Saturday 14 April 2018, 10.30-15.30 (registration from 10.00)
Details: Click here for more details including speaker bios
Faith schools using RS IGCSE loophole to teach just one religion
Posted: Thu, 7 Dec 2017 10:53
The number of pupils being entered for a religious studies IGCSE exam which allows them to learn about only one religion rose by 40% last year.
Schools Week has reported that the number of English entries for the IGCSE offered by the international for-profit exam board Pearson rose from 436 pupils in 2015 to 608 in 2016. Schools such as Yavneh College in Hertfordshire, a Jewish faith academy, have switched to the IGCSE in that time.
Since 2016 a change in the curriculum has meant schools have had to teach a second religion for at least a quarter of their RS GCSE course. Yavneh was among schools which initially responded by dropping its RS course.
But now more are responding by taking up the offer of an international qualification from Edexcel, which is owned by Pearson. Reports suggest the change is particularly driven by Jewish schools. According to the Jewish Chronicle Immanuel College in Bushey is switching to the course, while Hasmonean High School in Hendon and King David High School in Manchester are considering doing so.
The National Secular Society's education campaigner Alastair Lichten said the development highlighted the need to tackle religious power over schools' curricula and governance structures.
"Even if this loophole was closed, learning about a token extra religion for a quarter of a GCSE course really isn't a sufficient requirement. This is a reminder that what children learn about should be dictated by what's best for children and society, not the interest of faith groups.
"And it's inevitable that religious organisations will behave like this when they have so much power in English schools. The state shouldn't be funding schools which build their ethos around religion at all."
The NSS is campaigning for an end to faith schools and reform of the way religion and belief are taught.
The development has also been criticised by some in the education community.
Deborah Weston, a research officer at the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, said Pearson had made a "business decision" rather than one based on the "principle of what RS teaching should be like". Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of Schools and College Leaders, said the decision was "at odds with us as a society".
Spencer Lewis, the executive headteacher of Yavneh College, told Schools Week he felt the IGCSE was "an appropriate course" that would "interest and challenge" pupils. He said the focus on a single religion was "not the motivating factor" for the switch and pupils would still learn about other religions.
The schools do not appear to be trying to boost their official standing in performance tables. The Government does not recognise IGCSEs when it calculates these.
A spokesperson for Pearson told Schools Week its RS IGCSE was "informed" by the Department for Education's requirements, but the company had to make sure the content was "appropriate for schools worldwide, delivered in many different cultural contexts".
Pearson added that while most questions in the IGCSE could be answered "from the perspective of one religion", pupils also needed "knowledge and understanding of key religious ideas which are not specific to any one religion", as well as of non-religious beliefs.
