Religious Education is outdated, unpopular and opens the door to proselytising.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 But we don't think our schools need a dedicated subject to do this – especially a subject as out-of-date and as irrelevant as Religious Education (RE).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
Parliamentary inquiry claims religious education in schools is “poor”
Posted: Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:30
A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Religious Education (APPG) has found that RE lessons are frequently taught by teachers with no qualifications in the subject, and is calling for more resources to be put into RE teaching and for the subject to be included in the new Ebacc.
The group has received funding from the Religious Education Council whose stated aim is "To promote high quality teaching, learning and assessment in RE; to influence the development of public policy and public understanding of RE; and to promote a coherent professional development strategy for RE."
The APPG also has on it some of Parliament's highest profile Christians, such as the evangelical Fiona Bruce and Jim Dobbin, Mary Glindon who is anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage, the Bishop of Oxford, who is the CofE's education spokesperson and chief proponent of religious propaganda in schools.
The APPG, which aims to 'strengthen the provision of RE in schools' says the teaching of RE is often given to teaching assistants, who, they claim, receive little support, training or guidance. The report suggested that about a half of primary teachers and trainee teachers lack confidence in teaching RE.
The Rev Jan Ainsworth, the Church of England's Chief Education Officer, said: "This provides strong evidence for our continuing concern that RE is being downgraded as part of the curriculum.
Chair of the APPG on RE, Stephen Lloyd MP, said he thought "as many children as possible" should be encouraged to study GCSE Religious Studies, but warned: "It is illogical to think that we can dilute the professionalism and expertise needed to teach RE well and still have a generation of young people that understand and are sensitive to the growing levels of religious and non-religious diversity in our society."
RE is compulsory in all maintained schools, but not as part of the National Curriculum. Uniquely, the RE syllabus is determined locally by committees (SACREs), often dominated by religious interests. Many faith schools are also permitted to teach RE from a confessional viewpoint.
The National secular Society has called for radical reform of RE before any more resources are poured into it.
Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, commented: "There is a clear agenda behind moves to 'strengthen' RE that seeks to use schools as a place to promote religious belief generally. This parliamentary group appears to be part of a pincer movement with the CofE to pressurise the Government to strengthen the presence of religion in schools.
"Those for whom religion is personally important have a tendency to overstate the importance of RE – particularly when claiming how 'vital' it is to community cohesion. Cohesion is best served by children and young people recognising shared values and what they hold in common. A focus on citizenship rather than religion is the most sensible way of achieving this.
"It's time we abolished the whole concept of 'Religious Education' which ring fences religious beliefs for special treatment in schools, and can too easily morph into proselytization. Instead we should absorb education about religion into a much broader 'philosophy, ethics and citizenship' subject that covers the whole history of ideas that have motivated and continue to motivate people, including secular and non-religious ones. Religion would still be there, but it would take its place amongst other ways of making sense of the world."
Read the APPG report: RE: the truth unmasked (pdf)
Religious Education – special pleading increases in volume
Posted: Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:31
The Catholic Education Service (CES) for England and Wales has reiterated concerns that Religious Education will remain relegated among academic subjects, after plans to introduce the English Baccalaureate were scrapped.
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, had planned to introduce an English Baccalaurate Certificate (EBC) for five core subjects, excluding Religious Education, but it was announced last week that plans for the EBC would not proceed after all.
A statement from the CES said that under new proposals RE would still not be given sufficient importance. It said that the Catholic Education Service was "disappointed that Religious Education remains effectively relegated to outside the 'core' under these proposals when it is at the very heart of the curriculum in every one of our more than 2,000 schools in England."
It continued: "GCSE RE is a valuable and worthwhile subject, but it could be better, and we hope to be able to work with Ofqual and Examination Boards to ensure that it becomes so."
The statement added: "We welcome the announcement today by the Secretary of State for Education concerning the reform of qualifications at 16. It is clear that the government's own consultation regarding examination reform showed broad consensus, accepting the need for reform yet rejecting the initial proposals for that reform. That the Secretary of State proposes to reform exams 'with the help of school and university leaders' is particularly welcome. Working closely with education professionals will help ensure that any reform will enjoy the widest possible support and confidence."
