Humanism in GCSE Religious Studies - Not allowed!

Source: Winter Ed-Lines


The QCA has decided not to allow the study of Humanism in a Religious Studies GCSE in the same way as religions are studied. 

The exam board OCR had included Humanism alongside religions in its proposed GCSE in Religious Studies, announced in April 2008, but a decision by the QCA has meant that it could not be included.

The stance of the QCA will be a great disappointment to the many teachers, parents and pupils who were as pleased as we were at the BHA when OCR included the option of Humanism in their draft GCSE.

The study of Humanism alongside religions as an example of a non-religious worldview is recommended by the Government and QCA's National Framework for RE and is a growing feature of many syllabuses and is increasingly being included in many Initial Teacher Training programmes.

Its inclusion contributes to making the study of RE more meaningful for the vast majority of young people who are not religious, and also introduces invaluable perspectives on the big questions of life from which all pupils benefit.

As popular author and professor of philosophy A C Grayling who said, 'The Humanist tradition is a rich and important subject of study and children deserve the opportunity to engage with it as part of their schooling. If schools are teaching about religious views they must also teach about humanist ones, and all moves towards a more widespread acceptance of this should be welcomed, not opposed.'

The BHA is meeting with the QCA to see how the future inclusion of Humanism in GCSEs can be taken forward, since the technical obstacle to its inclusion in this instance was that it would have been possible for students to opt for only Humanism (just as they could opt for only one religion). 

The BHA does not accept that this was a valid reason for not allowing the GSCE to be offered, since we believe in the equal treatment of religious and non-religious worldviews in the subject. Nonetheless, we realise that we must now find a way forward in this context and will keep readers informed as our work with the QCA develops.