Religious Education: that’s another sermon

reposted from: http://www.atheismuk.com/2012/04/08/news/religious-education-thats-another-sermon/

Rowan Williams to warn of downgrading of religious education

It is about the worst possible moment to downgrade the status and professional excellence of religious education in secondary schools – but that’s another sermon…

Another sermon indeed, Rowan! The fact is that, with more than half of all secondary schools now academies and free from the strictures of the national curriculum, the Church of England-led locally agreed syllabus regime, for Religious Education, is dead in the water. So also is any idea that the RE orthodoxy should be imposed nationally. 

Academies are free to teach RE in any way they choose, provided merely that it complies with the ill-defined statutory requirement to:-

reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.

The scope, for unorthodox RE, is almost unlimited. While it is clear that its subject matter must include “the religious traditions in Great Britain” and “the principal religions represented in Great Britain”[1], these elements are not exhaustive and there is no prohibition on absence of religion also being covered. 

Contemporary Religious Education is often characterized as “comparative religion”, as between different religions. If, instead, it is the comparison between religion and that absence of it, the subject is transformed into “philosophy of religion”.

The subject may be further transformed, as there is no prohibition on the inclusion of scientific explanations for religion, such as those (some more convincing than others) offered by Stark and Bainbridge[2], Shermer[3], Sloan Wilson[4], Dawkins[5], Dennett[6] and Ray[7].

Bring on the next sermon, Rowan!

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[1] It is not clear whether these similar but different terms were intended to convey subtly different meanings (and, if so, what) or whether their distinct usage results merely from poor drafting.

[2] “A Theory of Religion”, 1987.

[3] “How we Believe”, 2001.

[4] “Darwin’s Cathedral”, 2002.

[5] “The God Delusion”, 2006.

[6] “Breaking the Spell”, 2006.

[7] “The God Virus”, 2009.

Academies Bill will create irreversible religious divisions in the schools system, say BHA

The 14th June BHA e-bulletin says "The Academies Bill, which was debated in Parliament for the first time last week, represents a step-change in policy, allowing high-performing, state-maintained schools automatically to become Academies. The Academies Bill has bypassed scrutiny by MPs and has been introduced straight into the House of Lords.

Andrew Copson commented for the BHA, ‘We are especially concerned about the provisions of the Bill that will make it compulsory for state-funded religious schools to become religious academies but builds in no analogous protections for community schools to always become inclusive secular Academies. This double standard dangerously entrenches irreversible religious privilege in the system. Religious Academies will increase massively in number, and be totally freed from any sort of curriculum entitlement for our children. The spread of creationist teaching and of biased and counter-educational RE and sex education that occurred under the previous government will receive an additional boost from this Bill.’