Premier Radio is leading a campaign to persuade Michael Gove to include Religious Education (RE) in the syllabus of the English Baccalaureate and a paper petition launched has collected 145,000 signatures so far. The significance of this is that any petitions with over 100,000 signatures ought to qualify for a debate in the House, time permitting.
I hope this happens because RE must be one of the most underestimated subjects in the British school curriculum. Listening to the arguments against it makes one think that there is a danger of a revival of Puritanism if RE were to be included.
What is modern education policy if it does not include personal capacity building tools? Religious Education provides pupils with the means to evaluate various religions through the examination of the core belief of each. By conducting such an examination children build up an incremental picture of the religion being studied which also includes an evidence base. The personal capacity building comes from deciding whether or not religion is something worth following.
RE is a modern way of studying religion and is in no way comparable to yesteryear when religion was rammed down people's throats. On the contrary RE transforms the image of religious education and ought to be allowed to challenge the negative perceptions that being religious is an outdated way of living.
I hope this happens because RE must be one of the most underestimated subjects in the British school curriculum. Listening to the arguments against it makes one think that there is a danger of a revival of Puritanism if RE were to be included.
What is modern education policy if it does not include personal capacity building tools? Religious Education provides pupils with the means to evaluate various religions through the examination of the core belief of each. By conducting such an examination children build up an incremental picture of the religion being studied which also includes an evidence base. The personal capacity building comes from deciding whether or not religion is something worth following.
RE is a modern way of studying religion and is in no way comparable to yesteryear when religion was rammed down people's throats. On the contrary RE transforms the image of religious education and ought to be allowed to challenge the negative perceptions that being religious is an outdated way of living.
Speaking as a former RE teacher, I couldn't agree more. It was an uphill business teaching kids who sometimes came with their heads full of anti-religious prejudice, but well worth the struggle.
ReplyDeleteRE was taught at the last school I attended back in the dark ages, and I was always interested and intrigued by it, much to my parents' dismay.
ReplyDeleteThey were atheist and agnostic respectively and were horrified when I came 1st in the end of term exam.
If it is well taught there's no telling how great an affect it can have on a child.
Says the ancient crone who was baptised and confirmed only 18 months ago!
Dear Robert.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience. Did the kids think it was 'uncool' to study religion? I worry about the cool culture which has nothing of substance to it.
God bless
Jane
Dear Ray,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your baptism even if it was 18 months ago. RE does open one's mind up in a way that few subjects can.
God bless.
Jane