Irish parents want the influence of religion in schools drastically scaled back

Jul 25, 2008 19:34:02 GMT

Via National Secular Society Newsline Newsletter

A poll conducted in Ireland last month shows that a majority of parents want religious influence in schools to be drastically scaled back.

The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) carried out the independent survey which shows that 3 out of 4 parents want primary schools to be managed by the State, with equal status and opportunity for all religions.

The main findings of the poll were:

• When given the choice the great majority of parents (72%) would prefer to see schools run by the state with equal status and opportunity for all religions.

• Over half of all adults in Ireland with children under the age of 15 would like to see the two and a half hours spent on teaching religion allocated to some other activities.

• A minority (43%) of all those with children under the age of 15 in Ireland would like to see this time retained for teaching religion.

• The main activity that parents appear to want to see more time spent on is physical activity, with 1 in 4 (26%) stating they would like to see some of the time spent on religion re-allocated to this activity.

• Mothers (32%) and 45% of younger parents (under 25 year old age groups) are behind the drive for more time spent on physical and health education.

• In contrast with this apparent move away from religious education in schools, over half of all parents (56%) do believe that religious instruction and the preparation for Sacraments should be taught by the class teacher during school hours.

• Those more likely to feel that it should be the responsibility of parents, appear to also come from younger under 25 year age groups, who are likely to also have much younger and fewer children.

Humanists appointed to new Government steering group on Religious Education

After many years of urging by the BHA and many others, the Government has now announced a revision of the notorious ‘Circular 1/94’, the official guidance on RE and on SACREs (the local bodies which oversee RE in each local authority - Standing Advisory Council for RE). The process will be guided by a steering group of thirty representatives of different organisations with interest and expertise in RE and we are very pleased that the BHA has two places on this steering group.

They will be filled by Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs and Marilyn Mason, former BHA Education Officer. Over the next 18 months, this group will meet to discuss the many issues to be engaged by the new guidance. Mr Copson commented,

‘Circular 1/94 is the document which is invariably used to exclude humanists from full membership of SACREs and also lays an undue emphasis on Christianity in general and religions in particular which the BHA believes is seriously out of step with contemporary best practice in the teaching about religions and non-religious beliefs.

We are looking forward to working on the steering group to reform these outmoded aspects of the official guidance.’

BHA joins in parliamentary call for children’s right to withdraw from school worship

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has called on the Government to support today’s report from Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights which calls for any child of ‘sufficient maturity, intelligence and understanding’ to be given the right to withdraw from compulsory religious worship in schools.

Currently, only sixth form students have the right to withdraw themselves, and other children can only be withdrawn at the request of their parents,

but the Human Rights Committee have said that this violates children’s rights to freedom of belief and conscience.

Writing in support of the Committee’s report to Minister for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight MP, the BHA said, ‘ We agree with the JCHR that the law is clearly inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights and that

children of ‘sufficient maturity, intelligence and understanding’ should be permitted to withdraw themselves from prayer and other worship.’

Andrew Copson, BHA Director of Education and Public Affairs, commented,

‘The best situation would be the replacement of the law requiring religious worship with a law requiring inclusive assemblies that would be suitable for all children. For as long as the current law remains, however, children must be allowed to decide for themselves whether they wish to participate. To compel them to pray, or worship in other ways, is a clear interference with their right to freedom of belief – one of the most important rights that we enjoy.’

Jonathan Dimbleby debates religion in Britain's schools - with Richard Dawkins

You can either watch the 60 minute video online or download it from the Teachers’ TV website. The synopsis is as follows:

Jonathan Dimbleby and a panel of experts come together to debate the controversial subject of religion in Britain's schools.

The role of religion in education is a subject rarely out of the headlines. Despite Britain's multi-faith society, schools are still required to include a collective act of worship of a Christian nature, while faith schools and religious academies have raised fears about community cohesion and covert selection.

Claims by some religious educationalists that faith is the best way to teach moral values is challenged by others in schools who believe religious morality to be outdated and dangerous.

Dimbleby is joined by Professor Richard Dawkins, Schools Select Committee chairman Barry Sheerman MP, and a multi-faith studio audience.

reposted from: http://www.suffolkhumanists.org.uk/node/600

National Strategy for RE

BHA welcomes National Strategy for Religious Education which if implemented by Department for Education and Skills will replace the current local arrangements administered via SACRE

Call for 'post-9/11' RE teaching by Ofsted

By Robert Pigott - BBC Religious Affairs correspondent

In many schools, religion is linked with contemporary religious and moral issues

RE teachers must provide children with a more sophisticated understanding of the subject in a post-11 September world, Ofsted says.

After a five-year inspection of RE classes which began in the year of the attacks on the US, Ofsted says rote learning of RE is no longer adequate.

It says teachers should include ways in which religion is not always a force for good.

Increasingly pupils have been opting to study RE for GCSE and A-level exams.

Ofsted says that in England, which it covers, RE is being taught better.

'Standard responses'

In many schools, religion is linked with contemporary religious and moral issues, such as whether the war in Iraq was morally justified.

But all too often, say the inspectors, the exam system encourages "standard, mechanistic responses" running the risk of "trivialising significant religious issues".

It says students are often denied the profound understanding they need of the impact of religion on society.

This has raised people's awareness of religion and raised the importance of considering religion's role in society Miriam Rosen, Ofsted

"Religion is much more in the media than it has been in recent years" says Ofsted's Director of Education, Miriam Rosen, "and this is, of course, because of events like the bombings in London in July 2005 and the New York incident back in 2001.

"This has raised people's awareness of religion and raised the importance of considering religion's role in society, and the impact of it."

One of the most radical suggestions in Ofsted's report is that religion should be taught warts and all. The inspectors called on teachers not to shy away from controversy, but to accept in their classes that religion could be a force for bad as well as for good.

"Pupils should be taught that religion is complex," says the report, "and should be given the opportunity to explore that ambiguity."

'Solve issues themselves'

Angus Dawson, RE teacher at Royal Manor Arts College in Portland, has long found that pupils enjoy the ambiguity of religion, enjoying the "struggle between ideas" where there are often no right answers.

"We embrace the idea that religious ideas lead to conflict," said Mr Dawson. "The skills we teach (pupils) allow them to unpack the ambiguity and tension between ideas in a clear and straightforward way and to solve the issues for themselves."

But that level of achievement is too rare says Ofsted.

Miriam Rosen said: "They're not really concentrating on teaching about the role of religion in society and its contribution towards community cohesion. The very best are, but this is not consistently done."

Ofsted says attempts to raise standards are hindered by no curriculum

Schools minister Andrew Adonis said RE can help educate children about issues surrounding community, diversity and tolerance.

He said: "Religious education is an important academic subject in its own right but it can also make a positive contribution to pupils' broad personal development and well-being, as well as bringing in issues of community cohesion, diversity, tolerance and respect.

"We agree that the potential of RE to contribute to children's education and understanding in these areas should be fully realised."

RE has long suffered a lack of specialist teachers, but Ofsted focuses on weakness in how progress is assessed, and the way the curriculum is planned, for the inadequacies in the subject.

It says that lessons often fail to build on prior learning. There is no national curriculum in RE.

Instead, all 151 local authorities are responsible for developing their own locally agreed syllabus (SACRE). Ofsted says that hinders attempts to raise standards in RE, and consistency, across the country.

And those improvements are overdue. Ofsted says only a quarter of schools - albeit on its fairly small sample - were recorded as producing "good" achievement or better in pupils. One in eight were failing to produce even "adequate" achievement.

Secularists Will Challenge Threat To Stop RE Withdrawal

Reposted from: http://www.secularism.org.uk/secularistswillchallengethreatto.html

Proposals to scrap the right for parents to withdraw their children from Religious Education lessons have been attacked by the National Secular Society, on the grounds that such a move would be an abuse of human rights.

The proposal came in a report, A National Strategy for Religious Education by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales, which is also suggesting a £60 million cash injection into RE teaching, which could be far better spent on general education.

Commenting on the proposals, Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: “If the government goes ahead with this suggestion, the National Secular Society will launch a human rights challenge. An increasing number of parents are contacting us to ask how they can protect their children from what they see as proselytising in schools. They are not made aware of their statutory right to withdraw their children from both Religious Education and Collective worship, and even when they do find out about it, schools can be obstructive and some even refuse to permit it, even though they have no legal right to do so.”

Mr Wood added that “parents who do not practise any religion, probably the majority, were now becoming increasingly alarmed at the increasingly evangelical nature of religious education in some schools. Some of it, even employed brainwashing techniques – and this has been publicly defended by the highest educational authorities of the Church of England.

“Although we are told that RE teaches about religion and doesn’t teach how to be religious, we are receiving an increasing number of reports from people who tell us otherwise. While Religious Education remains heavily influenced by ‘faith groups’, with their vested interests, it will never be objective.

“The Government’s policy of increasing the number of single-religion schools also makes a mockery of the idea of objective teaching of religion. The whole point of these schools is to promote that particular religion – with the implication that it is superior. Religious Education as it is currently formulated is too easily hijacked by sectarian interests. It needs a much more radical rethink than the one recommended by the RE Council.”