by Gethin Russell-Jones
The UK is in the throes of a very British civil war. Not as bloodied as Oliver Cromwell’s attack on the monarchy, but deadly nevertheless.
Through understated reserve, stiff upper lips and carefully crafted sentences, the place of religion in Great Britain is under siege. Arraigned against the Church are the great high priests of secular atheism: Richard Dawkins, Brian Cox, Christopher Hitchens, and other smiling assassins. According to these antagonists, the demands of science and secularism dictate that religion is consigned to the wheelie bins of history – along with horoscopes, fairies and the whole world of the imagination.
One of the main battles in this culture war involves the status afforded given to religious education (RE) in England. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, is being petitioned by tens of thousands of Christians to include religious education in the new English Baccalaureate curriculum. This new measure of academic performance measures how many English pupils achieve grades A*– C in five core subjects: maths, English, two science qualifications, a foreign language and either history or geography. No room for RE in the inn of achievement.
Of course, this is all rather confusing. The English Baccalaureate isn’t replacing the nation’s GCSE system, but it is a means of measuring excellence in prescribed subjects. The subjects that really matter – according to the UK’s leading universities. When students apply to these universities, they will be assessed according to their success as recorded in the Bacc. Christians fear that RE may be kicked into the long grass of academia. Mr Gove is apparently under pressure from the nation’s leading universities to keep RE out of the curriculum on the basis that it is less academically demanding than other disciplines.
An RE-free ‘A’ level system?
And many fear that this omission is merely the thin end of the wedge. The Russell group of universities is already salivating at the prospect of an RE-free A level system. This group has omitted the subject from a list of eight ‘facilitating’ A levels which applicants should study in order to gain access to a wide range of degree courses.
The response has been immediate. Oona Stannard, head of the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales, said the exclusion of RE was insulting to those already studying the subject. ‘RE and theology are matters of phenomenal depth and breadth in terms of the opportunities they provide for the study and development of students.’1
Of course there’s an irony in the timing of this decision. During the late 18th century, Sunday schools held at church or chapel became widely popular, providing children from poor families with an opportunity to receive some basic learning, usually the ability to read.
This year celebrates the bicentenary of the founding of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in 1811. The society was a Church of England body and effectively this marked the beginning of state education in the UK. The National Society was able to make use of the parish organisation of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and its 230 schools. In 1814 the British and Foreign School Society founded so called British Schools – and these catered for the children of nonconformist parents.
Thus the history of education in the UK cannot be separated from the Christian imagination that saw the need for universal access to learning. These first schools offered far more than Bible stories, but introduced pupils to the famous three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. Universal secondary education came along several decades later but the foundations for a national education had been laid. In the name of Jesus Christ.
Secularism: the ‘new religion’
Much, however, has changed in the intervening centuries. Correction, more or less everything has changed. Wars and natural disasters have ravaged the world, mass travel has shrunk the globe and technology rules the waves. In addition, for most Western democracies, secularism is now the religion of choice.
Thus a new campaign has been launched to guard the place of RE in the curriculum. R.E.ACT has the support of church leaders, academics, MPs and is an initiative of Premier Christian Media. This campaign will petition Michael Gove to include GCSE religious education in the new English Baccalaureate.
The Rt. Revd. John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford said: ‘I am very concerned about the omission of RE from the English Baccalaureate. By not including RE in the Gold Standard many schools are already diverting resources from RE to history and Geography, which are in the Baccalaureate.
‘The Government claim that because RE is compulsory, pupils will still take it at GCSE, but its absence from the Baccalaureate’s five Golden Subjects means that it’s under severe threat. Already we have a huge amount of evidence from all over the country that resources are being taken away from RE.
‘RE is a crucial subject at a time of global disharmony over religious matters. Religious illiteracy is a major problem both in our society and all over the world. Moreover, RE is the only subject which allows students to work out their own framework of values and beliefs in order to shape their life long character.’
Amongst the barrage of support generated by the R.E.ACT campaign is the formidable presence of former MP cum ballroom dancer, Ann Widdecombe.
Deprived of true understanding
Ms Widdecombe said: ‘Children are being deprived not only of religious teaching but of the opportunity to understand their history and culture. Biblical illiteracy, for example, makes it difficult to appreciate fully a great deal of classical literature.’
Other supporters include New York Times bestselling author GP Taylor, author of The Joshua Files, MG Harris, as well as numerous MPs.
MG Harris said: ‘RE was one of my favourite subjects at O level. The combination of theology, history and philosophy made RE along with English Literature, the most intellectually deep subject I studied at that level. RE challenges teenagers to examine the underlying textual basis of religion, yet doesn’t indoctrinate. RE demands that students ask questions about ethics and morality. Is that something the Government really wants to discourage – and if so, why?’
Peter Kerridge, CEO of Premier Christian Media Group and sponsors of the campaign said: ‘The campaign is gaining more supporters by the day. This is an issue that’s close to everyone’s heart, whether you’re a Christian, Muslim or Hindu, we need our kids to learn about their neighbours and squash this escalating cycle of religious illiteracy.’
Without RE receiving the same attention as the other so-called ‘gold standard subjects’, a new barbarianism will incubate within British society. Any understanding of Milton, Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, let alone the history of science is impossible without a good grounding in the Christian tradition. An education system that fails to engage with rigorous religious education will result in generations of young people who are morally and theologically adrift. Impoverished thought leads generally to disinhibited and destructive behaviour. For all the swagger shown by the secular humanists, they are happily announcing a new ‘dark ages’ in the West.
If you would like to petition the UK Government to give RE its proper place or for more information about the R.E.ACT campaign being sponsored by Premier Christian Media visit www.reactcampaign.co.uk
In addition to signing the petition, ordinary members of the public are being encouraged to write personal letters to their local MPs to support the Early Day Motion on Religious Education and the English Baccalaureate and to, ultimately, put pressure on the Government to make religious education a priority once again.
1. Quoted in The Tablet 26 March 2011
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