Friday, October 29, 2004
Pupils in the UK must be familiar with six religions
UK - As well as studying Christianity throughout their time at school, pupils should learn about the five other principal religions in Britain and be taught a secular world view "where appropriate", a Government report said yesterday.
The first national framework for religious education, which sets out the principles all state schools should follow, said that by the age of 16 pupils needed to have "encountered in sufficient depth" Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.
They should also have had opportunities to study other religious traditions such as the Baha'i faith, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, and secular philosophies such as humanism.
The report said pupils should be encouraged to reflect on "the important contribution religion can make to community cohesion and the combating of religious prejudice and discrimination".
Launching the framework, Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary, said it "set out a system that places value on the ethos and morals that religious education can establish, independent of any faith. At all stages, pupils should be confident about being able to share their beliefs without fear of embarrassment or ridicule. They should be willing to listen to and learn from others who hold views different from their own."
The government achieved the rare feat of uniting the Church of England and the British Humanist Association yesterday in supporting the publication, for the first time, of a national framework for religious education in schools.
The proposals, which have advisory status, recommend that Christianity should have a central place in RE but children should be taught about other faiths and secular beliefs.
Religious education is compulsory but governments have shied away from laying down what should be studied in detail, leaving the matter to be decided locally.
Representatives of the Churches and the five main faith communities have collaborated with the Government and others since October last year to produce the framework. Charles Clarke has himself been thoroughly committed to the process. He has had the courage to address an issue that some others might have thought would open up risky controversy. He found that the Churches and faith communities were willing and able to work well together.
By John Clare
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