As a Religious Education teacher, here’s why the subject must not disappear
by Tim Burdon, inews:
It is no surprise that significant numbers of schools are breaking the law by not offering Religious Education (RE). When Michael Gove omitted to include it in the English Baccalaureate (ebacc), he was sending a message to schools that it was a second-class subject, giving them the green light to squeeze it out.
However, the news that 26% of secondary schools are not providing RE lessons is deeply startling. Yes, there are curriculum pressures, but those headteachers who are marginalising the subject are failing their pupils and should be ashamed.
Why we need RE more than ever
In a world where acts of unspeakable violence are committed in the name of religion, we need more RE, not less. In contrast to the dangers of cultural and religious division, RE promotes an understanding of our shared humanity.
Jo Cox’s maiden speech to parliament could have been an RE lesson: ‘While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again…is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us’.
Amen! Surely it should be obvious that a subject that encourages that message should have a cast-iron place on a school’s curriculum.
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