Open Discussion: Reform or Remove Religion in State Education?

Most parents will be totally unaware of the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE). They are made up for the governance and setting of the RE syllabus in schools, rather than the Department of Education, as with other educational subjects.

Although not part of the National Curriculum, RE is still compulsory throughout all state schools, with some pupils choosing to sit the GCSE exam. The syllabus is reviewed every five years.

Thankfully, equality legislation now means that SACREs can and should include humanists as full voting members, even though Humanism is not a faith. But it is currently not the case that Humanism (or any other non-religious belief) is included on the syllabus in all cases.

We believe it should be. Children need to be guided to think critically rather than pushed towards more traditional faiths, where teaching arguably cherry picks and sanitises the content of religious texts. The lack of equality shown to women globally is never discussed as part of teaching of the main faiths.Even though it is and always has been a main tenet of the monotheisms. Teachers steer clear of anything that is even slightly controversial, even if it be true in practice.

What do you think? We’re hosting an open debate on this topic where we encourage all guests to share an opinion.

What are the best ways to ensure that Humanism is better-represented across the country through the wider UK RE syllabus? Can we teach about a variety of worldviews in a manner that emphasises critical thinking?

We invite you to join us on August 3rd to discuss and debate the issue. At the King and Queen at 7pm. Have your say! £3 on the door for all attendees.