Parents are pulling children from RE lessons – so they don’t learn about Islam

[Guest Nicole]

Religion has always been a feature of schooling in England. The Education Act of 1944 made the study of Religion the only compulsory subject in school and it was to be accompanied by a “daily act of worship” for all pupils. Back then religion was largely synonymous with Christianity.

But a recent survey from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education shows there appears to be a growing problem with parents taking their children out of school RE lessons. The findings show that parents are withdrawing children from lessons on Islam, or visits to the Mosque, calling into question their preparation for life in modern Britain.

Recently published research suggests that “withdrawal” has been requested in almost three quarters of schools. More than 10% of those withdrawing are open about the fact that they are doing so for racist or Islamophobic reasons.

In 2017, the RE Council set up an independent commission to review RE. This Commission on RE has heard much anecdotal evidence of Islamophobically-inspired withdrawal. Teachers up and down the country have stories of parents not wishing their children to learn about “that terrorist religion”. This conflicts with the duty of schools to promote “British Values” of tolerance and respect and to challenge extremism.

Recently, the teaching union, the Association of Teachers and Lecturer, passed a motion condemning “racist” parents who pull their children out of RE lessons. The union has urged the government to put a stop to it.

The law on withdrawal

Parents are able to pull their children out of RE lessons by drawing on the 1996 Education Act, which states that a parent can request that for their child to be wholly or partly excused from religious education and religious worship in the school.

A voluntary “conscience clause” existed in some church schools since the 1820s and became part of the 1870 and 1944 education acts. Put simply, if the only school in the village was a Roman Catholic school, and Anglican and nonconformist parents did not want their children indoctrinated into Catholicism (and vice-versa) they could be excused from the religious instruction offered there. They could then provide their own denominationally suitable religious instruction either at school or elsewhere.

Some parents didn’t want their children to visit a mosque. Shutterstock

For decades this clause appeared to cause few problems. Indeed research I carried out suggests that there was little to be worried about. In a handful of schools, occasional families with a particular background – often Jehovah’s Witnesses – would not take part in assemblies or RE lessons and would instead, work quietly on their own materials. But it seems now, times are changing.

Read more: http://theconversation.com/parents-are-pulling-children-from-re-lessons-so-they-dont-learn-about-islam-95235

[David Normand]

I see nothing wrong with learning about other religions. It serves a useful purpose in helping the citizens understand other people. However, I do have a problem if the way they educate is to perform a daily act of worship in that religion. After all, it is possible to learn about a religion without participating. We learn about ancient Aztec religion by reading about it, not performing a human sacrifice. 

[Evacuated]

On 5/9/2018 at 3:05 AM, Nicole said:

Islamophobically-inspired withdrawal

Everything seems to be going ...phobic these days. Narcissistic anthropophobia seems to be where we are heading with all of this.