THE legitimate place of religion in NSW government schools might be
put at risk by the misuse of the National School Chaplaincy Program,
the head of Sydney's Anglican Education Commission has warned.
Bryan Cowling, the executive director of the peak body
for the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, said well-established special
religious education preserved the secularism of NSW schools while
providing weekly faith instruction for those who wanted it.
But he told the Herald that chaplains - with the
term's religious connotations - might blur the distinction between
faith and welfare, increasing the chance of misuse by proselytising,
which might call into question access granted to schools for special
religious education, also known as scripture.
''If it's a welfare position and a welfare role, why not
call it that rather than call it a chaplain?'' he said. ''I just think
it's a clumsy way to do things.
''Stepping outside the government guidelines leaves it
wide open for people to say 'let's get rid of religion out of schools
altogether'.''
Dr Cowling said there had been documented instances across the country where the role had been misused.
A High Court challenge, which contends the chaplaincy
program contravenes the separation of church and state will be heard
next month.
It has been mounted by a Queensland father, Ron
Williams, who was concerned chaplains had delivered religious counsel
rather than impartial advice.
Despite the definition on the federal government's
website, Dr Cowling said that ''there are thousands of [chaplains]
around the country and they're each defining it as they see it or their
schools are defining it as they see it''.
The term might also mislead the religious community
''into thinking that these people are promoting religion when in fact
they're not supposed to''.
The lack of any minimum welfare qualifications demanded by the federal program was also a concern, he said.
''In this particular area, we're pretty much saying,
'This is a pretty serious issue you're dealing with but you don't need
to have any particular credentials'.''
Dr Cowling's comments reiterated the commission's opposition to the program when it was announced in 2006.
''Our view was, in government schools, the best response
would be to put more money into more counsellors and particularly people
trained in dealing with difficult situations,'' he said.
The funding, which was extended by $222 million in the
federal budget, would be better spent if the debate were reframed
around health and welfare.
''I'd like to see an informed and robust discussion occur
in the community about the most appropriate ways in which to enhance
the well-being of kids in schools,'' he said.
''I think that is the bigger issue, and that gets it out
of the realm of a religious argument and that gets it into the realm of
where the greatest needs are,'' he said.
The School Education Minister, Peter Garrett, told the Herald
this week there was wide variety in the qualifications and
experience among the chaplains. ''Schools deserve to have a national
minimum qualification for their chaplains,'' he said.
Reverend Peter Robinson, the chief executive of NSW's
largest chaplaincy provider, GenR8 Ministries, said they were waiting
for Mr Garrett to respond to a discussion paper from February that
proposed chaplains be required to have an associate diploma in youth
work or a similar field.
Mr Robinson said the National School Chaplaincy Association already had minimum qualification requirements.
''There's no argument from GenR8 about the need for minimum qualifications that are important to the role,'' he said.
He said while there was a clear demarcation between
special religious education and chaplaincy, the definition of the latter
had shifted. ''The people doing it are coming out of a faith framework
where the motivation is availability and help and support, not
proselytising,'' he said.
''And in a secular school they have found that actually
works … where you understand secular to mean what the Education Act NSW
has always defined it as, which means non-sectarian, but not
non-religious.''
A spokesman for Dan White, the executive director of
the Archdiocese of Sydney's Catholic Education Office, said the
relationship with parish priests or religious orders meant there was no
need for chaplains in Catholic schools.
There had been no reports of
chaplains negatively impacting on Catholic scripture classes, he said.
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