This year’s expected boost in numbers attending Christingle services comes at a 'huge cost' to vulnerable children, critics have said.An estimated 1.1 million people are expected to attend Christingle services this Christmas, after it was introduced to the Church 40 years ago by the Children's Society.
But the think-tank Ekklesia, part of the Accord coalition to reform faith schools, claims that the expected boost is coming at the price of children being discriminated against for not being affiliated to a church.
Jonathan Bartley, of Ekklesia, said that the Church cannot have it 'both ways' anymore.
"On the one hand it champions its work for vulnerable children. On the other, the policies it operates with regard to the admissions to its schools, clearly have a detrimental impact on children's welfare," he said.
He went on to say: "The boost that the church may get to its attendance figures this Christmas comes at a huge cost.
"The Church finds itself in a bizarre situation where it is preaching a Christmas message of care for children, whilst simultaneously benefitting from policies which exclude them from its own schools."
His comments follow the recent publication of a report by the Runnymede Trust which called for the end of selection on the basis of faith.
It also stressed that children should have a greater say in how they are educated, that RE should be part of the core national curriculum and that faith schools should also serve the most disadvantaged.
The Director of the Runnymede Trust, Michelynn Laflèche, commenting on the Trust's research said: "The recommendations that result from this research project propose a way forward that seeks a sustainable balance between diversity, equality and cohesion – a solution that contributes to a common aim of a successful multi-ethnic society."
A spokesperson for the Church of England said: "Any boost that the Church of England gets to its attendance this year is a wonderful thing for those who turn up; because they learn more about the birth of Christ, who came to save all, and they can enjoy wonderful occasions of worship."
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(Source: RI)