Christians from across the
board are getting behind a major campaign to see Religious Education
included in the new English Baccalaureate.
The R.E.ACT campaign, led by Premier Christian Media, is urging
Education Secretary Michael Gove to backtrack on his decision to leave
RE off the new Baccalaureate curriculum.
The campaign has drawn broad support from church leaders, academics
and MPs who fear the move will weaken students' sense of values and
identity in multi-cultural Britain, and hamper their understanding of
other faiths at a time of heightened global tensions concerning
religion.
There are also concerns that resources will be withdrawn from RE and committed instead to other subjects.
The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, said he was “very
concerned” about the omission of RE from the Baccalaureate curriculum.
“By not including RE in the Gold Standard many schools are already
diverting resources from RE to history and geography, which are in the
Baccalaureate,” he said.
“RE is a crucial subject at a time of global disharmony over
religious matters. Religious illiteracy is a major problem both in our
society and all over the world.
“Moreover, RE is the only subject which allows students to work out
their own framework of values and beliefs in order to shape their life
long character.”
The decision to leave RE off the Baccalaureate comes in spite of its
prevailing popularity among students, with the Church of England
reporting year-on-year increases in the number of students taking GCSE
and A-Level RE over the last decade.
Canon Dr Ann Holt, Director of Programme at the Bible Society, said:
“For a Government purportedly so concerned about wellbeing and civil
society, in their Department for Education they are demonstrating a
remarkable lack of understanding about what goes in to achieving such
things.
“Religions and other fundamental belief systems are foundational in
all cultures and the wellspring from which personal and societal
wellbeing flow.
“In our plural and globalised world it is vital that the curriculum
recognises this and provides quality time for religious education.”
The campaign is encouraging people to write to their local MPs,
asking them to urge the Government to make RE a priority in education
once again.
The public are also being asked to sign a petition in support of RE, which will later be presented to Gove.
Peter Kerridge, Chief Executive of Premier Christian Media Group
said: “So far, each one of the Government's plans for the 'Big Society'
has come under fire including those for the new English Baccalaureate.
“Leaving RE such a 'society' focussed subject out of the key subjects
for humanities is contrary to the whole ideology that they're pushing.
“This campaign will provide people with the opportunity to have their say on this issue.”
Find out more: www.reactcampaign.co.uk