Religion in the Primary School

Ethos, diversity, citizenship

Peter Hemming

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781134700097
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

Religion and its relationship to schooling is an issue that has become more and more topical in recent years. In many countries, developments such as the diversification of state school sectors, concerns about social cohesion between ethnic and religious groups, and debates about national identity and values have raised old and new questions about the role of religion in education. Whilst the significance of this issue has been reflected in renewed interest from the academic community, much of this work has continued to be based around theoretical or pedagogical debates and stances, rather than evidence-based empirical research.

This book aims to address this gap by exploring the social and political role of religion in the context of the primary school. Drawing on original ethnographic research with a child-centred orientation, comparisons are drawn between Community and Roman Catholic primary schools situated within a multi-faith urban area in the UK. In doing so, the study explores a number of ways in which religion has the potential to contribute to everyday school life, including through school ethos and values, inter-pupil relations, community cohesion and social identity and difference. At the centre of the analysis are two key sociological debates about the significance of religion in late modern societies. The first is concerned with the place of religion in public life and the influence of secularisation and post-secularism on the relationship between religion and schooling. The second relates to the increasingly multi-faith nature of many national populations and the implications for religious citizenship in educational settings.

Religion in the Primary School will be a useful resource for academics, researchers and students as a key addition to existing knowledge in the disciplines of education, sociology and human geography. It will also be of value to both policy-makers and educationalists interested in the role of religion in schools and the implications for the wider community and society in a range of national contexts.

1 Introduction

Religion and its relationship to schooling is an issue that has become more and more topical over the last few years. In many countries, developments such as the diversification of state school sectors, the effects of increasingly multi-faith populations on public service provision and concerns about social cohesion between ethnic and religious groups have raised old and new questions about the role of religion in education. This book aims to address some of these questions with reference to original empirical research conducted in primary school contexts. Through the employment of an in-depth, ethnographic approach, the study includes a comparison between two state-funded schools – a community primary and a Roman Catholic primary – both in multi-faith localities of an urban area in the North of England. In doing so, it explores a number of ways in which religion has the potential to contribute to everyday school life, including through school ethos and values, inter-pupil relations, community cohesion and social identity and difference. At the centre of the analysis are two key sociological debates about the significance of religion in late modern societies and these are introduced in the next section with reference to examples from around the world. The chapter will then move on to provide a brief background on religion and schooling in the UK and touch on some of the debates and controversies in this area. Finally, it will provide an overview of the aims and structure of the book as a whole.

Religion and education

Religion and education have often been intertwined in quite significant ways. Many of today’s world-leading educational institutions were originally established by religious scholars, or with particular religious principles at their core. For example, Harvard University in the United States was initially concerned with the training of Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy following its establishment in the seventeenth century. Although contemporary educa tional projects have often adopted a more secular flavour, the importance of religion for understanding education has not diminished. Even countries that claim a strict division between ‘Church’ and State, along with a purely secular education system, face difficult debates and controversies about the role of religion in and around education. There are a number of ways that religion remains prominent in educational landscapes today, three of which are briefly considered below with reference to examples drawn from the international stage.

The first rather visible example in which religion intersects with education is through the faith status or foundation of educational institutions, whether these are schools, colleges or universities, and the religious ethos, values and practices associated with them. One issue that has caused a lot of recent controversy in this area is the establishment or expansion of the state-funded Islamic school sector in many Western nations. Bugg and Gurran (2011) draw on two Australian case studies to highlight the resistance that plans for new Islamic schools often face at the local level. Although such schools are generally classed as ‘private’ in Australia, they are nevertheless eligible to receive a certain amount of state funding. The authors show how many of the concerns expressed through planning consultations for these schools were often focused, if implicitly, on potential social and community impacts, rather than technical or practical issues. These concerns included fears about the changing demographic character of local neighbourhoods, the dangers of segregation between different cultural and religious communities, and the perceived likelihood of increasing youth violence and anti-social behaviour. Similar resistance to Islamic schools, related to issues such as rights, citizenship, identity and social cohesion, have also been documented in other local and national contexts (e.g. Dwyer and Meyer 1995, Tinker 2009).

A second area of education in which religion often features prominently is the curriculum, both in terms of the discrete subjects taught and the significance of religious doctrine for the knowledge conveyed. Religious Education (RE), its place in the curriculum and its content and coverage (including the balance between different religious traditions), is an obvious topic of interest here (e.g. see Cush 2007). Yet it is the influence of religion on and in other subjects, such as science and sex education, that has tended to make the headlines in many countries. In particular, there has been a longstanding debate in the United States about the teaching of creationism or ‘intelligent design’ in science lessons, as a valid alternative to theories of evolution. Advocates of creationism often argue that secular schools, in embracing the teaching of evolution, are actually educating from an explicitly liberal position, rather than promoting neutrality. This could, they argue, be interpreted as a subversion of the religious beliefs of children, and discrimination against particular religious positions (Collins 2006). Many of the legal challenges to the privileging of evolution have failed, mainly because creationism has been viewed by the courts as a specific religious perspective, rather than an accepted universal scientific truth. However, creationists have instead recently focused their efforts on influencing states’ educational guidelines or repackaging creationism as ‘intelligent design’ (Moore 2007). Whatever the future developments in this debate, it is one that is unlikely to go away anytime soon (e.g. see Reiss 2011).

The third and final example is concerned with the religious identities of students and their relationships with other students, educators and the institutional arrangements that they encounter and experience. How schools provide for and accommodate religious minorities is a key factor in this equation, and this varies considerably in different national contexts. School dress and uniform has often been at the centre of controversies here, particularly the extent to which pupils are permitted to wear religious clothing and symbols. In 2004, the French government passed a law prohibiting such ‘conspicuous signs’ of religious affiliation in state schools, including Jewish skullcaps, Sikh turbans, large Christian crucifixes and Islamic headscarves or veils. Smaller and discrete signs such as medallions or crosses were exempt from the ban. Although the legislation was promoted and defended at the time as a necessary measure to maintain the secular nature of the education system, many have argued that the decision had wider significance. For example, Scott (2007) asserts that the ban reflected a national approach to the integration of religious minorities, particularly Muslims, into French society. France has historically taken a rather more assimilatory stance to immigrants and minorities than some of its European neighbours (Bryant 1997), reflecting particular understandings of French national identity.

Although these three examples illustrate very different ways in which religion continues to play a role in contemporary educational issues worldwide, they nevertheless all touch on two fundamental debates about the place of religion in wider society. One of these debates concerns the role of religion in those Western societies that can be described, at least to some degree, as ‘secular’ in nature. Whatever the constitutional arrangements in such states, religion almost always maintains some kind of presence in the public sphere. But what should this role be? Where are the lines drawn and how are these reflected in everyday practical realities? Whose interests take priority when it comes to religious matters in public space? The second key debate relates to the increasingly multi-faith nature of many Western societies, mainly due to global migration and settlement. Many countries are seeing the religious diversification of national populations, offering real challenges to the delivery of public services. How can states ensure the recognition and accommodation of all their citizens, whatever their religious background? How can the needs of majority and minority populations be successfully balanced?

Religion and schooling in the UK

In order to explore the relevance of the above issues and debates to schooling in the UK, it is first necessary to provide some historical context. When considering UK education, it is important to stress that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have separate education systems, controlled by the devolved administrations (or by the UK government in the case of England). Although England and Wales traditionally shared many aspects of their educational arrangements, this has now begun to change following devolution in 1999. However, there are nevertheless many similarities and points of crossover between educational developments in the four nations, particularly when viewed from a historical perspective. This section will therefore take England (and usually Wales) as a starting point but also highlight areas of continuity and convergence with the other constituent UK nations where appropriate.

The place of religion in the English State has a long history. The existence of the established Church in England dates back to the Reformation and the split from the Roman Catholic Church towards Protestantism. The Church of England, as the established Church, is effectively part of the country’s constitution, with the sovereign as its Supreme Governor and positions for Church of England bishops within the House of Lords (the upper legislative body at Westminster). The UK government also has power over the Church, with the prime minister still holding a veto on appointments for the Archbishop of Canterbury and Church of England laws forming part of the legal system. Although the relationship between religion and the state is somewhat loser in Wales and Scotland, with disestablishment taking place in both nations early in the twentieth century, traces of former arrangements are still evident in the Welsh and Scottish education system. In the case of Northern Ireland, the demographic divisions and historical tensions between the Protestant and Catholic communities have ensured that religious differences have remained central to the organisation of schooling there. It is against this constitutional backdrop that issues of faith-based schooling and the place of religion in UK education must be considered.

The partnership between faith groups and the state in providing education in Britain, and the existence of a ‘dual system’ of schooling, has important historical roots. The 1870 Education Act introduced the idea of state-funded education in England and Wales, but the Church had been an integral part of the development of schools well before that date, fuelled by a Christian desire to provide education for all. The Education Acts of 1902 and 1906 then established the dual system of church schools and state schools, in order to provide a national education system. Baumfield (2003) explores how the incorporation of church schools into the state system was a matter of pragmatism rather than design. The state began funding its own schools when it became apparent that the Church would be unable to provide universal education for all, due to lack of finance and clergy to teach. By the turn of the twentieth century, it was not considered possible for the state to take control of the vast numbers of church schools in England, leading to the establishment of the dual system. In contrast, the Church of Scotland handed over its parish schools to the state following the 1872 Education (Scotland) Act, and it was only later in 1918 that a ‘dual system’ developed in Scotland, with the incorporation of Catholic schools into the state system.

The Education Act of 1944 further clarified the dual system of schooling in England and Wales by categorising schools into ‘County schools’, which were entirely funded by the state, and ‘Voluntary schools’. Schools from the latter category had originally been funded primarily by religious bodies, but from this point established a formal funding partnership with the state. These schools were mostly designated ‘Voluntary Controlled’ or ‘Voluntary Aided’. Those that were Voluntary Controlled had some church governance but were no longer funded by their religious body. Voluntary Aided schools were partly funded by the state, with the religious body responsible for 50 per cent of capital works (although this has gradually been reduced since the 1960s to a current figure of 10 per cent). The 1944 Act therefore established the existence of maintained Church of England, Church in Wales, Roman Catholic and a small number of Jewish schools, either fully or partly funded by the state. Attempts from minority religious communities in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s to open their own maintained faith schools met with failure, despite the right of these groups to seek Voluntary Aided status already enshrined in law. From 1997, however, there was a change in government policy, initially leading to the establishment of a number of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu Voluntary Aided schools in England, as well as an increased number of Jewish Voluntary Aided schools (Jackson 2001).

Since the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, maintained schools in England and Wales are now categorised as Community (former County), Foundation (former Grant Maintained), Voluntary Controlled and Voluntary Aided, with faith schools a feature of the three latter categories. In 2010, around 34 per cent of maintained schools in England were schools with a religious character. Around 68 per cent of these schools were Church of England (4,598 schools) and 30 per cent were Catholic (2,010 schools). The remaining schools comprised of Joint Christian Faiths (61), Jewish (38), Christian (32), Methodist (26), Muslim (11), Sikh (3), Greek Orthodox (1), Hindu (1), Quaker (1), Seventh Day Adventist (1) and United Reformed Church (1) (DfE website 2013). In Wales, official figures for 2014 show that around 15 per cent of maintained schools possessed a religious character. Around 64 per cent of these were Church in Wales (154 schools) and 36 per cent were Catholic (86 schools), along with one school with a joint Anglican and Catholic ethos (Welsh Government website 2014).

In England, all maintained faith schools are expected to follow the National Curriculum, participate in National Curriculum tests and assessments, be inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) regularly and follow the School Admissions Code. However, there are some areas where maintained faith schools enjoy certain flexibilities and freedoms, such as the development of a religious ethos and the ability to give admissions priority to families who are of the faith of the school. Voluntary Aided schools have the additional privilege of following their own RE syllabus (rather than the Locally Agreed Syllabus) and are permitted to discriminate during staff appointment processes in favour of teachers that are of their particular faith (DfE website 2013). The arrangements for maintained faith schools in Wales are also very similar to those in England, reflecting the historical congruence between the two education systems.

The classification of schools is a little different in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2013, around 14 per cent of state-funded Scottish schools (primary and secondary combined) were designated as ‘denominational’, equating to 370 faith schools in total. Almost all of these were Roman Catholic (366), except for three Episcopalian schools and one Jewish school (Scottish Government website 2014). Denominational schools are fully funded by the Scottish government and share many of the freedoms of English and Welsh Voluntary Aided schools. In Northern Ireland, schools are mostly divided into controlled schools and Catholic maintained schools, along with small numbers of other schools, such as grammars, Irish medium and integrated schools (where Protestant and Catholic pupils are educated together). Controlled schools are run by local Education and Library Boards and a board of governors, usually including representatives from the Protestant churches. Catholic maintained schools are run by a board of governors with trustees who are mainly Roman Catholic. These schools receive capital grants from the Northern Ireland Department of Education and the majority of these grants cover 100 per cent of costs. In 2013, official government figures show there were 370 primary and 53 secondary controlled schools and 384 primary and 68 secondary Catholic maintained schools in Northern Ireland (Department of Education (NI) website 2014a).

In the last few years in England, a number of other state-funded school types have been added to the mix, including Academies and Free Schools. Academies are publicly-funded independent schools that are free from local authority control. Some Academies have sponsors, including successful schools, businesses, universities,...