The Supreme Court has ruled that religious education provision in Northern Ireland was unlawful. A child that did not share the Christian views of the syllabus was discriminated against by a syllabus developed by the Roman Catholic Church, Methodists and Presbyterians.
As it happens, there are probably questions I would have about such a syllabus and about what might be included and excluded. Does that even reflect the fullness of Christianity effectively?
My friend, Steve Kneale writes here about the difference between religious education and instruction. Personally, I’d rather that religion was not taught in schools in the ways that it often has been and how many of us have experienced it. What I mean by that is attempts at comparative religion. That’s because what you end up with, especially at primary school, is something that is shallow and external. It is likely to frustrate teachers and students alike. That doesn’t mean that children shouldn’t be taught some of the things it aims for. That’s really primarily about sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, critical thinking etc. and, yrs from that stand point, you are going to both cover some of the theology and practices of major religions and teach people how to engage with them.
However, I agree with Steve that the crucial issue is to do with religious instruction. I also agree with him that this highlights some of the broader challenges of Christian Nationalism and the relationship between church and state.
The crucial problem is that you become dependent on people who may not actually believe the very things they are teaching.
This is one of the problems with the whole idea of Christian Nationalism. You simply cannot impose Christianity onto people through external means.
This is a lesson we should have learned a long time ago because it is right there in Scripture. The Pharisees hoped to reform the nation by teaching people to observe the Torah. Jesus was absolutely clear that attempts to impose external rule keeping onto people did nothing. What mattered was the heart change that God’s Spirit brings.
Faithroots 