The role of religion and beliefs in current affairs – such as the terror attacks in Paris this month – should be tackled in school RE lessons, according to a new report. Researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London, found that religious education in schools was outdated and needed to be overhauled to better reflect modern Britain. The research says that an “urgent conversation” is underway about the future of learning about religion and belief in schools after “growing criticisms of the policy muddle” surrounding it. The report has been published in the week that the High Court ruled that education secretary Nicky Morgan made "an error of law" when she left "non-religious world views" out of the new religious studies GCSE. The ruling was a victory for three families, supported by the British Humanist Association (BHA), who claimed Nicky Morgan had taken a "skewed" approach and was failing to reflect in schools the pluralistic nature of the country. The new Goldsmiths report, RE for Real, recommends a range of changes to bring religious education into the 21st century. The researchers suggest that: Co-authors Professor Adam Dinham and researcher Martha Shaw, both from the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths, said: “Changes in the real religious landscape have far outpaced changes in education about it. The real picture is made up of more believing without belonging and more non-believing at all. It is a context that is Christian, plural and secular all at the same time. We have a mid-20th century settlement for an early 21st century reality." More than 300 pupils, teachers, parents and employers, and 19 schools were questioned about their views on the future of teaching and learning about religion and belief in schools for the project, which was funded by the Culham St Gabriel’s Trust. The majority of teachers questioned supported the inclusion of teaching and learning about non-religion in RE, and many said they thought the subject has an important task in rebalancing media stereotypes. Of nearly 100 teachers interviewed for the study, 86 per cent said they felt that RE should be a national curriculum subject and 72 per cent said it should be compulsory to at least 16. Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES on Twitter and like TES on Facebook
Researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London, have published a report stating that the role of religion in current affairs, such as the recent terror attacks in Paris, should be included in school RE lesson. The authors found that religious education in schools was “outdated and needed to be overhauled to better reflect modern Britain”. Furthermore, it recommends an “urgent conversation” about the future of learning about religion and belief in schools after “growing criticisms of the policy muddle” surrounding it.