Statement submitted to the Religious Education Review in June 2004.

Humanist Education Policy

Humanists advocate a genuinely inclusive school system in which all pupils are educated together, not separately according to the beliefs of their parents. We believe that the rights and entitlements of both the religious and the non-religious can be respected within community schools. Our education policies arise out of humanist principles and our concern for the common good and social cohesion, as well as our awareness of the needs and rights of non-religious people and those of minority faith groups, which are currently ignored.

Religious Education

Humanists believe that in a pluralist society we should learn about each other's beliefs, including humanist ones. The reformed religious education that we are striving for would be called Belief and Values Education, or Philosophy, or (as in Scotland) Religious and Moral Education / Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies, and would be characterised by inclusiveness, impartiality, objectivity, fairness, balance and relevance.

Specifically, we would like to see:

Achieving Equality in Religious Education

RE at its very best is an open-minded and inclusive search for answers to the kinds of questions that all human beings, whatever their beliefs, ask about life and death, and about values, purpose and meaning. At its worst, RE either conveys the idea that religious answers to these questions are the only ones worth considering and thus fails (perhaps unintentionally) to meet the needs of non-religious pupils and conflicts with the values of humanist families, or it is exhaustively devoted to studying the minutiae of religious practice, which is dull for almost everyone. RE often claims to help "pupils develop their sense of identity and belonging" (QCA guidance, 2000), but for the non-religious, RE can be alienating - all about things which one does not practise oneself and which may be of little interest. RE should be relevant to the whole pupil population.


There are many ways in which badly taught or badly planned RE can exclude humanist and other non-religious pupils. For example:

  • By assuming that all pupils belong to a religion or believe in an after-life, or that the existence of God is a given fact.
  • By patronising, belittling or trying to convert non-religious pupils.
  • By confusing "moral" and "religious", and omitting non-religious ethical perspectives on moral issues.
  • By using language or tasks that exclude, e g that involve making up prayers or giving advice to "a close friend of your own religion".
  • By confusing story or myth with historic or scientific fact.
  • By omitting humanist ceremonies when teaching about rites of passage - so that pupils remain ignorant of ceremonies for the non-religious.
  • By omitting humanist perspectives on the fundamental questions of life, such as death or the purpose of life, so that non-religious pupils get no help in formulating their own beliefs and values and leave school thinking that they are excluded.

What can be done to make RE more inclusive?


The self-esteem and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of non-religious pupils is helped by good practice, such as the use of inclusive language (e g "belief" or "life stance" or "world view" or "philosophy" or "ethical tradition" instead of "religion" or "faith") and by prefacing statements about religions or gods with "some people believe…" (rather than implying that they are true, or saying: "we believe…"). Humanist perspectives (or "other ethical life stances" or "non-religious ethical philosophies") can often be included when focusing on shared human experience or the themes typical of RE. For example: humanists too celebrate special events (such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries) by sharing special food and wearing nice clothes; they share the need for ritual to mark rites of passage; they too have moral concerns about how food is produced, and how wealth is distributed; they value books and the knowledge they pass on; they understand the significance of symbol and story, and the importance of water, light and dark, pattern, and change, in our lives. Humanists have much to say about "ultimate questions" and contemporary moral issues.

The following topics that regularly come up in RE teaching can easily include humanist perspectives and experience. The briefings referred to are short explanatory accounts which can be used by teachers and older pupils and are available from the British Humanist Association (www.humanism.org.uk).

 

The Belfast Humanist Group (www.humanists.net/belfast) acknowledges the help of the British Humanist Association in formulating this statement of Education Policy.