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RE varies a lot, from Local Education Authority (LEA) to LEA, and
from teacher to teacher (with non-specialists often the least sensitive
to the problems of non-religious pupils). At its very best, it 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 - and humanist
perspectives are included when relevant (as they often are). 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, merely "a spectator sport", as one
SACRE Chair put it - all about things which one does not practise
oneself and which may be of little interest. RE should be relevant to
the 61% of teenagers who consider themselves to be atheist or agnostic
[
1
].
There are many ways in which badly taught or 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 afterlife, 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 "nothing".
Humanist pupils probably get enough support for their world view
and moral values from their families to limit the damage. The more
generally atheistic or agnostic pupil may find little support anywhere,
and may grow to think that not only religion, but morality too, is of
no personal significance.
(
Collective worshipin
schools compounds the above problems, and causes some of its own. For
example, whether to join in or not poses problems for the conscientious
humanist, and, in some schools, a refusal to pretend to pray meets with
reprimands.)
"My own eight year old child understands that his teacher
is a Christian and so has different beliefs to him. I always wonder how
he decides which bits of information she offers him he will accept as
fact, and which he will dismiss as Christian belief. How is he to know
that the laws of chemistry and physics (as taught in primary school)
are 'true' whilst the information in the bible is - well - a mixed bag
of fiction, mistranslation, wishful thinking and ancient history?" (
Humanist parent of eight year old
)
"I think it's quite interesting to learn what other people believe, but humanism is never mentioned." (
12 year old humanist
)
"My son has a disparaging approach to RE, although he has been
taught by us to respect other people's beliefs. When faced with the
frequently naive approach of non-specialist teachers he is inclined to
laugh at the silliness…He has thought deeply about life, death and
ethical views, but concepts of the sacred and spirituality are, as yet,
meaningless to him." (
Humanist parent
)
"Coming from a home where religion played no part at all, I found
it quite worrying to discover through school prayers & RI that
there was apparently this whole realm of existence of major importance
but quite incoherent and in some ways repellent, that I knew nothing
of. Being, I suppose, even then of a rational temperament I isolated my
disquiet and carried on as before until I finally sorted things out
much later, but I imagine that for many children it could be quite
upsetting even with the somewhat changed modern practices." (
Humanist educated in 40s and 50s
)
Much of what follows is based on existing good practice in RE. Like
all pupils, humanists should learn about the beliefs of others in our
society and world, but they need to see their beliefs respected too.
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 topicsthat regularly come up in RE syllabuses can
easily include humanist perspectives and experience. Many of them also
feature in the national framework for RE (QCA, 2004) - see
Humanism in the national framework
. Teachers are very welcome to contact the BHA for assistance.
-
arguments about the existence of God
: See BHA briefings
Does God Exist
and
Miracles and Faith Healing - a sceptical perspective
.
-
artefacts: Humanists tend to value human artefacts that
contribute to our understanding of the world around us, and human
creations (e g medicine, art, literature, music) that contribute to our
well-being and pleasure in the world
-
awe and wonder
: are felt by many humanists at our growing understanding of the
universe, and its size and complexity, and at the richness and beauty
of the natural world, human ingenuity and creativity
-
creation stories
: It is not only humanists who accept the scientific theories about the
beginning of the Universe and the evolution of life on earth. For Key
Stages 1-2, see BHA worksheet
How the Earth Began
.
-
death and the afterlife
: See BHA briefing
Death and Other Big Questions
-
morality and moral issues
: See BHA briefings on ethics and ethical issues, and the Humanist Philosophers' Group
What is Humanism
? (BHA, 2002).
-
our shared humanity: Humanists are very aware of how similar we
all are, despite superficial differences. Many experiences and emotions
are shared by everyone, regardless of worldview; religions have
something to say about them mainly because these experiences are so
common.
-
people
: There are figures in history who exemplified humanist ideals in their
lives and who are widely respected by humanists. See BHA briefing
Humanists working for a better world
-
prayer
: Humanists do not pray, because they do not think there is anyone to
pray to, but they do think and reflect, and they do have hopes,
feelings, fears and anxieties that they express to themselves.
-
rites of passage
: There are non-religious ceremonies available for atheists, agnostics,
humanists and those who, for one reason or another, cannot participate
in religious ceremonies or would prefer an alternative. See BHA
worksheet on
Celebrations and Ceremonies
.
-
science and religion
: Humanists favour science and scientific method in this perennial debate. See BHA briefings, including: "
Nature
";
Death and Other Big Questions
;
Environmental Issues
;
Miracles and Faith Healing - a sceptical perspective
;
Embryo Research
,
Genetic Engineering and Research
.
-
symbols
: The symbol of the "happy human" is widely used in humanist organisations. See BHA worksheet on
The Happy Human
for Key Stage 2 pupils.
-
texts: Humanists do not have sacred or obligatory texts, but
many humanists respect and value books as storehouses of human
knowledge, ideas and creativity.
1
(Survey of 13,000 13-15 year olds by Revd Professor Leslie Francis and
Revd Dr William Kay, Trinity College, Carmarthen, Teenage Religion and
Values, Gracewing, 1995).
BHA can also assist with finding speakers for schools.
See also
How Humanism fits into the 2004 non-statutory National Framework for RE
How to include non-religious pupils in RE.
Humanist Perspectives 1
and 2
(BHA) contain much useful information for teachers and photocopiable pages for pupils.
Buy them here
.
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