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In early 2024, the House of Lords in Great Britain debated whether there were ways to improve upon religious education curriculum in publicly-funded schools.
All schools receiving state funding in Britain are required to provide religious education (RE), according to a record in the Lords Library. The purpose of teaching RE is “for every young person to experience an academically rigorous and personally inspiring education in religion and worldviews,” per the Religious Education Council. (TAKE A POLL: Do You Attend Weekly Religious Services?)
“In religious education (RE), pupils enter into a rich discourse about the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped Great Britain and the world. RE in primary and secondary schools enables pupils to take their place within a diverse multi-religious and multi-secular society,” the British Government say of RE. “At its best, it is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It affords pupils both the opportunity to see the religion and non-religion in the world, and the opportunity to make sense of their own place in that world.”
Is RE Allowed In America?
More than 50 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ended school-sponsored prayer, sparking a debate that has lasted since that decision. “Some Americans are troubled by what they see as an effort on the part of federal courts and civil liberties advocates to exclude God and religious sentiment from public schools. Such an effort, these Americans believe, infringes on the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion,” Pew Research writes of the situation. (TAKE A POLL: Do You Believe in the Separation of Church and State?)
“Many civil libertarians and others, meanwhile, voice concern that conservative Christians and others are trying to impose their values on students. Federal courts, they point out, consistently have interpreted the First Amendment’s prohibition on the establishment of religion to forbid state sponsorship of prayer and most other religious activities in public schools.”
What Do You Think?
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