Under-10s could learn about humanism in NI’s RE syllabus

Children as young as eight in Northern Ireland may learn about Humanism, under plans for a new Religious Education (RE) syllabus.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Christian content in RE and assemblies must be objective and pluralistic, a Religious Education Drafting Group has now submitted a draft syllabus for public consultation.

Currently, pupils only learn about world religions at post primary level. But the draft proposals, which retain the “core” focus on Christianity, also claim there will be time for Key Stage 2 to receive “introductory learning about Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism and one non-religious worldview, such as Atheism, Agnosticism or Humanism”.

Christianity-focused

Education Minister Paul Givan stated: “This draft syllabus responds directly to the Supreme Court judgment. It seeks to meet the requirement for greater objectivity and recognises the central place of Christianity in Northern Ireland’s history, culture and society.

“I thank the drafting group for its significant work in preparing this draft syllabus. Religious Education remains a compulsory element of the school curriculum and the revised framework sets out the content to be taught across all 12 years of compulsory education.

“It is now important that teachers, parents and wider stakeholders take the opportunity and respond to the consultation to help ensure that Religious Education is both legally robust and fit for purpose.”

Secularists

James Kennedy, The Christian Institute’s NI Policy Officer, noted that it is “absolutely right that the syllabus is focused on Christianity, given that most people in Northern Ireland still identify in some way with Christian belief”.

But he warned that the additional focus on other religions remains a “significant concern”, with the risk that “deep differences between beliefs are ‘ironed out’ for the sake of easy comparison”.

“We must not allow our curriculum to be shaped at the behest of a secularist lobby desperate to oust Christianity from the classroom. Their assertion that a Christian focus is harmful ignores the fact that secularism is not a neutral default, but simply another competing worldview.”

Background

Last year, the Supreme Court’s ruling on RE followed a legal challenge on behalf of a seven-year-old girl and her father against the NI Department of Education. The father described the family as non-religious, and was concerned Christian teaching in school would lead to their daughter adopting these beliefs.

The Court agreed that the right of withdrawal from collective worship and RE lessons was not enough to avoid the girl being “stigmatised”, as she would be the only girl in the class not taking part.

The Supreme Court judgment does not remove Christianity from the classroom. Instead, it requires that Christian content is taught in a way that fairly and objectively presents other viewpoints and does not assume everyone views Christian beliefs as fact.