Opting Out of Religious Education in Northern Ireland: The views of young people from minority belief backgrounds
The School of Education and School of Law at Queen's University Belfast have published the findings of research into the experience of children of minority belief who opt-out from religious education in schools in Northern Ireland. The core aim of the research was 'to examine the opt-out clause through the perspective of young people (13-18 years) of minority belief and to assess its suitablility as a mechanism to protect religious liberty in a diverse society.' The findings show that many young people, parents, teachers and principals have little awareness of the legal situation in relation to opting-out from RE. Although, the report also notes that while the opt-out clause offered some protection for the rights of those who exercised it, it did not in itself guarantee respect for the beliefs of young people. Those who do opt-out are treated in a wide variety of ways, from being expected to stay in religious education classes to being removed to an unsupervised room. The reasons pupils and their parents gave for opting-out of RE included the narrow focus of the content on 'doctrinal Christianity' and the lack of attention paid to other belief systems. On the other hand, where RE was inclusive and teachers were respectful of minority beliefs, young people were more likely to want to study the subject.
The report contains a variety of recommendations, including the following:
- states should consider operating an opt-in rather than an opt-out of religious education
- education authorities should issue information to clarify that the right to opt-out of religious education is applicable to all schools, whether faith-based or not
- schools should issue clear information to parents about the aims of their RE teaching
- young people 'of sufficient maturity' should be given the right to withdraw themselves from religious education
- all schools in Northern Ireland should ensure that their RE focuses on 'the development of awareness, mutual respect and critical thought'; that world religions be taught across Key stages 2,3 and 4; that exam syllabuses at GCSE should require the study of some aspect of world religions as part of the course; and that the Education and Training Inspectorate be given full powers of inspection of religious education
For schools in Northern Ireland this report highlights the need for improved awareness and the employment of better procedures around the opt-out clause for religious education. But, it also draws attention to two other important issues. Firstly, no opt-out clause, however effective, can be a replacement for respecting the beliefs of all our young people through an inclusive and positive approach which encourages a critical and thoughtful engagement with religion. Secondly, there is genuine confusion in the minds of many people about what religious education actually involves and the aims it pursues. This is made worse by the confusion inherent in the local legislation, the lack of guidance provided by the Core Syllabus for Religious Education and the absence of robust and meaningful inspection processes for the subject in line with all other subjects on the curriculum.
Details of the report and previous publications can be found here.
The report contains a variety of recommendations, including the following:
- states should consider operating an opt-in rather than an opt-out of religious education
- education authorities should issue information to clarify that the right to opt-out of religious education is applicable to all schools, whether faith-based or not
- schools should issue clear information to parents about the aims of their RE teaching
- young people 'of sufficient maturity' should be given the right to withdraw themselves from religious education
- all schools in Northern Ireland should ensure that their RE focuses on 'the development of awareness, mutual respect and critical thought'; that world religions be taught across Key stages 2,3 and 4; that exam syllabuses at GCSE should require the study of some aspect of world religions as part of the course; and that the Education and Training Inspectorate be given full powers of inspection of religious education
For schools in Northern Ireland this report highlights the need for improved awareness and the employment of better procedures around the opt-out clause for religious education. But, it also draws attention to two other important issues. Firstly, no opt-out clause, however effective, can be a replacement for respecting the beliefs of all our young people through an inclusive and positive approach which encourages a critical and thoughtful engagement with religion. Secondly, there is genuine confusion in the minds of many people about what religious education actually involves and the aims it pursues. This is made worse by the confusion inherent in the local legislation, the lack of guidance provided by the Core Syllabus for Religious Education and the absence of robust and meaningful inspection processes for the subject in line with all other subjects on the curriculum.
Details of the report and previous publications can be found here.