The Welsh Government has an existing document, produced in 2008, which proposes that, ‘Religious education in the 21st Century encourages pupils to explore a range of philosophical, theological, ethical, and spiritual questions in a reflective, analytical, balanced way that stimulates questioning and debate.’ Religion, philosophy and ethics should therefore surely have already made their way into the classroom a long time ago. Is it simply the case that the packaging is changing and the contents are staying the same?
I believe that in any effective RE classroom, learning with regards to religion, philosophy and ethics should be taking place; it might also be said that all three are inextricably linked. Students should have the opportunity to learn about and from many religions. This allows them to better understand their own beliefs and values (morals) and those of their classmates, neighbours and society (ethics). Philosophy or critical thinking, quite simply, should be the glue that binds it all together. Philosophical thought, however, is the area that is often overlooked in classrooms, diluting both the effectiveness and cohesiveness of the subject.
The philosophical skills of analysis, creativity and evaluation give pupils the opportunity to explore religions clearly and rationally, and when pupils start to engage in this way things become very meaningful.
As a teacher I believe that when this subject becomes meaningful, pupils are at the very least somewhere on that journey of personal search, defining who they are as a person. This whole process will undoubtedly leave the young person in a less vulnerable position regarding the adoption of radical ideas from extremists.
Other than the name I don’t think the purpose of the subject has really changed. But a call to see the subject taught more effectively is no bad thing. Critically engaging in religion in the classroom will encourage young people to ask questions and become less ignorant about the beliefs and values held within our society, giving them a safe place to develop and define their own. If a young person can critically engage with religion and ethics, their faith or indeed non -faith, very quickly becomes something they have constructed rather than something they have inherited I hope this will protect young people from the radical or extreme ideas of others.
