Contestation of a law permitting parental withdrawal of children from Religious Education instruction, based on a study conducted among school principals, calls for its revocation
Taylor & Francis Group, a leading publisher of scholarly journals, books, ebooks, and reference works, has released a study conducted by Liverpool Hope University that sheds light on the changing attitudes towards the right of parental withdrawal from Religious Education (RE) classes in England.
The study, which can be found in the Taylor & Francis Newsroom Embargo Area link, was compiled by Dr Cathal O'Siochru and Dr David Lundie, senior lecturers at Liverpool Hope University. It is the first to provide hard data on the process of parents taking their children out of RE classes in the country.
According to the study, 71% of surveyed school principals and heads of religious education in England believe the section allowing students to opt out of religious instruction, included in the 1944 Education Act, is no longer necessary. This is due to it being seen as outdated and not reflective of the current educational and societal context.
The right to withdraw children from RE was initially included in the 1944 Education Act to protect the rights of conscience of religious minorities from being forced to receive Christian religious instruction. However, the current law raises questions about the wider contribution of RE to the life of the school, as RE is bound up with the fundamental British values of mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths.
The study found that 41% of school leaders have received requests for students to be withdrawn from teaching about one religion, with the largest number related to teaching about Islam. This has led to a debate among school officials and heads of RE about the potential overturning of the law allowing parents to withdraw their children from RE classes.
However, there is considerable legal confusion over the law, with 27% of participants incorrectly believing that parents who withdraw their children from RE need to provide an alternative syllabus to follow. Others incorrectly thought parents could withdraw their children from other National Curriculum subjects on religious grounds, or that agreeing to such a withdrawal was at the school's discretion.
Earlier this year, members of a local education body in Essex blamed "integration issues" on a rise in withdrawals from RE classes. The study suggests that this could be a consequence of the outdated nature of the law, which may not adequately prepare children for life in modern Britain.
For more information about the study or to arrange an interview with Dr David Lundie, Senior Lecturer in Education at Liverpool Hope University, please contact Greg O'Keeffe, Senior Journalist & Writer at Liverpool Hope University (email, Tel.: +44 (0)20 7017 4311, Twitter). Simon Wesson, Press & Media Executive at Liverpool Hope University, can also be contacted (email, Tel.: +44 (0)20 7017 4311).
Taylor & Francis Group, with offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi, and Cape Town, provides local expertise and support to editors, societies, authors, and libraries, and tailored, efficient customer service to its library colleagues.
The article will be freely available once the embargo has lifted via the following link: link.
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