Attempts to ban religious faith from shaping education are misguided and ultimately harmful, argues a new report launched today (Thursday 2 December 2010) by the think tank Theos.
The report, entitled Doing God in Education, is written by Professor Trevor Cooling, the Director of the National Institute for Christian Education Research at Canterbury Christ Church University. It argues that all education - whether religious or 'secular' - is value-based, and is shaped by the beliefs and commitments of those who lead schools. To pretend that teaching is somehow just a matter of transmitting neutral ideas is profoundly misleading. The values and beliefs of teachers cannot simply be left at the school gate.
The report, which has important implications for the presence and role of Christian education, argues that God belongs in school not simply because it is a 'right' that comes with living in a liberal society, but because the Christian contribution to education is positive and constructive, contributing powerfully to the common good.
Commenting on the report, Director of Theos, Paul Woolley, said: "The idea that education is religiously neutral or objective is indefensible. Teaching is shaped by our understanding of which virtues we should practise, what qualities we should value, ultimately of what kind of people we should be. To pretend otherwise is naïve or, worse, an attempt to ban from the classroom moral and metaphysical commitments simply because a minority of anti-theists dislike them.
"We believe that the report represents an important, reasonable, balanced and thoughtful contribution to the case for Christian education."
Commending the report, Professor Leslie J Francis, Professor of Religions and Education at the University of Warwick, said: "Trevor Cooling nails the absurdity and illogicality of the secularist position that tries to silence religious voices in the educational arena. His provocative defence of theologically-informed voices in the educational arena will draw fire from the secularist position but his case is robust enough to withstand such attack."
To read Doing God in Education in full, click here.
