By: Stephen McAlpine
The vibe change that is sweeping the Western world, and sweeping up religious observance with it, would seem to be landing on the shores of government schools.
I was in conversation with a young ministry worker at church recently and discussing the start of the academic year in the local schools, where he is in charge of overseeing the Scripture teaching classes.
And he told me that the number of Roman Catholic students signed up to do religious education classes at school has doubled since last year. While that may be off a small base, when we add it into the increased interest in the religious question that we are seeing in the West, it’s not insignificant that the number has doubled.
Many Catholic parents in the past appear to have been fairly nominal, but that seems to be changing. I think that there is a renewed interest in the faith even among those who assumed that the cultural frame would not be so quick to knock off their progeny.
Seems that parents are keen for their children to have the framework that they assumed that they themselves had grown up with, but are finding is in short supply in a world gone to chaos. And it seems that they’re happy to outsource that to religious educators. And in increasing numbers.
Moving to New South Wales from Western Australia introduced me to the world of Special Religious Education (SRE) as almost standard in state schools. The government education website states:
Special religious education (SRE) is education in the beliefs and practices of an approved religious persuasion. Under the Education Act 1990, section 32External link, government schools allow time for special religious education. It is delivered by authorised representatives of approved religious groups to students who have nominated that religion.
Secular ethics classes are also on offer for anyone who doesn’t identify with a particular religion. The Rationalist Society of Australia has run a longitudinal campaign to try and get rid of SRE in public schools, by stating with no irony, that secularism is the way to go.
Their website has these warning words:
Religious instruction programs promote segregation in public schools, dividing children along religious lines. In some states and territories, such as New South Wales and Queensland, religious instruction disrupts precious learning time, with parents having to consciously ‘opt out’ and with non-participating children being required to stop their normal curriculum to allow for participating students to take part in the program. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, religious instruction takes place during normal class time but parents have to ‘opt in’ and other children are able to continue with their regular curriculum. Generally, there is little oversight and control over who the instructors are and the nature of the materials they are using. One expert referred to this situation as a “policy blindspot” which is opening the door to religious extremists.
The curiously named Fairness in Religion in Schools is just as shrill in its denunciations:
On the basis of evidence, surely something that The Rationalist Society of Australia, and FIRIS, would sign up to, it would seem that their own position is quickly becoming so last decade. Things move a lot quicker than what either group would envisage. Though I am not sure that FIRIS is for shifting anytime soon. I mean, if you look at their Facebook page, they seem to have an inordinate number of lifted screenshots or photos from particularly Christian organisations. One might think they have a little bit of Religion Derangement Syndrome, which itself feels so 2010.
Anyways, I think watch this space. The whole point of Fairness In Religion in Schools was to remove it altogether. It was only about concocted fairness and confected outrage.
But the fact that statistics in Australia show that, despite the decade or so of scorn poured on Christian and Church schools by top-end-of-town media, despite the misinformation campaigns about costs and “rugger-thugs”, despite the concerted effort to bully faith-based schools with legislation that would gut their ethical frameworks, the average mum and dad is sending their child to such schools by the droves.
And even when their children are in state schools – which is the sole focus of SRE – parents are renewing their interest in religious instruction. It’s as if they have cottoned on to the fact that the supposedly neutral secular space is not neutral at all.
Article supplied with thanks to Stephen McAlpine
About the Author: Stephen has been reading, writing and reflecting ever since he can remember. He is the lead pastor of Providence Church Midland, and in his writing dabbles in a number of fields, notably theology and culture. Stephen and his family live in Perth’s eastern suburbs, where his wife Jill runs a clinical psychology practice.
Feature image: All Images from source article, used with permission.