Faith schools 'do not exclude'

One of the difficulties, I have long felt, with secular education in regard to religion and spirituality is the tendency to norm secularised viewpoints to the detriment of God or spiritual-philosophical standpoints and a related misunderstanding that somehow a religious or spiritual faith is a kind of 'add-on' to a secular perspective, and so we can just leave our faith behind and engage in the 'neutral' space that we all hold in commmon. It's good, yet again, to see Rowan Williams making a good case strongly to education in the UK.

"In our present context, an education system which conveys some sense of what religious motivation is actually like is more helpful in avoiding communal suspicion or violence and avoiding 'ghettoisation' than one which rigorously refuses to engage with any religious practice on its own terms."

As someone about to commence training to be able to teach Religious Education in state schools, this is important for me to know. I still hear stories that seem to indicate that education departments are overseen by people with the kind of secular 'melting pot' viewpoint alluded to in my introductory comments. It is important that we enable people to realise and appreciate that these are genuinely different ways of seeing life, the universe and everything; not just the same things in different language or cultural forms.
EducationGuardian.co.uk | Schools special reports | Faith schools 'do not exclude':
Filed in: education, RE, religion, Rowan_Williams, faith