Christian Group Opposes Faith Schools

Christian group Ekklesia also opposes faith schools, on the grounds that "faith should be a free choice, not one imposed on others through a ‘Christendom’ style deal between religious and political leaders." This article explains their position in more depth...

"The Church of England’s education supreme also appeared to attack what he deemed the “French secular system” of teaching about religion but not teaching religion itself.

But the ‘phenomenological approach’, which seeks to get pupils to understand the lives of believing and non-believing life stances without proselytising is well rooted in British educational theory, and widely accepted as a way of informing about religion without pushing for or against it.

Teaching religious faith is a matter for faith communities, not state schools which are there for all irrespective of creed or background, argue opponents of faith-based systems in the state sector.

But Canon Hall argues that faith schools enable “people in faith communities to grow in self-respect and understanding, and therefore to grow in respect for others.”

“The Church of England is defending its entrenched interests in a way which may be in danger of legitimating more extreme religious groups, sidestepping arguments about fairness and reducing Anglicanism to a semi-imposed civic religion," commented Ekklesia’s co-director, Simon Barrow.

Last year the Roman Catholic Cardinal for England and Wales and a senior Anglican bishop both admitted to qualms about Christian children going to a Muslim school, undermining the argument that faith schools are neutral. "