Graham Rossiter
Australian Catholic University

While there is legal provision for non-denominational religious education in government schools in Australia, in which religion is part of the ordinary secular curriculum taught by departmental teachers, it has never been practiced in this way. A second provision, a denominational one, has in fact been the practice in religious education since the foundation of the Australian states in the 19th century. This form of religious education is also referred to as "confessional" and is the norm in some European countries. This essay will look at how religious education has evolved in Australia and will suggest some new approaches. Of particular importance are the views and perspectives of Australia's indigenous communities and how these might be better integrated into a religious education curriculum.

Practical Realities of State Support:

The second provision noted above gives the churches a right to enter the government schools to instruct children in their particular denominations. It is sometimes called "right-of-entry" denominational religious education, where the aim is to initiate children into the particular faith tradition and to promote the development of a spiritual life in the context of that faith tradition. In Australia's state schools, visiting church representatives -- priests/ministers or volunteer instructors -- provide about 30 minutes of religious education per week. Initially, only Christian churches were involved, but, eventually, it was possible for non-Christian religions to participate. In practice, this option might be availed of once every two weeks or less frequently. Such classes are more widespread and consistent at primary school level. At the secondary school level, the coverage is not as extensive and may take the form of religious seminars conducted with students about once per school term, i.e. twice a year.

In some situations, a variety of different Christian denominations will work together cooperatively to sponsor an inter-denominational religious education program. A teacher paid by these churches would in effect become a full time teacher in a government school and teach religion classes on a regular basis on behalf of the churches. This has been an option that has been followed by a number of the Evangelical Churches. Some of the mainline churches, particularly the Catholic Church, have been slow to enter such arrangements because of a concern about the Evangelical and Pentecostal theology of the inter-denominational teachers.

Accrediting 'Religion Studies':

Following a release of a number of government reports on the place of religion in state schools in the 1970s,1 most of the states in Australia developed a matriculation level religion studies course for years 11 and 12 of schooling. These courses (also referred to as Religious Studies, Studies of Religion, and Religion & Society) were designed to be appropriate for any school and all students. They were non-denominational in the sense of not being concerned with the handing on of a particular religious tradition and were, thus, a part of the "general" religious education provision for state schools. These programs were primarily concerned with the study of world religions (as in similar courses developed in the United Kingdom).

While designed primarily for state schools, these courses did not end up being implemented in anything more than a handful of state schools across the country. The programs were, however, taken up enthusiastically by church schools, particularly Catholic schools. Religion studies became increasingly popular in Catholic schools because it became a fully accredited matriculation-level subject, which could be used by students as part of their qualification for university entry. Previously, the Catholic schools had maintained religion as a core subject in the curriculum from kindergarten through to year 12, but the subject had no academic accreditation and did not count either for the final school certification, or for university entrance. From the 1970s on, however, this changed and the school's religion studies course at the senior level acquired the status of "other approved studies."

Opposition to 'General' Religious Education:

For a variety of reasons, non-denominational religious education, which includes the study of world religions, has not fully developed within government schools in Australia. The dominant provision of "right-of-entry" religious education was acceptable and this was thought to satisfy most needs. Even though there were reports that this approach was ineffective, as well as unpopular with students and state teachers, there has been a hesitancy to oppose it for fear of offending the churches. Although church authorities saw that there were significant problems, they still saw the importance of a 'church presence' and were, therefore, reluctant to relinquish their access to state schools.

There was also no training of state school teachers for religious education. Because of the competition for space within the curriculum, it was very unlikely that a new subject like religious education would gain a place, given the lack of academic infrastructure. Consequently, in this situation, there was no career path for a government school teacher who might be interested in teaching religion.

Finally, there have been problems with defining religious education. In trying to establish a new identity for religious education in the state school setting, there has been a tendency to define this against denominational religious education.2 In other words, a 'general' approach to religious education needed to be differentiated from the purposes of a community of faith. The study of world religions has been claimed by a number of educators, principally in state schools, to be different in method and content from say a 'faith nurturing' or 'catechetical' method and Biblical/theological content.3 This thinking gave the impression that the new 'educational' religious education was different in purposes, process, and content from its denominational counterpart.

Encouraging a Critical Approach:

The terms 'confessional' and 'non-confessional' are useful for differentiating the context of religious education. However, these terms tend to create an artificial dichotomy as regards the process of the classroom teaching of religion. For example, in a confessional context (say an Anglican or Catholic school), it may be appropriate to have prayer and liturgy from within that religious tradition. However, the classroom religion lesson in the church school takes place within a forum with educational expectations. Teachers cannot presume that all students are committed or practising members of the church.

Teachers also cannot presume that students should be ready to make personal (faith) responses in the classroom because this puts inappropriate psychological pressure on them and does not respect their freedom and privacy. The religious tradition can be presented and studied, as content is studied and considered critically in other learning areas, but attempts to 'require' assent from students would not be ethical on the part of the teacher. Such an approach is also potentially counterproductive because students are particularly sensitive to teaching which does not respect their personal freedom.

Partially to address the above concerns, state religion studies were set up for state schools to provide what was said to be "different" from what church-related schools were aiming for in their religious education. However, in reality, it was only the church-related schools which took up the so-called "state" religion studies (for some of the reasons cited, especially academic accreditation). There has not been a lot of attention given to the similarities and differences in religious education in state and church school contexts and there are still some ambiguities about how different the two approaches are in practice. Ultimately, an open, inquiring, critical study within religious education should be the modus operandi in both state and church schools. In a number of church school contexts, the idea of open, research-focused, critical, inquiring study is well accepted. An open approach to world religions in both the denominational and state religion programs does exist, although the content can often be too descriptive.

The Relevance of Religious Education to the Spiritual Life:

Regrettably, for many young people, the content of religion studies courses appears to be preoccupied with useless, factual/descriptive details which reinforce the view they already have that religion has little relevance to contemporary society, or to their own lives. The courses would be more educationally relevant if they were more issueoriented -- that is, dealing with what the students and the community see as the real spiritual/moral issues of the day.4 Examples of such topics might include: The values, or lack of values, underpinning economic rationalist thinking; current debates about the role(s) of women in religion; the development of ethnic and religious identity and its influence on human behavior; the impact(s) of the new physics on ideas about God and creation; and, understanding current controversies in other religions like Judaism and Islam.

For different reasons, the religious education programs in both church and state schools seem too tame.5 In the former, too much attention seems to be given to traditional teachings and practices, which, to the students, appear to be preoccupied with matters of institutional maintenance. Not enough attention is being paid to what is more relevant to the lives of students and the community. In brief, this view proposes that religious education in both state (religion studies) and church-related (denominational religious education) -- in Australia and probably in other countries -- needs to take on more content and language that reflect the contemporary importance of young people's search for meaning and identity.

Working with Indigenous Communities:

Ultimately, the study of religions should promote awareness and understanding of the nature and purpose of the religious or spiritual quest within different religions. It should also promote reflection, on the part of the pupil, on the implications that the adoption of a religious view of life would have for his/her own understanding of self and for his/her development as a person.

Attention to the education of indigenous peoples in various countries has, in recent years, stressed the importance of encouraging them to embrace their own cultural and spiritual traditions. To help heal the social and psychological damage that has resulted from the clash between their cultures and the dominant western culture and lifestyle, they have been encouraged to deepen their familiarity with their spiritual heritage and to repair the links between the land, culture, and personal/social identity. The eroded sense of identity and cultural dignity of indigenous peoples needs to be restored by developing and nurturing self-esteem. In Australia, the study of Aboriginal culture is now presumed to be important not only for the Aborigines, but also for white Australians. A place for the study of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs is thus essential for any Australian religion studies course.6

The value in affirming the identity and culture of Aborigines (and indigenous people in general) should also apply to the religions of other ethnic groups. Both in theory and practice, such an affirmation has not been as forthcoming as it might be because it is feared that this could be interpreted as the state fostering religion through public education. It is, however, in the interests of the national community to help educate its children in the culture and spiritual traditions of their respective group(s). Whether or not individuals are practicing members of a particular church or religion, it is of value to the community as a whole for them to be familiar with, and have some access to, their particular religious heritage. It is a legitimate aim of religion studies to help students acquire a better understanding of their identity through the study of religions. However, to give exclusive attention to one tradition, whatever that may be, is inappropriate. A balance needs to be maintained and this is a balance that Australia still struggles to find.

END NOTES
1 G.M. Rossiter, Religious Education in Australian Schools; Curriculum Development Centre, Canberra, 1981. This book, while an old one now, still provides the most comprehensive account of the history and practice of religious education in all types of schools in Australia -- both state, independent and church-related.
2 M.L. Crawford and G.M. Rossiter, "The Nature of Religious Education in Public Schools: The Quest for an Educational Identity," Panorama: International Journal of Comparative Religious Education and Values, 1994, Vol. 5, 1, pgs. 77-94. This article looks how developing an 'educational,' as opposed to a 'denominational' identity, influenced the form of state school religious education in the United Kingdom and Australia.
3 Department of Education South Australia, Aims for Religious Education; Department of Education South Australia, Adelaide, 1976.
4 K.E. Nipkow, Pre-conditions for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Learning: Observations and Reflections from a German Perspective; Australian Catholic University Moral and Religious Education Project, Sydney, 1991.
5 Rossiter, G.M., "Historical perspective on the development of Catholic Religious Education in Australia: Some implications for the future," Journal of Religious Education, 1999, Vol. 47, 1, pgs. 5-18.
6 Study of Aboriginal culture also enters into some other parts of the curriculum, i.e. in the social sciences.

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