Norman Richardson
Stranmillis University College

As it is perceived by the wider world, religion in Northern Ireland has been notorious for provoking some of the worst excesses of sectarian antagonism. Yet, sometimes, it has also been known for its positive engagement with the processes of reconciliation, healing, and hope. Indeed, some courageous and often unsung work has been carried out by people of various faith communities working right across, and in spite of, traditional sectarian barriers. However, it is still unfortunately the case that a very large sector of education remains separated out along perceived religious lines. Northern Ireland's schools have traditionally been separately associated with one or other of its dominant Christian traditions, Catholic or Protestant. The vast majority of children (well over 90%) attend the school associated with their own cultural-religious community. While some have argued that this separateness has provided a secure religious and community ethos to counter the years of civil unrest - a "safe haven" as it has often been termed - others have argued that it has merely compounded the region's social and political divisions and has contributed to ignorance, prejudice, and sectarianism. Although it is true that the phenomenon of separate, divided schools is just one symptom of a separate, divided society, it is no less true that this particular symptom has become closely intertwined with the cause.

Northern Ireland, along with other parts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and many European countries, continues to include Religious Education (RE) in its curriculum. The Christian churches have traditionally sought to exercise significant influence over the nature of religious teaching. Schools in the Catholic tradition are overtly confessional in their approach, while many teachers from the Protestant community seem to have adopted what might be termed a "non-denominational neoconfessionalism." Overall though, there is some ambivalence about the purposes of RE in schools. Is it the role of schools to teach and nurture faith, or should the purpose of religion in school be to promote awareness and understanding? This is a crucial issue in an increasingly plural global society and any discussion of religious education must take account of the potential dangers when religious bodies appear to have an interest in the control of schools and, in particular, of the curriculum.

It is the view of this author that religion does have a valid place in education and that religious values can be a positive and formative influence on the quality of that education. However, this should never be at the expense of educational independence and freedom of thought and choice. Religious organisations should stand well back from the impression that they wish to use education simply to control or manipulate a community. Most importantly, they must recognise the need for inclusion, respect, and fairness to all -- not least to minorities and those who ascribe to no religion. In a diverse world, it is essential to uphold certain key human and religious values as a basis for understanding and peace. These values include, among others, freedom, respect, and mutual justice.

If religious bodies, especially the more powerful ones, can adjust to this new paradigm then they surely have much to offer. Learning about and from religion is a window to cultural understanding, to human motivation, to ethical discourse, and to the deepest musings of humankind. Schools need not be a battleground of conflicting ideologies, as some have feared. Rather, they should be a place of challenge, dialogue, and, in a non-sectarian sense, of spiritual development. At its best, openness to religious diversity promotes honest enquiry and encounter and can lead to new relationships.

Types of Religious Education in Schools:

In view of the ideals above, what is the present situation in Northern Ireland? Northern Ireland's educational legislation currently permits different types of schools with different approaches to religious teaching in schools. 'Maintained' schools, almost all of which are Catholic schools, are permitted to teach the particular tenets of their denominational tradition and include a certain proportion of representatives on governing bodies. 'Controlled' schools, many of which were originally administered by the Protestant Churches until the early 1930s, may only teach religion in a "nondenominational" manner and are permitted a smaller proportion of representatives on governing bodies. There is a small number of 'Independent' Christian Schools (Protestant-fundamentalist in outlook) which are completely privately funded and which, therefore, do not come under the terms of the mainstream legislation, primarily because of their desire to define the nature of their own religious provision.

More significantly, there is a small but growing sector of 'Integrated' schools (currently catering for about 5% of the school going population), which are committed to serving all the communities of Northern Ireland and, therefore, to providing both confessional and general religious education. These schools have adopted a policy of cooperating as much as possible with all church and religious groups while fiercely guarding their independence from any specific religious control. Religious education in these latter schools is normally based on the principle that children from different traditions should do as much as possible together. Even where separate teaching is required (for example, in preparation for the Catholic sacraments), this should never be done in a secretive or closed manner. The 'Integrated' schools have met with some opposition from traditional church hierarchies, but many people regard them as an important indication of ways to create a more stable political environment in Northern Ireland. 1

Northern Ireland's Core Syllabus:

The Department of Education for Northern Ireland formally adopted a "Core Syllabus for Religious Education" in 1993. At the time, there was a fairly high degree of public welcome because of the involvement of the four largest Christian denominations in the process. These four churches - the Catholic Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the Methodist Church in Ireland - were invited by government in 1991 to act jointly to prepare a syllabus and to appoint members of a Working Party. It was agreed that the "core" would include those areas on which all could agree and that additional material - such as confessional Catholic teaching in preparation for the sacraments - could be taught "outside the core" where legislation permitted.

It was also decided that the 'Core Syllabus' would be an exclusively Christian syllabus. The 'Core Syllabus' has three main elements or "Attainment Targets." These are designated as 1) The Revelation of God (teaching about God, the Bible and the life and teaching of Jesus); 2) The Christian Church (from its New Testament origins to the present day); and 3) Morality (respect for God, self, others, and the environment). When this syllabus was developed, some concern was expressed about the terminology of the first of these areas, "The Revelation of God" as its assumptions seemed to be based on the common, but over-simplistic and inaccurate belief, that everyone in Northern Ireland had an identity which was either "Catholic" or "Protestant" in the broadest sense. The existence and presence of other religions was simply ignored. Indeed, despite its origins in a process of inter-church cooperation, the syllabus also gave only superficial attention to issues of difference and dialogue between the Irish churches themselves. Other criticism of the syllabus centered on its very didactic nature and its lack of engagement with attitudinal development. Dr. Philip Barnes of the University of Ulster, for example, commented that the syllabus did "not encourage pupils to think for themselves about religion, and its narrow focus prevent(ed) the development of the necessary skill of assessing religious beliefs, experiences and commitments - a skill much needed in our increasingly plural world. "2

As for the teaching of other faiths in the 'Core Syllabus,' it was determined that, if any school wished to teach about other religions, this should be done "outside the core" and then only by the express agreement of the school's Board of Governors. This latter decision was justified on the grounds that there was "no demand" for teaching about other faiths and on the stipulation in earlier legislation that religious education shall be "instruction based upon the Holy Scriptures according to some authoritative version or versions thereof."3 Despite protest from various groups and individuals, including representatives of the minority faith communities in Northern Ireland, the Christian exclusivity of the syllabus was upheld. A government minister at the time officially encouraged schools to exercise their option to teach about other religions, but, in practice, very few schools have done so. Often, they have taken the pragmatic position that the syllabus is already too content-heavy without adding further material. The absence of a world religions element in RE is particularly marked in the 'Controlled' schools (which mainly serve the Protestant community). In the Catholic post-primary RE programme, however, there is a small but significant section on other religions which is taught in each school year.

In its introductory material, the Syllabus Working Group was respectful in tone in relation to other faith and encouraged pupils to develop an attitude of "sensitivity towards people of Christian traditions other than their own, towards people of others religions, and people who do not believe in any religion."4 The difficulty with this approach, however, was that there was no clear basis being provided in the syllabus for the knowledge and awareness on which to base such sensitivity. The exclusive nature of the RE syllabus in Northern Ireland has been further compounded in recent years by the decision to omit the world religions option from the Northern Ireland GCSE5 Religious Studies course on the grounds that there was little demand for it. An option to study religions other than Christianity does remain part of the Advanced Level GCE Religious Studies course, but it is only taken up by a very small percentage of students. It is hard to avoid the impression that the 'Core Syllabus' was little more than a cooperation of convenience designed to ensure that RE remained in the control of the churches. There has been little ongoing cooperation since the Syllabus, and there has been strong resistance to any proposals which might seek to change the underlying assumptions of the original 'Core Syllabus.'

Following the failure of efforts to persuade government and the churches to broaden the Northern Ireland Syllabus beyond its Christian parameters, one unanticipated outcome was the decision of members of the minority faiths, together with some Christians of various traditions, to establish the Northern Ireland Inter-Faith Forum. One of the key commitments of the Forum has been to continue to lobby for a much more inclusive approach to Religious Education, and a public statement was issued in January 2001 calling for:
"a better-informed and more sensitive awareness of religious diversity in our schools" and for "all educators, including those from the churches and the other faith communities, to commit themselves enthusiastically in dialogue and partnership to this task of developing an education system which contributes to the establishment of a fair and just society in Northern Ireland for all sections of the community."6

A Different Vision:

Despite the difficulties and disappointments associated with the official 'Core Syllabus,' there have been some encouraging developments in the RE field over the past twenty or more years. These developments have been aimed at overcoming the separation, ignorance, and sectarianism which continue to challenge life in Northern Ireland. While space prohibits providing further detail, the work of the late Dr. John Greer and his colleagues at the University of Ulster was of note. They devised programs for children to explore a variety of Christian traditions. This initiative led to the establishment of new models of in-service teacher education whereby teachers from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds shared together their concerns and insights. The joint peace education program of the (Protestant) Irish Council of Churches and the (Catholic) Irish Commission for Justice and Peace has also devised a range of resources for exploring religious and cultural diversity and for developing skills in inter-personal, inter-group, and inter-community relationships. The inter-school and youth programmes of the well-known Corrymeela Community of Reconciliation have, over more than three decades, provided opportunities for challenge and encounter across the religious divide. The recent work of the Irish School of Ecumenics on dealing with sectarianism seems likely to provide another valuable resource in this field.

Many of the groups and individuals working voluntarily in education towards a vision of a more peaceful society, including those motivated by religious values, came together in the 1980s to develop a more cohesive approach which could be taken up by schools of all kinds. Gaining the broad support of government, they developed models of Education for Mutual Understanding which were eventually incorporated into the statutory schools curriculum.7 Throughout the 1990s, a range of curricular strategies was developed to deliver the objectives of this program, although with variable support and levels of effectiveness. Notwithstanding the hard work and good practice of some teachers, it is generally agreed that too much emphasis was placed on interpersonal and inter-group contact, but too little on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to promote relationship-building and understanding of diversity.8 Severe limitations in the availability and provision of teacher training in education for diversity and peace have been evident throughout this period. At the time of writing, these strategies are being further developed and strengthened at an official level in relation to proposals to introduce Personal Education and Local and Global Citizenship into the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

Inspired by examples of similar cross-cultural work in other parts of the world, some religious educators have argued that, if religion is seen to be part of the problem in any society, it also needs to be addressed as part of the response to that problem. Teaching materials and programs have been developed to initiate awareness of Protestant and Catholic beliefs and practices, to encourage examination of attitudes and stereotypes, to build trust and mutual respect, and to promote open, honest discussion of divisive issues such as sectarianism and violence. Similar processes, although on a smaller scale, have been adopted in relation to awareness of world faiths.9 Some schools have involved the use of educational trails to study places of worship and their associated cultural and religious communities. Training models have been developed to encourage teachers to adopt an inclusive approach to religious education in which the integrity of pupils, teachers and the religions being studied are respected in all their diversity.

Encouraging an Open Approach:

At its best, such work seeks to promote greater openness in the teaching of religious issues in schools. Skilled teachers can encourage open discussion of issues which have traditionally been avoided as "too sensitive." Inter-school seminars and workshops, often organised by educational support organisations and NGOs, can provide additional resources and opportunities for such discussion. However, despite the support from some religious educators, it is no less true that some of the sharpest opposition has come from others in this field. It is still possible to encounter considerable antagonism from some teachers of religion with very different value systems who regard cross-denominational and inter-faith teaching with suspicion.

Religious education based on the values of openness and mutual respect seems to many people to be absolutely crucial in the context of a plural, but divided society like Northern Ireland. The ways in which religion is taught in such a society are highly significant, but this is more than just an academic or professional debate about pedagogical styles. In a society like Northern Ireland, religion in schools is capable of being either very creative or very malign. The churches in Ireland undoubtedly have a valid historical and contemporary interest in schools and in religious education, but this should be seen as a responsibility rather than a right. However, if the churches can choose to be partners with other faith communities in the envisioning and building of a more open and peaceful society, then there are grounds for hope. A more open and honest approach to dealing with religious diversity has the potential to enable Northern Ireland's peoples to engage in a more constructive relationship with each other in order to build and sustain a more stable future.

END NOTES
1 It is important to point out that all the 'Controlled' and 'Maintained' and most of the 'Integrated' schools - that is, the vast majority of all schools - are now fully government funded.
2 L.P. Barnes, 1997, "Reforming Religious Education in Northern Ireland: A Critical Review," in The British Journal of Religious Education; Vol.19:2, Spring 1997, Derby, Christian Education Movement, Page 81.
3 HMSO, 1986, Statutory Instruments No. 594: Education and Libraries Order 1986; Article 21, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, Belfast.
4 DENI, 1992, Educational (Cross-Curricular) Themes: Objectives; Department of Education for Northern Ireland/HMSO, Bangor.
5 This is the leaving examination for ages 16+.
6 NIIFF, 2001, A Statement on Religious Education, agreed by the Northern Ireland Inter-Faith Forum, January 10th 2001.
7 CCEA, Mutual Understanding and Cultural Heritage: Guidance Materials; Council for Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment, Belfast, 1997.
8 A. Smith & A. Robinson, Education for Mutual Understanding: the Initial Statutory Years, Centre for the Study of Conflict, University of Ulster, Coleraine, 1996.
9 See, for example: M. Ryan, Another Ireland: An Introduction to Ireland's Ethnic and Religious Minorities; Stranmillis University College, Belfast, 1996.

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