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BRITAIN-RELIGIONS Feb-24-2006 (560 words) xxxi
British religious leaders agree to teach many faiths in schools
By Simon Caldwell
Catholic News Service
LONDON (CNS) -- In an attempt to spread tolerance among people of different religions, English and Welsh bishops have publicly committed themselves to ensuring that children in Catholic schools are taught about non-Christian faiths.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, England, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, signed an agreement with other faith leaders as part of an initiative by the British government's Department for Education and Skills to address the failure of some faith schools to teach about religions other than their own.
In a Feb. 22 statement, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist schools committed to supporting the National Framework for Religious Education, introduced in 2004 but not legally binding.
In the statement, the leaders said that teaching about a range of faiths enabled children to "develop respect for and sensitivity to others, in particular those whose faith and beliefs are different from their own."
"It promotes discernment and enables pupils to combat prejudice," the leaders said, adding that it enabled children to "flourish individually within their communities and as citizens in a pluralistic society and global community."
The faith leaders said: "We believe that schools with a religious designation should teach not only their own faith but also an awareness of the tenets of other faiths. We are fully committed to using the framework in developing the religious education curriculum for our schools and colleges."
Signatories included Anglican Bishop Kenneth Stevenson of Portsmouth, England; Jon Benjamin of the Board of Deputies of British Jews; Anil Bhanot of the Hindu Council; and Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain.
The government invited the faith leaders to sign the agreement after the Department for Education concluded that about a third of all British schools were failing to promote an understanding of some religions. David Bell, the former head of the government's Office for Standards in Education, was particularly concerned about the teaching of religion in the growing number of independent Muslim schools.
"I worry that many young people are being educated in faith-based schools with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to British society," he said in a speech last year.
The national framework encourages the teaching of the key tenets of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Christianity. It sets out guidelines and national standards for religious education at various levels, with the aim of introducing children to all religions by the age of 14.
Peter Walsh, policy manager for the Catholic Education Service, an agency of the bishops' conference, told Catholic News Service Feb. 22 that the statement did not "alter our position at all."
"It's been our position for some years that children in Catholic schools should have the opportunity to learn about other faiths," he said. "There has been concern in the last couple of years that some of the newer schools, particularly some independent Muslim schools, haven't been teaching a sufficiently wide curriculum.
"It's not a complaint that has been made about Catholic schools, but it's useful, we think, to reaffirm the church's commitment in this area," he said.
Walsh said the policy allowed Catholic pupils to "increase their understanding of contemporary society."
He said it encouraged their "religious literacy and helped them to develop ethically and spiritually."
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Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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