The Place of Religious Education (RE) in the Curriculum

The Place of Religious Education (RE) in the Curriculum
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Due Date
Abbreviations
ASC

Agreed Syllabus Conference

CoRE

Commission on Religious Education

DCSF

Department for Children, Schools and Families

DfE

Department for Education

EBacc

English Baccalaureate

GCSE

General Certificate for Secondary Education

LAS

Locally Agreed Syllabus

NC

National Curriculum

Ofsted

Office for Standards in Education

QCA

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

RE

Religious Education

RI

Religious Instructions

SACRE

Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

The Place of Religious Education (RE) in the Curriculum
The inclusion of religious education in the curriculum remains among the most debatable prospects in the UK education system. As a faction of stakeholders believe that RE adds no value to the curriculum, another faction believes in the benefits that RE instills in the education system. That raises questions on the position that RE occupies in the curriculum presently. In this paper, I explore the position of RE in the curriculum. The analysis stems from the evident negligence from policymakers who seem to be taking longer than necessary to isolate the value of RE in the curriculum. Besides the cited negligence, policymakers are guilty of marginalizing and undermining RE, possibly with the motive to delay cementing its value. The paper develops from a demonstration of the historical events that have since defined the treatment of RE in the education system. The paper further delves into some of the key policies and debates that have, historically, shaped the scope of inputs of RE in the curriculum. Among the emphasized policy changes that the paper assesses include the Education Reform Act of 1988, the Non-Statutory National Framework 2004, and the Educational Reform of 2010. The discussion will show just how influential the government has grown in determining the position of RE in the curriculum.
Defining Religious Education (RE)
A better understanding of the position of RE in the curriculum must be based on a proper understanding of the concept. Multiple inputs have attracted the explanation of the ontology and pedagogy of RE. The primary insight was instilled by Smart (1973), who argued that religion is a phenomenon that stands as a distinct entity. People can anchor the objectivity of religion by referring to the facts surrounding religion’s value in any society. Smart (1973) continued to isolate the value of religion through assessing the knowledge and experience in taxonomies that include festivals, beliefs, and rituals (Conroy et al., 2013). From Smart’s (1973) assertions, religion stands out as an independent discipline that can be pursued without the infiltration of sociological or anthropological approaches. Smart’s (1973) assertions on the autonomy of religion attracted debates, with a section arguing that the definition oversimplified the true nature of religion. From Smart’s (1973) definition, it woul...