‘The Revelation of God’: examining the current RE curriculum in Northern Ireland’s schools

Somewhere in a Belfast primary school, a few years ago, a child sat through ‘non-denominational’ Religious Education (RE) and daily Christian worship. During her lessons she was encouraged to not only gain an understanding of Christianity, but an ‘appreciation’ of its teachings, and was expected to ‘develop an ability to interpret and relate the Bible to real life’ (more of this will be discussed later on). That child is known to the courts only as JR87 and, thanks to her and her dad, the Supreme Court has now ruled that Northern Ireland’s RE curriculum and worship arrangements are not in fact non-denominational but are indoctrination.

Since the judges were looking directly at what children are expected to learn, this is a good time to look at the Core Syllabus for RE itself, the statutory curriculum that all grant-aided (i.e. state-funded) schools must use, and to ask what it actually requires.

A syllabus written by churches

The first thing to understand about RE in Northern Ireland is that it is governed by the Education (Core Syllabus for Religious Education) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007, which ‘specifies the core syllabus for religious education at each key stage’ and is ‘drawn up by the four main churches and specified by the Department.’ In other words – the state is imposing a faith-based syllabus drawn up by Christian leaders on all pupils in all state schools. 

The churches that drafted the syllabus are the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church, and Methodist Church. No independent educational professionals were involved, nor was anyone from another religion or belief. Let’s compare this to the rest of the UK. In England, RE syllabuses are locally agreed by Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) and Agreed Syllabus Conferences, which bring together local authorities, churches, other religious communities, humanists, and teacher representatives. By law, RE is ‘locally determined’, not written centrally by a small group of church leaders. There are still issues with this, which is why RE on the national curriculum is our preferred outcome for England. In Wales a fairly similar system to England is used but the subject is called Religion, Values and Ethics, which is framed as ‘objective, critical and pluralistic’ and inclusive of ‘religious and non-religious philosophical convictions’. In Scotland, non-denominational schools follow Religious and Moral Education that explicitly covers Christianity, world religions, and ‘belief groups independent of religion’, supporting pupils ‘in the development of their own beliefs and values’.

Against that backdrop, a single, church-drafted syllabus made mandatory across an entire country stands out. What appears as a state curriculum is, in reality, an indoctrinatory syllabus made compulsory across the system.

What children are expected to learn

How the Core Syllabus starts, at Foundation Stage (i.e. age 4-6).

At primary level, the syllabus is built around three learning objectives at every stage: ‘The Revelation of God’, ‘The Christian Church’, and ‘Morality’.

Under The Revelation of God, the core statement is that pupils should develop:

‘knowledge and understanding of key Christian teachings about God, […] Jesus Christ, and the Bible’

and learn to relate the Bible to life. Teachers are told to emphasise that, for Christians, the Bible is God’s word, that God is creator and creation is good (i.e. a creationist approach is arguably taken), and that biblical figures reveal God’s will.

The life of Jesus is also mapped in great detail, and all accompanied by suggested scripture references. Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), Mary and Joseph’s journey to and birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-5 and Luke 2:6-7), the shepherds, wise men, and escape to Egypt (Luke 2:8-20 and Matthew 2:1-12), Jesus in the Temple, his public ministry, and the main events of his death and resurrection (Mark 15:25-37, 15:42-47 and Mark 16:1-8). This is a full narrative of Christian belief set out as historical fact, not religious education based on ideas.

Morality as explicitly Christian

What the ‘Morality’ learning objective looks like at Key Stage 4. Ephesians 5:22 is referred to which says ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.’ Leviticus 18:22 says ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.’ 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 similarly says ‘neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.’

Learning Objective 3: Morality sets the tone for moral education. Pupils are expected to develop their ability to think and judge about morality, and relate Christian moral principles to personal and social life. It is less about critical thinking, and more about the application of Christian belief to ethical questions. 

Within that, the syllabus includes many widely shared aims. Under ‘Respect for Self’, pupils should recognise that each person is ‘unique and special’. They should know that they are loved and respected, and learn to care for their own bodies. Under ‘Respect for each other’, they are told to value cooperation, sharing, helping others and honesty, and to show respect for property. Under ‘Respect for the environment’, they are to develop ‘a caring attitude towards living things’, and see that everyone has a responsibility to care for the environment.

These are, of course, commendable objectives. But they are anchored in a clearly confessional framework. Under ‘Respect for God’, teachers are told to help pupils:

‘develop a respect for God and the importance of the two commandments: to love God and to love one another’ (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Morality and the formation of a moral compass are therefore presented solely through a Christian lens. Values like kindness, honesty, and environmental concern all flow from the will of the Christian God.

Worse, there is also anti-LGBT and anti-female content. Under ‘Issues of personal identity’ comes ‘The concept of creation in the image of God’ and then ‘Human sexuality’. Specific Bible passages are referred to that are often used to justify anti-LGBT attitudes among Christians. Similarly, a Bible passage refers to wives ‘submitting to’ their husbands.

The Christian Church: belonging and worship

What the ‘Christian Church’ learning objective looks like at Key Stage 2. It goes on to list Christian figures from the past who must be studied.

The Christian Church strand seeks to embed this worldview in community and practice. The objective is that pupils develop:

‘knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the growth of Christianity, of its worship, prayer and religious language; [and] a growing awareness of the meaning of belonging to a Christian tradition’.

Young people are taught that life in a Christian community involves ‘caring, sharing and praying together’. Praying is explained as ‘a way of talking to God’ to thank, praise, say sorry, and ask for help, and the church calendar marks special times of celebration. Belonging, worship, and morality are woven together as part of a single, church-shaped framework that every pupil is expected to inhabit, regardless of their family’s beliefs.

Where other religions and beliefs fit in

Only later does the syllabus require engagement with non-Christian traditions. At Key Stage 3 only is introduced a fourth learning objective, ‘World Religions’, stating:

‘Pupils should be given an introduction to two world religions other than Christianity in order to develop knowledge of and sensitivity towards the religious beliefs, practices and lifestyles of people from other religions in Northern Ireland.’

For each religion, teachers are told to explore origins, key figures, beliefs, sacred writings, worship and aspects of daily life. This is a valuable and much-needed part of RE in Northern Ireland, but comes in amongst years of exclusively Christian content and only constitutes two pages of a 38 page syllabus. Humanism does not appear in the core syllabus at all, despite a substantial and growing non-religious population in Northern Ireland. This is not quite ‘encouraging children to become informed and inquisitive about their own and others’ religious beliefs and practices’ as stated by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and Assessment. Rather, after years of ‘indoctrination’ (to use the Supreme Court’s words), Northern Ireland’s young people are given a glimpse into the views of non-Christians – and even then only of religious non-Christians. 

RE based on ‘Holy Scriptures’

You might think that a unanimous Supreme Court ruling labelling the current arrangements unlawful would trigger a moment of humility in the Department of Education. So far, the political response has been different.

Education Minister Paul Givan has been at pains to reassure schools that, in his view, very little needs to change in the short term. In a letter to principals after the ruling, he stressed that the judgment ‘has not struck down existing legislation’ and told schools to ‘carry on teaching religious education based on the Holy Scriptures’. He further clarified that ‘it is already a legal requirement that religious education in controlled schools is based upon the Holy Scriptures’ and offered ‘reassurance that under my leadership, Christian faith will continue to shape education in Northern Ireland’.

Beyond the rhetoric – what needs to happen now

Publicly, and beyond the rhetoric, the Minister has accepted that his department will have to review the syllabus in light of the ruling. In practical terms, that ought to mean several things. First, the core syllabus has to be rewritten from top to bottom by a genuinely broad panel: teachers, parents, humanists, minority faith groups, children’s rights specialists. A review of the Northern Ireland Curriculum recently ruled RE out of its scope. A separate one should now take place. The four churches should not have the final – or, indeed, only – say on what RE in Northern Ireland looks like. The goal should be to enable pupils to understand a range of religious and non-religious worldviews, including humanism, from the start of schooling, and to compare them using the same critical tools.

Second, confessional teaching, which encourages children to accept any particular god as real, good, and the source of morality, needs to move out of the statutory curriculum altogether. Families and faith communities remain free to pass on their beliefs outside school or in clearly voluntary, opt-in activities. However the school should be a sight of objective, pluralistic, and balanced education, and a place where every young person feels welcomed.

Finally, the Northern Ireland Executive cannot continue to turn a blind eye. One of the most damning aspects of the judgment was the finding that there has been no system of inspection or monitoring whatsoever to ensure that RE complies with human rights standards. In other words, the government has not only presided over a framework that risks breaching the rights of children and families, it has also failed to put in place even the most basic safeguards to check whether those rights are being respected in practice. That is no longer tenable.

For now, Northern Ireland’s RE sits in an awkward limbo: officially still in force, but officially found to be incompatible with basic rights. The Supreme Court has done its job. It has named the problem for what it is – indoctrination – and reminded the state that children are citizens with their own freedoms of thought and belief. This needs to be reflected in a syllabus that is broad, balanced, and encourages young people to think critically about the world around them.