Does RE still matter?

Abstract

The role which subject Religious Education (RE) plays in promoting religious literacy matters in my view, acknowledging that I am biased in my judgement, as my professional raison d’etre, thus livelihood, rests on it continuing. However, others similarly are biased, whether from a specific moral and religious or ideological perspective or their academic positioning. Given whether subject RE exists in schools, or not, is a normative affair. I re-visit an established philosophical discussion of possible justifiable aims for compulsory RE in schools considering these reasons in turn, with particular reference to the RE curriculum in England and South Africa. Resisting the urge to identify one over-riding aim for RE, for reasons I explain, I suggest all three of these potentially justifiable reasons can be seen to inter-relate and reflect on whether they might be re-considered more broadly and used to strengthen more recent theoretical work concerned with studying religion in inter-disciplinary ways which promote religious and related ‘literacies’? On the understanding of RE I seek to develop, the implications for teacher education and continuing professional development would be significant but worthwhile, I conclude, if RE is to be promoted as an entitlement which is taught well and adequately resourced to contribute to the flourishing of many children and young people.