This is a letter I am sending to anyone who may be interested in joining the fight for good Religious Education in this country. I aim to send it to MPs and faith groups. You are welcome to include some of the points I make here in your own letters - and suggest to me other points that i have not included. The decision is due to be made in early June so please act now. Sign the petition (details on the letter) and contact your MP.

1. 28th May 2011
It is a long time since Britain 'ruled the world' with the Empire.
The world really has made progress since that time. But there is
one way in which Britain still is a world leader. And that is in our
provision of Religious Education in school.
Because of the rich multi cultural nature of our country, enriched
by people from all corners of the world – one very positive
consequence of those distant colonial days – we have moved
away from teaching 'confessional Religion' (which was usually
called Scripture or Religious Instruction and was based on a
study of the Bible.) Our schools now teach real Religious
Education - which means just that – a real education about the
whole world of Religion. We study all the major religions, their
history and teachings – and look at the way that the force of
religion is active in the news today. Today RE is about learning to
think and reflect more deeply rather than learning about one
particular faith or belief system.
Just as in Geography we study all the countries of the world, in
Religious Education we study the whole world of religion. We
focus on the six major religions – (in historical order of origins)
Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism.
But we also touch on other World Views including the secular,
atheist and agnostic perspectives.
There are no other countries in the world which teach Religious
Education as well as we do. Our model of Religious Education is
an inspiration to the whole world.
Religious Education is a challenging and rigorous subject which
engages our young people in a strong way because it also
challenges them to think about their own beliefs and issues in the
news. In RE we learn about the great religions and we also learn
from them. Over the past 15 years, the number of students
choosing to take a GCSE exam in RE has increased fourfold. But
this is now in danger.
Recent legislation, introducing the English Baccalaureate
assesses schools according to the results not only of Maths,
English and Science (as was previously the case) but also 'in a
Humanities subject and a language.'
If this meant that all the Humanities subjects were included, there
would not be a problem, but the Education Secretary is only
interested in promoting History and Geography. So only their
results will count for the English Baccalaureate. That means that
schools all over the country are reducing the RE they are offering.

2. Students all over the country are being denied the option to study
RE and this important subject is being sidelined. But there is a lot
of concern across the nation about this state of affairs. Over 100
MP's have signed an Early Day Motion calling for RE to be
included in the English Bacc and over 100,000 individuals have
signed a petition calling for RE to remain at the heart of the
Humanities where it belongs, with parity in timetable space,
qualified specialist teachers and funding. This issue is now being
re-examined and debated in Parliament and a decision is due to
be made in June.
This is a letter which I am sending to all interested parties
including our MP's and faith groups, calling them to sign the
Early Day Motion or the RE ACT petition and ensure that RE is
not marginalised. You are welcome to use some of the points I
make here - and write to your own MP and anyone else who may
wish to offer their support to this important matter.
Thank you for giving your time to read and think about this
important issue.
Sincerely
DurgaMata
29th May, 2011
here is my letter -
Dear
I am very concerned about the exclusion of Religious Education from the English
Baccalaureate. I am writing to ask you to sign the Early Day Motion for RE to be
included in the English Bacc – as without this inclusion it is being sidelined and made
increasingly irrelevant in the school curriculum. In my letter I am setting out to
highlight some of the reasons why I believe that it is so important to have good
Religious Education taught in our schools – and why that means that RE must be
included in the English Baccalaureate.
The impact of Current Legislation
The Humanities Faculty in schools has always included History, Geography and
Religious Education. The current exclusion of RE as a Humanities subject, from the
English Baccalaureate means that many schools are discouraging students from taking
RE GCSE as an option when it comes to deciding which GCSE subject to take.
Because it competes with History and Geography (which count in the English Bacc)
schools right across the country are reducing GCSE RE exam provision. In many
schools the option to take RE GCSE has been closed. (My own God Daughter was
denied this choice just a few months ago.)

3. Schools are reducing the RE budget, cutting timetable space, reducing departmental
staffing and even amalgamating RE with Citizenship and/or PSHE. (There are many
letters about this on the TES forums in all these three subjects. In one school, having
amalgamated PSHE and RE they call the resulting subject 'RSE' (arse)! And it is
given only 50 mins a week!
This does not just mean that our students are not getting the benefit of good RE, but it
also sends out a clear message – that Religion and Religious Education are subjects
which just doesn’t matter. But good RE does matter.
Some of the reasons why good RE is important
The National Curriculum requires our schools to provide a balanced and broadly
based curriculum which:
1. Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils
at the school and of society; and
2. Prepares such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of adult
life.
I am starting by responding to the first of these requirements:
1) It is unusual for RE to offer our students much in the way of physical development
– although kinaesthetic activities and role-play/drama activities, visits and outings can
contribute here, but RE does engage with all the other aspects of our young people’s
development in a strong and direct way.
Spiritual Development
Religious Education is vital if our young people are to have any understanding of the
spiritual aspect of life - and of themselves as spiritual beings. No other subject
actually explores the spiritual aspect of their development (although others, especially
the arts subjects, do contribute to this, as creativity and spirituality are closely linked.)
No other subject actually engages with spiritual issues or explores them. All the other
subjects give our young people important skills and they all teach our young people
important things – but no other subject is actually engaging with who they are as
human beings and helping them to make sense of the amazing reality that we call life.
RE is rigorous in its engagement with the spiritual aspect of life.
Moral Development
Many great philosophers and theologians speak of life as an opportunity, a test, a
journey or quest in which we all have to make choices and deal with the consequences
of these choices, and through which we explore life and discover what is true. Good
Religious Education, taught by qualified specialists (and not just marginalised in the
timetable) empowers our young people. It challenges them to think about what they
do and why. It gives them the skills and awareness to think about their actions – and
the consequences of them.
Morality does not just develop in a vacuum. All the religions embody ideals and
codes of behaviour which, when discussed in class and taught as part of good RE,
enrich our young people and strengthen society as a whole. Without this, our young
people loose this moral direction and our society suffers. We see so much evidence of
this decline in moral understanding and direction in our society – the consequence of

4. the general decline in religious observance. But good RE can make a difference. RE is
rigorous in its engagement with the moral aspect of life.
Cultural Development
Another important element in Religious Education relates to the teaching of
Christianity. This country has been shaped by Christianity for more than a thousand
years. An understanding of Christianity gives our students an understanding of our
shared British Christian heritage, its history, legal and political system, its culture,
music, art, literature, architecture etc, whatever our own personal family history and
beliefs may be. This increases the development of and understanding of our common
British culture. It has an impact on the ethos of the school, the cohesiveness of our
local community and the well being of our nation -and this is not found in any other
aspect of the curriculum. But there is more to culture than this. Ours is indeed a multi
cultural society, enriched by people from all over the world. And again, RE comes
into its own as it encourages an exploration of the many different cultures and
religions found within our neighbourhoods and school communities. We learn about
the religious practises, beliefs and customs, the festivals, music, art and cuisine, from
many different cultures, opening the eyes of our students to the richness and diversity
of our society and encouraging them to respond to diversity in a positive way. Good
RE is rigorous in its engagement with the cultural aspect of life.
Mental Development
Socratese said that ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ In RE we do not tell our
students what to think, but we teach them how to think more deeply. No other subject
offers an opportunity to think about and discuss the greatest questions that human
beings can ever ask, the ‘Eternal’ or ‘Ultimate’ Questions - and study the greatest
answers ever given to these ‘essential but unanswerable’ questions, answers given by
some of the greatest people who have ever walked the earth.
A group of (normally quite disaffected) youngsters in one of my classes, continued to
work on this topic when the bell had gone for the end of the lesson. They continued to
work into their break-time. While exploring the question of ‘Why am I alive?’ one
student had responded by asking, ‘Am I really alive? – Perhaps I am just a robot.’ We
found the discussion flying in all kinds of directions. The students were discussing
ideas that they had seen on films and on the television, As they eventually left the
classroom one boy turned to me and said, ‘Miss, I have never worked so hard at
anything in all my life.’
RE is rigorous in its engagement with the aspect of the curriculum which requires
good mental development and the development of advanced thinking skills.
The next aspect of the National Curriculum which RE contributes to is the
requirement to promote these qualities not just in our pupils but also in society.
Society
No other subject offers our students the opportunity to think not just about what they
believe and why – but also encourages them to develop skills in understanding other
people, often very different people, people with very different approaches to life,
different ways of making sense of the world, different beliefs and practises. Religious
Education challenges narrow-mindedness and prejudice, gaining insight into this and
many other issues from the teachings of all the great world religions.

5. Religious Education can be perceived as a ‘dance’ in which you first learn to see the
world clearly from where you stand – and then you also learn to step into the shoes of
other people and see the world through their eyes. This development of understanding
and empathy is essential for good personal relations in any workplace. It is also
essential for harmony in our neighbourhoods and in society as a whole.
Without good RE, prejudice and fear of ‘the other’ proliferate. With good RE our
young people go out into the world with a much more open and respectful attitude.
They are also responsive to suffering and more likely to help when anyone is in
trouble, either directly if they see someone in need – or by raising money to help
when there is a natural disaster or by joining campaigns to fight for greater fairness
and justice in society or in the wider world. Good RE is rigorous in its support for the
wellbeing of our whole society.
The second requirement of the National Curriculum states that it
2. Prepares such pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of
adult life.
Opportunities
In Religious Education we don’t only ‘learn about’ each religion but we also ‘learn
from’ them. Our students learn to reflect on important aspects of life such as love,
forgiveness, compassion, hope, courage, thankfulness, fairness, justice and peace. We
explore these ‘dispositions’ with insights that come from all the great religions. This
leads to greater self-understanding. That is one reason why RE is so popular in school.
It actually engages with the life experience of our young people. With good RE our
young people develop strategies such as reflection, meditation and a more detatched
and philosophical attitude which can help them to deal with problems and counter
stress. International surveys have shown that our young people are some of the most
unhappy and stressed in the world. Good RE can give them some skills to counter this
stress and make more sense of our society, skills that will stand them in good stead as
they enter adult life.
Responsibilities
This aspect of RE is linked to morality. All the religions teach that individuals are part
of wider communities and have a part to play in making the wider community strong
and its members happy. We explore topics such as Marriage and the Family, Human
Rights, Ethical Issues, the Environment, Rich and Poor, Justice and Human Rights,
War and Peace, all of which relate directly to the responsibility of an individual
within the wider society. And through learning about different teachings, different
perspectives offered by the great world religions, by discussing and debating the
issues which arise, our young people can become more aware, concerned and
responsible members of the community. Good RE can give our young people the
skills and insights that help them to become more responsible citizens.
Experiences
Experiences in life are many and varied. There is failure as well as success, illness as
well as good health, poverty as well as wealth. Accidents and disasters happen, we
encounter meanness and bullying, cruelty and horror - evil as well as all that is good.
As Siddhatha Gautama discovered when he went out from his palace and saw life in
its fullness, there is suffering, old age, sickness and death. RE is uniquely positioned
to give our students insights into the realities of life and so prepare them for the many

6. and varied experiences of adulthood. Good RE prepares our young people in a deep
and rigorous way to think about and prepare for all the experiences of life.
The Early Day Motion
These are only some of the many reasons why it is important for all our students to
have the experience of good RE as part of their education. The current situation is
grave. As I speak, schools all across the country, responding to the pressures of the
new English Baccalaureate, are marginalising this essential subject.
Many people across the country are deeply concerned about this situation. An Early
Day Motion on this subject has been tabled -
Stephen Lloyd, MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, has tabled an Early Day Motion asking for
the inclusion of Religious Studies in the EBac. The wording is as follows:
That this House notes the recent publication of league tables of school performance
measuring the proportion of pupils obtaining the English Baccalaureate; further notes that the
English Baccalaureate is awarded to pupils who gain GCSEs at Grade C or above in English,
mathematics, science, a foreign language and a humanities subject; further notes with
concern that this list of approved subjects does not include religious education; recognises
that religious education is an academically rigorous subject with increasing popularity among
pupils; further recognises that the rise of religious extremism around the world and in the UK
means that a good understanding of all religions is vital to a well-rounded education; further
notes that with the increasing emphasis on the English Baccalaureate as the primary
qualification for 16-year-olds schools are more likely to focus on the core subjects which
make it up; and therefore calls on the Government to recognise the importance and relevance
of religious education by including it as a core subject in the English Baccalaureate.
The question of RE and the English Baccalaureate was also debated recently
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=8317&st=10:59:40
(– see extracts enclosed as attachments).
• Have you signed the Early Day Motion calling for RE to be included in the
English Baccalaureate?
• Can you assure me that you will fight for RE to be included as one of the
Humanities options for the English Baccalaureate?
RE, when taught well – by a specialist RE teacher - and especially when this includes
progression towards GCSE and A’level exams and beyond - is a very challenging and
rigorous subject which prepares our students for adult life in a strong and effective
way. Religion is about our personal quest for meaning and truth. It is also one of the
most powerful forces in the world, impinging on many of the current issues in the
news. It is very important for our students to understand what religion is and to have
some insight into and appreciation of the different world religions at this time. It is
beneficial for the students as individuals and for society as a whole.
Good RE is very popular in school because it encourages debate and discussion, it
nurtures complex thinking skills, it increases self-understanding and offers an
opportunity for students to express their own beliefs and ideas. It also enables them to
develop empathy and insight, to approach ‘diversity’ with interest and with an open-
minded attitude and to appreciate and learn from the many differing perspectives
which shape our world. Without the capacity to understand people who have different

7. views, there is more prejudice, fear and hatred. Quite simply, more people suffer –
and it is likely that more will die.
Religion in our world is a force which, when citizens are not educated in good RE,
can contribute to suspicion, fear, prejudice, intolerance, division and conflict. But,
when there is good RE it becomes a force for great inspiration and goodness. Good
RE is important. It matters. And it is being seriously undermined by the recent
legislation on the English Baccalaureate.
So please, if you have not already done so, do sign the Early Day Motion – and join
the fight to have RE included in the English Baccalaureate.
Sincerely,
DurgaMata Chaudhuri
Specialist RE teacher, RE and Community Cohesion Consultant,
Educationalist and director of Blue Lotus Enterprises (see www.bluelotus.co)
Go to
http://www.reactcampaign.co.uk/Groups/154997/RE_ACT.aspx
and sign the online petition -
URGENT PETITION
I am profoundly concerned about the exclusion of Religious Education from the
Humanities options in the curriculum of the English Baccalaureate.
Because Religious Education has the strong potential to increase
understanding and tolerance, building social cohesion in our increasingly
diverse society, I am calling on you now to include Religious Education as a
Humanities option in the curriculum of the English Baccalaureate.