Concerns have been raised about the lack of specialist Religious Studies (RS) teachers in secondary school, despite strong demand for the subject.
This year RS was the seventh most popular GCSE course in England and Wales, with just shy of 250,000 students opting for the subject. The subject is marginally more popular with girls than with boys, averaging out at a 55%-45% split across England and Wales.
Although it remains a popular subject among students, the majority of those teaching RS (51%) actually do so as a secondary subject. The number of those who teach RS as their primary subject has not changed significantly since 2011.
Specialists in the subject warn that this could lead to tokenistic and low-quality RS which could undermine social cohesion by reinforcing misconceptions about religion.
Last year the government restored a teacher training bursary for RS, however at a much lower rate than subjects like geography, computing and maths.
Sarah Lane Cawte, Chair of the Religious Education Council of England & Wales, said, “We have a worrying situation in our schools where one of the most widely taken GCSEs is taught by an ever-declining number of specialists.
"Too many in this enormous cohort continue to receive poor quality, tokenistic RE as an afterthought, something that threatens to undermine societal cohesion and leaves students poorly prepared for life in modern Britain.
“At its best, high-quality RE allows young people to debate, discuss and understand their own worldview and those of others in response to life’s big questions.
"It's a subject built on empathy, intellectual curiosity and an academic approach to critical thinking, an intellectual experience we know is valued by parents, employers, and above all students themselves."
Lane Cawte called upon the government to prioritise the recruitment of RS teachers and to adopt her organisation’s National Content Standard plan to ensure that all RS education is of sufficient quality.
Fears of a shortage of proper religious education are by no means confined to secondary schools. At university level there has been a significant decline in the availability of theology courses.
Only 21 higher education institutions now offer theology courses, compared with 90 that teach history and 101 offering sociology.
An open letter compiled by the Theos think tank said the situation could have "adverse effects for society”.
"Theology plays a crucial role in the intellectual, ethical and cultural development of communities. It equips people with the tools to engage more thoughtfully with global cultures and traditions and to engage deeply with complex sacred texts," the letter said.
