New research has suggested that religious education in Britain benefits the faith of non-Christians more than Christians.
The research was conducted by Whitestone on behalf of The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life and drew from a survey survey of 1,196 UK adults who profess a faith and who have either studied RE in the last decade or have children doing so.
Just under a third of Christian respondents (32 per cent) said RE made them think more positively about their own faith. However this shot up to 46 per cent among non-Christians.
Non-Christians were also more likely than Christians to want RE to include increased engagement with local faith communities, with half of non-Christians saying it was important, compared to 36 per cent of Christians.
Among all groups this greater engagement was the most popular improvement that could be made to current RE teaching. The least popular was more government oversight, securing the support of just four per cent of respondents.
The survey also suggested that most people are satisfied with their RE experience, with 56 per cent saying it had been a positive experience for them or their child, and just five per cent saying it had been negative.
Similarly, 70 per cent said the RE they or their child had received was factually correct, while just four per cent said it had not been.
Rania Mohiuddin-Agir, IIFL research associate and the report’s author commented, “For a subject so often debated, and usually criticised, it truly was refreshing to see just how positive its impact has been on people of faith, and, more importantly, how much appetite there is for deeper, more meaningful engagement.
“Religious education is at its best when it gives young people not just facts about faith but genuine encounters with it, equipping them to contribute to Britain's pluralist society. As England prepares to bring RE into its national curriculum for the first time, there can hardly be a more important moment to get this right.”
At present the government is consulting on plans to add RE to the national curriculum.
Katie Freeman, Chair of the National Association of Teachers of RE, welcomed the move, saying it would put RE on an equal footing with other subjects and end the “postcode lottery” of provision in the subject.
