In the last few years a series of reports have called for major reforms to Religious Education. The most recent comes from the former home secretary Charles Clarke (pictured) and the academic Linda Woodhead. “We are living,” they write, “through the single biggest change in the religious and cultural landscape of Britain for centuries, even millennia.” Hence the title of their new study: 'A New Settlement Revised: Religion and Belief in Schools'.
Clarke and Woodhead argue that the system is no longer fit for purpose, particularly as “those who say they have ‘no religion’ (but are not necessarily secular) are now the majority”. They recommend 16 changes, including reforms of the RE curriculum, legal requirements, admissions policies and acts of public worship.
