Benefits of religious education in primary schools

Why is religious education important in primary schools? In a world where religion and faith have no lasting value for some and education is constantly evolving, this is now an opportunity to reflect on the place and importance of sustainable development within the school curriculum.

How we behave and live our lives affects other people and the world we live in. Therefore, our behavior and way of life are important issues. Our behavior is influenced by our attitude. Our attitudes are influenced by our experiences and beliefs.

RE is the ability to reflect on our experience of the world and the beliefs, values ​​and attitudes that guide us through life. We do this by exploring the beliefs, values, practices and ways of life from the major religions and different worldviews.

We all play a role in creating the world and society in which we live. What we believe, whether religious or not, contributes significantly to this. RE helps students (and the school as a whole) to think about the ways in which beliefs influence how people live their lives.

The importance of religious education RE is the opportunity to explore an important and distinctive dimension of what it means to be a person: the search for meaning, purpose and value in a wondrous but also often confusing and sometimes threatening world. RE offers students the opportunity to address and ponder eternal questions about life. She draws on the rich history of the most important religious traditions and other world views.

So there are two main educational purposes for RE. Primarily so that students can learn more about themselves and their place in the world through their study of religion and worldviews. Second, so they can learn about religions and worldviews that have influenced the lives of millions of people and greatly influenced the development of various human cultures. These two purposes work together and should not be treated separately.

Although RE is legally required, it justifies its place in the curriculum on purely educational grounds.

• Quality Religious Education: Teaches students about Christianity and other religions and worldviews so they can better understand the world and develop their own sense of place in it.

• Engages students of all religious faiths and of all academic abilities and social backgrounds. This allows students to interact with a range of resources, such as texts, artefacts and people.

• Challenges students to question and explore their own understanding of the world and that of others.

• Does not seek to impose beliefs on students, nor to compromise their own beliefs, but rather to deepen their self-understanding and understanding of others.

• Raises questions about identity, meaning, purpose and value and encourages students to think about experiences, ways of living and ways of knowing.

• Contributes positively and powerfully to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students (SMSC).

• Offers students the opportunity to develop communication and thinking skills.

• Explores views on humanity while simultaneously reflecting on the depths to which humanity can sink.
  

RE and personal development As recognized in the School Inspection Manual (April 2021, paragraph 256), RE contributes to the personal development, both in terms of character building and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) of pupils of all ages.

Students' own experiences, beliefs and perceptions are at the heart of RE. RE develops self-concept and self-esteem, explores spiritual, moral and social frameworks and encourages students to reflect on experiences and emotions. In this way it contributes significantly to personal development.

RE and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC)

Religious education provides opportunities to promote spiritual development through:

Religious education offers opportunities to promote spiritual development by:

• Discussing and reflecting on important questions about meaning and truth, such as the origin of the universe and of life, life after death, good and evil, beliefs about God and values ​​such as justice, honesty and truth.

• Learn about and reflect on important concepts, experiences and beliefs that are at the heart of religious and other traditions and practices.

• Consider how beliefs and concepts in religion can be expressed through the creative and expressive arts and related to the human and natural sciences, thus contributing to personal and communal identity.

• Consider how religions and other worldviews perceive the value of people and their relationships with each other, with the natural world, and with reality.

• Reflecting on humanity's responsibilities to and for the natural world.

• Valuing relationships and developing a sense of belonging.

Religious education provides opportunities to promote moral development by:

• Reinforcing the values ​​identified within the National Curriculum, particularly valuing diversity and addressing issues of truth, justice and trust.
  

• Exploring the influence of family, friends and media on moral choices and how society is influenced by beliefs, teachings, sacred texts and guidance from religious leaders.

• Reflect on what is of ultimate value to students and believers by studying key beliefs and teachings from religion and philosophy on values ​​and codes of ethical practice.

• Studying a range of ethical issues, including issues that focus on justice, to promote racial and religious respect and personal integrity.

Religious education offers opportunities to promote social development by:

• Consider how religious and other beliefs lead to actions and concerns.

• Examining social issues from religious perspectives, recognizing the diversity of views within and between religions, as well as the common ground among religions.

• Expressing the ideas of students and others on a range of contemporary social issues.

• To contribute to and reflect on the meaning of 'fundamental British and human values' and preventing the risks of radicalization.
  

Religious education offers opportunities to promote cultural development by:

• Encountering and responding to people, literature, creative and expressive arts and resources from different cultures.

• Considering the relationship between religion and culture and how religions and beliefs contribute to cultural identity and practices and vice versa.

• Promoting racial and interfaith harmony and respect for all, combating prejudice, racism and discrimination, contributing positively to community cohesion and promoting awareness of how interfaith cooperation can support the pursuit of the common good.