Let me start this off by making it clear what this post is
NOT about. Religious education is compulsory (and has been since 1944) through
locally agreed syllabi until the age of 16 and all schools are still
accountable for collective acts of worship; that religious education may have
been marginalised in recent years in most state schools, coinciding with the
increased secularisation of society, is not a topic I intent to engage with
here. Nor is this post either an attack or a defence of religious education in
state schools or faith schools in general; I do not seek to impart any of my
own views on these issues. In fact, this is not really about religion at all,
not in the sense of religions being faith systems based on spirituality and the
concepts of deities and the supernatural.
This post is unashamedly influenced by Alain de Botton’s
recent book, Religion for Atheists: A
Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion (2012), which seeks to use the
most positive aspects of religious practice that have developed over hundreds
of years to improve the lives of individuals and communities in our
increasingly secular world. De Botton raises interesting and challenging issues
for secular society which are, in many instances, directly applicable to
schools which do not have an overtly religious connection. While de Botton
rejects the supernatural claims of religion he suggests that we are all seeking
meaning in our lives and that religions have some good ideas about how we
should live and behave which secular society would do well to adopt. The book
gives prompts for action which, I think, can largely be translated into the
school environment.
Last year we have a visit from a delegation of teachers and
educators from Nigeria. I met with them to discuss pastoral care at our school
and left them aghast when explaining the context of the school told them the
proportion of students who were declared as having ‘no religion’. They
immediately seized on the wider implications of this suggesting that without
religion we were likely to lose the moral fabric of our community and that we
were clearly on the brink of decadence. While I was a long way from agreeing
with them it did start me thinking what gaps are left in a community when the
social aspects of religion are removed. While many might be comfortable with
people choosing not to follow a god or ancient scriptures, what is sometimes
forgotten is that with religion came more than just meaning to life, and in
this country, whether we believe in the tenets of Christianity or not, the
church has had, and continues to have, a huge influence on our art, culture,
relationships, work and behaviour. Our secular society is perhaps rather quick
to reject religion per se, rather than acknowledging the impact it has had on
how we live, love and communicate. To an extent I agreed with my Nigerian
guests, not because I thought that young people need God or Jesus in their
lives, but because they do need guidance, structure and instruction. De Botton
argues that we all need these elements in our lives and that libertarian
ideology has wrongly assumed that any attempts to influence our views and
behaviours should be avoided – if this is right for society in general, and I
believe there is great merit in this view, then it is surely even more relevant
for those of us who deal with young people who are most in need of guidance and
structure.
Community
The first theme that de Botton tackles is that of ‘community’.
He asks us to consider the physical environment of churches and other places of
worship. They have been specifically designed to welcome large numbers of
people and are often lavish and inspiring in their architecture and decoration.
Some may find them cold and dark, but even the starkest of chapels can seem
like a palace compared to most secular community centres. Religious buildings are
also one of the few places in modern society where it is acceptable to greet a
stranger, where people are encouraged to mix regardless of background and where
those congregated are encouraged to treat each other as equals. De Botton describes
how the Catholic Mass guides people on how to treat others through carefully choreographed
activities. He points to the Jewish Passover meal where food brings people
together from different generations in an organised and structured process
which encourages communication and sharing. The annual Jewish Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur) where believers are encouraged to reflect on their actions over
the previous year and to seek forgiveness from those whom they may have wronged
is seen by de Botton as a practice that could be adopted by secular society.
Finally, de Botton points to religious celebrations that encourage normal
customs and behaviours to be thrown out of the window, such as the Medieval
Feast of Fools, where people were encouraged to behave in ways which brought
out the more destructive and chaotic side of nature.
How can secular schools adopt theses religious practices
which encourage a sense of community? Schools are perfectly placed to design
community experiences because we have a captive audience for a significant
proportion of the time. We may not be able to influence the architectural shell
of our buildings but we can affect the warmth, appeal and usage of both our
internal and external spaces. School halls can learn from religious buildings
in the sense of them being welcoming and inspiring, school canteens can learn
from religious feasts by encouraging members of the school community to sit,
eat and talk together – do staff sit with students, do members of the
community, such as the elderly come in to share a meal with students? Schools
can create a sense of communal fun on collapsed timetable days, but these need
to be carefully choreographed, more than just asking students to come in
wearing non-uniform. Should we embrace the spirit of the Medieval Festival of
Fools and turn the school world on its head every now and then? Do we allow
enough time for reflection and atonement, not just in relation to academic
learning, but personal growth and mastery?
Young people are not all fortunate enough to attend schools
with majestic, historic buildings with domed assembly halls and wooden-clad
dining rooms. Faith schools can fall back on the practices of their religion
that create the structures for communal experiences and guidance. But we can all
improve the physical environment that our staff and students inhabit and we all
have an obligation to provide this structure and guidance for our community so
they may learn the importance of living and sharing with others. We may give a
nod to Community Cohesion and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Aspects of
Learning but maybe we need to start from a fresh angle and adopt some of the
approaches that have worked so effectively in religious institutions for
hundreds of years.
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