Abstract
In a divided society like Northern Ireland, where religious separation in education remains effective in relation to over 90 % of the school-going population, discussion often centres on significantly divergent approaches to the place and role of religion in schools. Human rights principles are frequently used to justify the existence of faith schools but also increasingly to emphasise the importance of intercultural learning, and the significance placed on one or other of these can be the source of intense disagreement and sharp conflict. Debate focuses on the educational purposes of RE, on “faith ethos”, the place of confessional preparation in publicly funded schools, school worship, requirements for faith-based qualifications for teachers, the ethical appropriateness of withdrawal from RE classes and the possibility of creating shared schools for pupils of all backgrounds together. Many of these issues have been discussed internationally from a human rights perspective in documents such as the Toledo Guiding Principles (OSCE, Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. Warsaw: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 2007) and statements from the Council of Europe. This contribution will examine some of the contentious issues in Northern Ireland by particular reference to the Toledo document and will consider possible future options for a more inclusive approach to RE, concluding with reference to similar debate in other divided societies.
Originally published as Issues and Dilemmas in Religious Education and Human Rights: Perspectives on Applying the Toledo Guiding Principles to a Divided Society, in: M. L. Pirner, J. Lähnemann, H. Bielefeldt (Hrsg.) Menschenrechte und inter-religiöse Bildung, EB-Verlag Dr. Brandt e.K., Berlin 2015.
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Notes
- 1.
Available from the United Nations Documents website at http://www.un-documents.net/durban-d.htm.
- 2.
This important but elusive document can be found on the website of the Oslo Coalition for Freedom of Religion or Belief: http://www.oslocoalition.org/html/project_school_education/final_document_madrid.html.
- 3.
The Toledo document can be accessed from http://www.osce.org/odihr/29154.
- 4.
See, for example, the website of the European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education (EFTRE), www.eftre.net, where an article on RE in Northern Ireland can be found in the “RE Across Europe” section by clicking on the interactive map.
- 5.
The Catholic Church in Ireland; the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; the Church of Ireland (Anglican); and the Methodist Church in Ireland.
- 6.
A public statement in April 2013 by the Northern Ireland Council for Catholic Maintained Schools indicated that the Catholic RE Certificate would in future be available to teachers of any background who are prepared to take the relevant course.
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Richardson, N. (2016). Issues and Dilemmas in Religious Education and Human Rights: Perspectives on Applying the Toledo Guiding Principles to a Divided Society. In: Pirner, M., Lähnemann, J., Bielefeldt, H. (eds) Human Rights and Religion in Educational Contexts. Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Rights, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39351-3_24
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