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The debate is far from over
There seems to be a lull in the public debate that recently raged in South Africa about the role of religious education in our schools after the organisation, Sceptic South Africa, threatened to lay criminal charges against some schools unless they immediately halted policies in this regards, which they argue is in contravention of the Constitution and the National Policy on Religion in Education (NPRE). It is a debate that is by far not restricted to South Africa, but is globally topical and has implications much wider than merely the issue of religion in the classroom.
While Professor George Claassen from Stellenbosch, the director of Sceptic South Africa, has claimed that “many South African public schools are blatantly flouting the NPRE by openly using Christian religious indoctrination to influence pliable and vulnerable children,” the European Court of Human rights last week ruled that Italian schools should remove crucifixes from classroom walls. This ruling seems to overturn a decision of that country's own Constitution Court in 2004, that the display of crucifixes in public places was not unconstitutional in Italy as a secular state.
In Britain a controversy is raging about so-called faith schools around the right of a Jewish school's right of admission policy, while a similar debate is building up steam in Sweden about the question of state funding of the growing number of religious schools in that country – a campaign having been launched by the Swedish Humanist Association. The Swedish campaign followed in the footsteps of similar ones by humanist organisations in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.
Ironically, the clearest lessons to be learned about how the question of religious instruction in a diverse secular state can be handled, comes from Russia – which in its recent past prescribed to the governmental system of Communism that at its core was often described as atheist.
In September this year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that the history and culture of the country's main religions should be included in the core school curriculum. He also agreed that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation should have military chaplains.
The new dispensation came on the back of a long battle by Rusia's Orthodox Church to make religious education compulsory in schools. But, most importantly, the Muslim and Jewish religious communities supported the Orthodox position, despite initial objections from some mufti and rabbis.
As from the next academic year, learners in the fourth and fifth classes will study one of three new subjects. There will be a choice between religious culture of either the Orthodox, Islamic, Judaic or Buddhist religion, and the history and cultural background of the world's great religions of the foundations of secular ethics. It will be compulsory to choose one of these three modules.
The three modules will be taught by teachers who have taken special training courses. Clergy from the various religions will intimately be involved in the development of both the training courses and textbooks for the schools.
Freedom of religion and conscience in South Africa is protected by section 15 of the Constitution. A Religion and Education policy, drafted during 2002 and 2003, in conjunction with the Schools Act of 1996, detremines the legal framework in terms of which religious education in the country should be handled.
In a recent article in response to the furore triggered by Prof. Claassen and Sceptic South African's attack on the religious practices at some schools, constitutional expert Prof. Pierre de Vos wrote that “religious observance at public schools is not prohibited by our Constitution. But this is a grey area and it is far from clear where exactly our Constitution draws the line.”
Section 7 of the Schools Act states that “subject to the Constitution and any applicable provincial law, religious observances may be conducted at a public school under rules issued by the governing body if such observances are conducted on an equitable basis and attendance at them by learners and members of staff is free and voluntary.”
According to De Vos, our “Constitutional Court's jurisprudence on freedom of religion and conscience has been far from satisfactory, so the answer to this question is not as clear as it could have been.”
Grey areas at this stage include issues such as:
While policies set by School Governing Bodies (SGBs) should not amount to coercion of minority groups, would a blanket banning of all religious activities from a school not amount to coercion of learners belonging a majority religious persuasion at any particular school?
How far should the reach of the democratic right of a SGB stretch if it is deemed to be an “appropriate public authority” under section 15(2) of the Constitution to make rules for religious observances, and how should the rights of minorities be protected?
If there is to be a blanket ban on the education of religion, what, if any methods should be used to arm learners with basic values?
It may even be argued that if prayers are to be banned entirely from school grounds, whether it would be permissible to teach learners the national anthem, which after all is in itself a prayer asking God to bless Africa?
While South Africa is a secular state, with clear division between state and church and an imperative on the organs of state to remain neutral in terms of matters like religion, whatever arrangements are made to govern religion in schools should cater for the needs of majorities while also protecting the rights of minorities.
In this regard, note should be taken of some basic facts: Although diverse, South Africa, according to the results of national censuses, is an overwhelmingly religious society where well over 75% indicated themselves as being members of a particular faith, with Christian the vast majority, but with strong components of the Islamic, Hindu and a variety of smaller, highly active religious minorities.
A far better idea still, would be to ensure all school children are provided with an education based on critical thinking, logic and reason. This will enable them to see for themselves the fallacious reasoning behind the ridiculous and contradictory claims made by organised religions.
There are only two ways to make a decision about objective reality, arbitrarily and rationally, and if the choice is the former, anything is possible.