Faith Schools in the West
Sectarianism, Segregation and Division in the Name of Religion

Faith Schools are those in which the ethos of the school is aligned explicitly with one particular religious denomination, with most of the teachers being dedicated adherents. They're an example of sectarianism, in which, starting from childhood, people are segregated into communities based on racial, ethnic or religious lines.

Social psychologists have consistently found across over 800 studies₁ that segregating children by religion causes increased aggression and violence between groups_2,3,4, "animating dangerous divisiveness" in the words of Amartya Sen₅. The UK Government's review of early 2000s 'race riots' recommends mixed schools, not religious ones, warning that concentrating people together from one religion damages community cohesion_5,6; a lesson also learned painfully from the long decades of 'the troubles' in Northern Ireland, and echoed in events around the world. Dividing children by religion prevents tolerance; Tony Wright, a UK MP, said that "before Sept. 11, it looked like a bad idea; it now looks like a mad idea"₆.

“Religious schools... tend to divide society because, as a result of them, pupils become segregated by denomination or religion. The sectarianism, perhaps unwittingly accepted or encouraged at home, and reinforced at school often leads children to develop a circle of friends predominantly-even if subconsciously-chosen on religious grounds. This sets a pattern which can carry on throughout life and be transmitted to offspring, perpetuating the problem. [...] The more religious schools there are, the less the chance of eliminating sectarianism.”

National Secular Society (2002)₂

When children share space with others from different backgrounds it reduces prejudice and stereotypes_1,7; the United Nations reports that raising children without segregation is the key to combating intolerance₈, as does the EU's racism and xenophobia monitoring centre₉.

A programme of converting faith schools to secular ones has multiple advantages; (1) reduced social tension between different religions and ethnic groups, (2) increased fairness of school selection as religious schools have to accept poorer students, (3) increased experience of others, generating empathy and compassion in a multicultural world, and (4) less scope for fundamentalism, indoctrination and child abuse.

1. Sectarian Faith Schools and Segregation Fosters Prejudice and Hinder Social Cohesion
2. Risky Education
3. Islamic Faith Schools in the West
4. Poor Governance
5. Multiculturalism, Globalisation and Religion
6. Links

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1. Sectarian Faith Schools and Segregation Fosters Prejudice and Hinder Social Cohesion

#netherlands #UK

Social psychologists have consistently found, across at least 818 studies₁, that segregating children by religion causes increased aggression and violence between the different groups. It is now accepted as a matter of common sense that when children share space with others from different backgrounds it reduces prejudice and stereotypes₁. This was formally stated by the psychology Allport in 1954, and became known as the Contact Hypothesis:

“

“Prejudice (unless deeply rooted in the character structure of the individual) may be reduced by equal status contact between majority and minority groups in the pursuit of common goals. The effect is greatly enhanced if this contact is sanctioned by institutional supports (i.e. by law, custom or local atmosphere).”

Quoted in "Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour" by Richard Gross (1996)₇

“Religious schools... tend to divide society because, as a result of them, pupils become segregated by denomination or religion. The sectarianism, perhaps unwittingly accepted or encouraged at home, and reinforced at school often leads children to develop a circle of friends predominantly-even if subconsciously-chosen on religious grounds. This sets a pattern which can carry on throughout life and be transmitted to offspring, perpetuating the problem.”

National Secular Society (2002)₂

Political theorist Francis Fukuyama points out that in The Netherlands, the "pillarisation" of children into schools based on their religion hinders social cohesion₃ and likewise, prof. Amartya Sen argues in Identity and Violence that classifying people by religious identity "can animate dangerous divisiveness"₅.

“Amartya Sen [is] a Nobel laureate, a former master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard. [...] In his recent book Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny, Sen argues that we are doing something terrible to our children by letting them attend faith schools. He writes: "[...] Under this system, young children are placed in the domain of singular affiliations well before they have the ability to reason about different systems of identification that may compete for their attention" [and this] is not just disastrous for the child's development, but for community solidarity too. We saw something similar in Northern Ireland, he contends, where state-run denominational schools "fed the political distancing of Catholics and Protestants".”

The Guardian (2006)₅

The United Nations takes into account the studies of intolerance done by social psychologists, reporting that raising children without segregation is the key to combating intolerance, recommending mixed-religion and mixed-race schools₈.

“66. The human mind is the source of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, and should therefore be the main target of any action to curb such behaviour. Education could be the prime means of combating discrimination and intolerance. It could make a decisive contribution to inculcating values pertaining to human rights and the development of tolerant and non-discriminating attitudes and behaviour, thus helping to spread the culture of human rights. The role of the schools in this educational effort is crucial.”

United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1995)₈

In 2006, the EU's specialist racism and xenophobia unit, the European Union Monitoring Centre, reported:

“The EUMC stresses the crucial importance of education and training measures in combating racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia and related intolerances. Equal access to quality education for all is a critical foundation for integration and community cohesion. In this respect, Member States should introduce policies to avoid that minority pupils are placed in separate classes. Segregated forms of education should be either completely abolished or reduced to short-term preparatory classes leading to the integration of minority children into regular schooling.”

"Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia" by EUMC (2006)₉

The UK Government's Home Office recommended mixed schools, not religious ones, after releasing a report on the race riots in the northern cities of Bradford, Oldham and Burnley, warning that concentrating people together from one religion damages community cohesion_5,6. Cyril Taylor, who heads the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and is a government adviser, says that schools that are overwhelmingly Muslim should be replaced with schools serving a mixed community and highlighted problems with policing and protecting children in such segregated places₁₀. Only 9% of all headteachers believe there should be more faith schools₁₀.

Politicians think they should be abolished. Tony Wright, a UK Labour Party MP, said that "before Sept. 11, it looked like a bad idea; it now looks like a mad idea"₆. Former Minister with the Scottish Executive, Sam Galbraith, called for the abolition of faith schools, saying that they lie at the root of sectarianism. Lord Moonie, the Kirkcaldy MP, said religion should have no role in the education of children.₁₀

Alan McDonald, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, said faith schools belonged to another time.₁₀

To have a sectarian school where everyone is part of the same religion, ethnic group, sectarian division, belief system or cult, and who are taught a particular ideology that they are also taught at home, is the worst possible scenario for the development of ideas of peace and tolerance towards others. When these people later mix with others and experience other viewpoints, they are ill-prepared to deal with it in a positive manner. When people with different beliefs are segregated, the results are impersonalisation. Impersonalisation allows violence₄.

For example, it is better that Catholics and Protestants mingle in schools, with a common education. The alternative is what we had in Northern Ireland, where Catholic schools and Protestant schools churn out two completely opposed groups of people, who are not familiar with the "humanness" of the other group. Community is the most important part of anti-hate and pro-compassion, and without a general fellowship between those who disagree, emotional conflict (leading to physical conflict, as we know too well) will never be healed.

The prejudice and intolerance that can generate in secluded settings isn't just apparent in relations those of the 'wrong' beliefs, but against other minorities that have been historically despised by the traditional religious institutions that tend to run schools. Stonewall, a lobbying body that attempts to protect LGBT rights, reports that bullying, including beatings, is more common in faith schools₁₁. Conversely, in schools where teachers state that homophobic bullying is wrong, the rate of bullying is reduced by 60%. Increased violence and disharmony between religious groups is an unfortunate side-effect of having exclusive religious schools.

2. Risky Education

#UK

Education is the foundation of modern society, aiming to produce well-tuned, compassionate and intelligent people capable of living productive and healthy lives, with meaningful understanding of the world around them. It is wrong, and often against human rights, to deny children an education. It would also be wrong to deny Christian parents the freedom to teach their children about Christianity. Although this early form of indoctrination is a little hard to defend, it is also hard to condemn it as long as the parents honestly believe they are doing the right thing, and the practice does not interfere with the child's general education. Fundamentalists, however, do interfere with childrens' education, often teaching misinformation on geology (the age of the Earth), history, religious education, biology (evolution), physics and other sciences, and teaching that these are erroneous, satanic sciences that are pitted against good biblical-based beliefs. These wayward teachings are also periodically discovered in the classrooms of faith schools.

The UK has seen a long series of systemic issues with the quality of overall education in faith schools. For example, in 2003 the UK's Chief Schools Inspector, David Bell, warned that a number of Christian and Muslim faith schools "failed to deliver an adequate core curriculum outside of religious education"₁₂.

3. Islamic Faith Schools in the West

#education #islam #islam_education #muslim_schools #schools

Education at Islamic schools in the West today is woefully inadequate. Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim and religious studies academic, argues against these in Western Muslims and the Future of Islam₁₃. His criticisms of parallel schooling include arguments that they are often needlessly (a) expensive and exclusive, (b) that their raison d'être is flawed, offering not only education but a 'parallel reality' and a sectarian existence outside of the communities of the host culture, and (c) that in reality many of the teaching staff are not qualified or experienced in either secular or Qur´anic disciplines. Ramadan goes to lengths to explain how separating Muslim children from the general population causes fear and discomfort with regards to how their Muslim identity sits with society at large: "The result is that "artificially Islamic" closed spaces are created in the West that are almost completely cut off from the surrounding society"₁₄. At the very least, secular teachers need to be brought in to teach non-Islamic subjects in an impartial manner.

Other academics such as prof. Sen warn that such spaces are ideal for extremists; "an Islamist instigator of violence against infidels may want Muslims to forget that they have any identity other than being Islamic", and this accords with hundreds of social science research over multiple decades that has consistently found that segregation causes prejudice and social disharmony₁.

There are also some schools that are secular in name, but are not. For example, Palfrey Junior state has 360 pupils; 98% are Muslim, and the school runs as a Muslim faith school even though it is not. "Swimming is segregated by sex; at the request of Muslim parents, there is no sex education and all food is halal [...] Some women teachers wear a niqab, concealing their face"₁₅. There is pressure at this school to present yourself as more Islamic, more traditional, and even the teachers comply. The pressure on children must be great, too; the issue of faith schools isn't purely restricted to those that are officially a faith school.

4. Poor Governance

#good_governance #secularism

It does not accord with the promotion of a coherent nation that we promote sectarian schooling and allow segregation of children according to the religions of their parents. it is not in keeping with mature anti-discrimination society nor the style of secular government where we do not assume any particular religious belief is correct and others are wrong. It is not the function of the state to promote particular religions or particular religious beliefs. As the function of faith-based schools is proselytisation, it is not right that the state should fund these schools, let alone actively take part in their creation, unless such a scheme is implemented for all faiths, which is of course impossible.

“Once a publicly funded school is opened for one religion or sect, it will simply increase the call for more. And who is to say which religions are acceptable and which are not? And imagine the outcry if it were decided to close one! With no religious schools, these problems are much easier to deal with, or do not arise. If, however, as we advocate, all children from all backgrounds were brought together in non-denominational schools they would be much more likely to learn how to live in harmony. This is the best, and perhaps only, chance we have of achieving this harmony. Well-meaning legislative solutions, such as those proposed by Donald Gorrie MSP, are not the answer or the cure. Prevention is the only way. We would therefore seek to work towards equality through a programme of converting religious schools to non-denominational schools.”

National Secular Society (2002)₂

5. Multiculturalism, Globalisation and Religion

#globalisation #modernism #multiculturalism #religion #secularisation

In the modern world, globalisation and multiculturalism have led us into an era where idea, cultures and religions intermingle. As a result, it is no longer acceptable to force others to follow local religion(s), and, all people are exposed to the variant beliefs of other faiths. This is held by many to be a severe blow to the capability of religion to propagate itself._16,17,18. Beliefs that once seemed special and safe to assume are now called into question because they come into contrast with others' contradictory beliefs_17,19,20. Traditional religious responses to weird beliefs - heresy-hunting, scapegoating and violent intolerance - are now unacceptable and rightly seen as extreme. It was normal for religious groups to claim moral superiority as a result of their own beliefs, but once we see that other groups are really rather similar to our own such alienating claims are impossible to maintain₂₁.

For more, see:

• "Multiculturalism, Globalisation and Religion" by Vexen Crabtree (2012).