Religion and Tradition in the School Environment: An Analysis of Educational Policies in England and Ireland

Since the Education Reform Act 1988, Britain has conceded that religious education – even though mandatory – should incorporate contents of other religious traditions, as long as Christianity is given prominence. The idea of a moral and spiritual development, permeating the whole curriculum, promoted a dialogical appreciation of different religious traditions for a reflexive attitude over “the origins of the universe, the purpose of life, the nature of proof, the uniqueness of humanity and the meaning of truth”. Similarly, the idea of an “integrated curriculum” in Ireland is based on a comprehensive view of the educational process as oriented not only towards empirical facts but also to “the aesthetic, spiritual, moral and religious dimensions of the child’s experience and development”. Claims for reforms have been raised in both countries as the comprehensive nature of the curriculum is seen as a threat to basic standards of liberal neutrality. However, the question of whether a different model that attempts to promote national values and notions of citizenship without regard to the ethics resources from which those values are believed to be derived still remains. In this paper, I draw on the communitarian critique of Habermas’ theory of communicative rationality to point out the relations between traditional narratives and public morality, contending that any dialogical engagement between different traditions should account for ethic values, including religious ones. At the same time, I will show that some liberal models of education are not capable of providing adequate resources for a democratic ethics, as they are based on a conception of citizenship that endorses some truth and normative claims prior to any process of deliberation. With this in mind, I will analyse possible models of religious and citizenship education that are regardful of pupil’s religious backgrounds and that remain dialogical and reflexive in character.