Freedom from religion

When we are at primary school we learn a huge amount; our knowledge of the workings of the world around us increases possibly more than at any other time in our life, both in terms of academic educational knowledge and general life lessons.

The reason for that is that it is a unique period in our lives where we are old enough to absorb reasonably complex concepts, but it is also a time when we are crucially accepting, and often naive and innocent.

It therefore follows that the question of whether Christian Religious Education (or Bible in Schools or Values in Schools or whatever politically correct and somewhat neutral while still not disingenuous name you want to give it) should be permitted in New Zealand's primary schools should not be one of "Humanists and Rationalists" versus "the enlightened ones", nor atheists versus Christians.

Rather, it is a question of freedom of religion.

It seems fair to assume that freedom of religion is an accepted and necessary principle to uphold in New Zealand. All students should have the ability to self-determine their religious beliefs, or lack thereof.

The pertinent consideration when considering Christian Religious Education in schools should thus be whether the classes assist that process of religious exploration and determination, or whether they hinder it.

I believe the latter, and it's on grounds of freedom with religion that I support the view of Bradley Fisher (whose opposition to the programme was published in the Chronicle last week and elicited a passionate debate online, in a spectacular example of youth-initiated debate on youth issues).

Proponents of Christian Religious Education argue that the programme is simply there to educate, rather than influence the religious decisions of students. According to Lyn Edmonds, a Christian Religious Education teacher interviewed in another Chronicle article, children are taught morals and ethics as well as religion.

That seems rather far-fetched. The nature of the programme is that it is run by Christians, the lessons are taught by Christians and for that reason it is never going to be a balanced critique of Christianity. This is ludicrous. Very few 10-year-olds have the intuition to realise that this adult, who is doing fun activities with them such as rehearsing for nativity plays rather than their usual maths and English lessons, might not necessarily be right. Even fewer students are willing to be the one out of a class of 25 who has to leave the room each week and do book work while their friends wonder why on earth they aren't enjoying learning about the good word with them.

More broadly there is something unsettling and intuitively wrong with elevating one religion above the rest and singling just that one out for education. The Churches Education Commission say on their website that it is appropriate to do so given Christianity's "pervasive influence through our cultural heritage and history" and its "continuing relevance".

If that is so, why do we need to elevate Christianity further? Surely if Christianity continues to be so prominent and pervasive in society, we already receive enough information to make a decision about whether to follow the Christian faith.

The final pertinent consideration from my experience with the programme is the fact that the teachers in these classes are not really teachers at all. The criteria of the commission's website specifies the only requirements for accreditation as a police check, a church endorsement, a basic training course, and an observed lesson (presumably by one of the commission's own, rather than an independent observer).

There are very few, if any, other classes that could be taught at school with absolutely no independent and state recognised qualification. This has real implications: my younger sister was told by her Bible in Schools teacher that Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were not real, unlike God of course.

While that sounds somewhat frivolous, it is indicative of how giving such inexperienced individuals free rein in a class of impressionable students can be rather damaging (not least because it meant that there was no longer any need for my parents to give me and my sister presents from Santa).

Religious, atheist or agnostic, adults should put aside their personal beliefs and look at the issue of Christian Religious Education through the lens of freedom of religion and self-determination. When one does so, it becomes clear that the Bible simply does not fit into the curriculum.

James Penn is deputy head boy at Wanganui High School and was a member of the New Zealand team that competed in the World School Debating Championships.