Education about Diverse Religions and Worldviews, Social Inclusion and Countering Extremism: Lessons for the Australian Curriculum

Abstract

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the so-called ‘religion in schools debate’ has generated a significant amount of controversy in Australia and arguably impeded progress in both research and education about diverse religions and non-religious worldviews (ERW). This article focuses on the recently released Review of the Australian Curriculum – Final Report and examines why there has been such strong resistance to learning from international best practices in implementing ERW programmes in Australia. It presents an analysis of the Review’s findings, in light of these advances, notably the recently released Signposts: Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Non-religious Worldviews in Intercultural Education document published by the Council of Europe. Finally, this article argues that for the Australian Curriculum to be genuinely ‘world class’, and for it to promote an appreciation of religious diversity, it needs to include ERW as a separate subject or across the national Curriculum, drawing on Australian and international research and policies in this field to develop curricula and resources that are appropriate for the Australian context.

Keywords:

• Religion
• Diversity
• Worldviews
• Education
• Australia

Acknowledgements

This article was prepared with funding assistance from Deakin University's Central Research Grant Scheme. The views expressed here are the author's and not Deakin University's.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

[1] While the author is aware of extensive debates regarding these terms, and the effectiveness of these policies, this discussion is beyond the scope of the paper. This section merely provides the context in which state and EU actors became increasingly interested in educational programmes about religions and beliefs in the mid-2000s. The author prefers the term social inclusion to social cohesion, as in her opinion cohesion implies conformity and assimilation, while inclusion affirms respect for diversity and strives for equity among majority and minority groups.

[2] See Maddox (2014: 155–180) for a detailed discussion on National School Chaplaincy programme.

[3] Terminology in this field is constantly changing. In the mid-2000s these educational programmes referred to religions and beliefs, and then in the early 2010s to religions and ethics and later religions and worldviews in order to include non-religious perspectives.

[4] More research is required to further investigate these hypotheses.

[5] Jackson's (2014) Signposts had not yet been published when REENA made its submission to the Review.