Faith in citizenship? On teaching children to believe in liberal democracy

Abstract

The recently introduced and compulsory citizenship education in English schools seeks to prepare children for life in a liberal democracy and is concerned with far more than the acquisition of skills and knowledge; it privileges particular forms of action, behaviour and ways of thinking. I argue here that education for democratic citizenship (EDC) promotes commitments, dispositions and attitudes in children and I question the right of the secular state to foster allegiance to certain beliefs and values when the assumptions upon which they are based are generally hidden from children and are far from universally shared. I explore the importance of religious education (RE) for citizenship and draw attention to the tensions experienced by believers who cannot entirely endorse the liberal democratic values enshrined in citizenship education. Finally, I consider the cultural disinheritance of the Christian faith in citizenship education and propose ways forward which value the religious and cultural inheritance of young citizens.

Keywords:

• children
• citizenship
• faith
• teaching