The continued existence of state-funded Catholics schools in Scotland

Abstract

Catholic schools in Scotland have been fully state-funded since the 1918 Education (Scotland) Act. Under this Act, 369 contemporary Catholic schools are able to retain their distinctive identity and religious education and the teachers have to be approved by the Catholic hierarchy. Similar to the position of other forms of state-funded and partially state-funded faith schools in Europe, the position of state-funded Catholic schools in Scotland has been contested. This paper initially locates the debate and discussion about Catholic schools in Scotland in the history and development of the wider faith schools debate in the UK, particularly England and Wales. The paper outlines the key themes in the debate on faith schooling in England and Wales identifying the similarities between the debate in Scotland and England and Wales and the distinctive features of the debate in Scotland. The paper will then focus on a critical examination and analysis of two key themes concerning state-funded Catholic schools in the Scottish context. The first theme is the debate over the continuation of government funding of Catholic schooling as it is effectively government funding of religious beliefs and practices for a particular Christian denomination. The second theme is more unique to Scotland and has some tenuous links to the debate on faith schools in Northern Ireland: the claims that Catholic schools are the root cause of sectarianism or contribute to sectarianism.

Notes on contributors

Stephen J. McKinney is a professor and the leader of the Research and Teaching group, Creativity, Culture and Faith in the School of Education, University of Glasgow. His research interests include faith schooling, Catholic schooling and the impact of poverty of school education. Recent publications include: McKinney, S. J. and J. Sullivan (eds.) 2013. Education in a Catholic Perspective. Ashgate: Farnham and McKinney, S. J. 2013. ‘Religious Intolerance: Sectarianism’ In Scottish education, edited by Bryce, T. G. K., Humes, W. M., Gillies, D. and Kennedy, A., 4th edition: Referendum. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Professor James C. Conroy is the Vice Principal Internationalisation in the University of Glasgow. He has previously been the Dean of the Faculty of Education in the University of Glasgow. He has published widely on a range of research interests that includes religious education, the role of religion and education in state education, models of teacher education and moral education. Recent publications include Conroy et al. 2013. Does Religious Education Work? London: Bloomsbury and Conroy et al. 2013. Developing a Clinical Model for Teacher Education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 39 (5).