The New South Wales government is awarding public schools for “building social cohesion” where they segregate children according to the religion of their parents as part of the scripture program.
Late last year, education minister Prue Car presented Northbourne Public School with a ‘Building Social Cohesion Award’ for its wide range of religious offerings – including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, and Sikhism – in the Special Religious Education (SRE) program.
An article on the Department of Education website says the school has fostered “a positive and inclusive environment where all students can access the best possible Special Religious Education program”.
Yet, in reality, the SRE program operates by dividing children according to their family religion so that they can receive doctrinal instruction exclusively in that faith. It means, for example, sending the children of Muslim families into a room to have instruction in the Islamic faith while putting children of Christian families elsewhere to receive instruction in Christianity.
The intrusion of SRE into New South Wales’ public schools during class time forces children from non-religious backgrounds to stop their normal learning and fill their time doing “alternative meaningful activities”, including reading, private study or homework. Only some schools offer the Special Education in Ethics (SEE) program as an alternative to SRE.
The Rationalist Society of Australia has written to the Minns government today, seeking an explanation for how dividing children along religious lines promotes social cohesion in public schools.
Speaking today, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said the state government was deluded for thinking SRE was good for social cohesion.
“In our public schools, all children, no matter the religious or cultural background of their parents, should be learning alongside each other in class and should not be separated from their peers along religious lines,” he said.
“It’s an indictment on the state of New South Wales that children as young as four are gaining first-hand experience of religious-based segregation and of the way that religion divides communities.
“Sadly, the state Labor Party and the opposition continue, in forming a unity ticket in support of SRE, continue to prioritise the demands of religious lobbyists instead of the learning needs of children.”
In the state parliament earlier this year, the Minns government joined with Liberal and National MPs in praising SRE.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying for secular reform of scripture programs in public schools. Follow our campaign here.
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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.