No faith in faith schools

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]ritain is a “primarily Christian” country, according to Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education.

While the 2011 census reported that 64% of Britons saw themselves as nominally Christian, a 2014 YouGov poll reported 77% of the country being “not very, or not at all religious”.

To anyone who has lived in the UK for any amount of time, the latter figure will support their anecdotal evidence that sincere religious belief is on the decline here, especially among the young.

A 2014 YouGov poll reported 77% of the country being “not very, or not at all religious”.

So in this climate of increasing secularism, why are religious schools still allowed to divide communities by discriminating entry by faith?

Evidence from the Fair Admissions Campaign shows that, on average, the more religiously selective a school is, the lower the number of children eligible for free school meals will be at that school compared to the local community average.

Why are religious schools still allowed to divide communities by discriminating entry by faith?

What does this mean? It means that by religiously selecting, faith schools are also effectively selecting socioeconomically as well. Where I went to school, a comprehensive in west London, 63.93% of the students spoke English as a second language, and 59.0% of students were on free school meals.

At the Church of England school 500 metres away, only 9.5% of students had English as a second language, and 18% were on free school meals. You can guess the academic differences between these two schools as a result.

Faith schools are also effectively selecting socioeconomically as well.

Clearly this is an extreme – but it shows how the current system is unfit for practice. London, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, should not play host to schools that can effectively discriminate and ghettoise.

Where these religious schools are state-funded – as both of my examples were – and especially in cases where they are academically excellent; this means that it is possible for a child to be turned away from the best school in the area because of their faith or lack of.

It is possible for a child to be turned away from the best school in the area because of their faith or lack of.

Why should the state fund social and religious division? Religion should be celebrated, sure, but from my experience (I then went to sixth form at the aforementioned church school) religious schools effectively indoctrinate their youth.

And I would argue this is bad for religion. Anecdotally, most of the Christians I knew from the church school had lost their faith by the end of sixth form. If I were a child forced to recite prayer and constantly conform to the ‘Christian ethos’ of my school, you can bet that I’d rebel against that pretty quickly.

From my experience religious schools effectively indoctrinate their youth.

Parents argue that they should be allowed to teach their children in a school that conforms with their religious beliefs.

But why should the state fund schools which reject some citizens based on something as arbitrary as the faith they were born into? ‘Separate but equal’ cannot exist in education. And segregation of one school has knockon effects on other schools in the area.

‘Separate but equal’ cannot exist in education.

It decreases the diversity of all schools in the area, and is actively detrimental to social cohesion. It should be done away with.