There is only one major faith-based sector in the North – the Catholic sector – but academics have found that almost every school is “church-related”.
The findings are from a paper by the Transforming Education project at Ulster University, which is examining aspects of the Northern Ireland education system “which are not as effective as they might be”.
The latest study examines statutory requirements for RE and worship in schools. It notes that while the demographic profile of Northern Ireland is changing, educational provision is slow to respond.
Multi-faith approaches have been adopted in Britain and the Republic. However, it notes that the pre-eminence of Christian teaching in the North’s schools is retained “at a level where it may be reasonable to ask whether the RE syllabus is about education or Bible instruction”.
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