The place of Religious and Moral Education (or Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies) in Scottish Education may be one of the greatest debates amongst some. 

However the Church of Scotland would argue that it is because of the constant place and influence RME has had since the advent of the Burgh schools under Bishop Elphinstone and the “school in every parish” vision of the  Reformers that Scottish education has the reputation it has world wide.

That is not to say that RME should be confessional in any way. This understanding of the necessary place of RME in schools is not because the Church wants more members through what is taught in schools. It is because the Church understands that at the heart of education lies the search for the self and that requires an experience of what it means to believe and an understanding of what the individual does believe. 

RME offers the chance to do three things; to explore what others believe, what that meant for those people’s life choices and what that means for the students own beliefs and choices. 

Faith, faithfulness and belief has shaped our nation and our world. To understand why Scotland has its own legal system, its own education system, its own Christian denominations, its own cultural story and more requires an understanding that significant figures such as Hutchison, Kaimes, Hume, Adam Smith, the covenanters, Chalmers, Burns and many more were shaped by, and took what they believed, to be true about the human condition. Decisions because of their faith or their rejection of faith. 

No other subject begins with and digs into the idea of belief, faith, confessional and action in the way that RME creates a space for. It’s interesting that recent surveys amongst pupils showed that they like RME because they were allowed to ask questions that no other subject did. However they also didn’t view it as a “real” subject because it was about what they thought and not simply about what they were told others thought or had been discovered.

In many senses RME is Curriculum for Excellence. Get RME right in a school and the critical thinking, analytical questioning ethos that is fundamental to a successful curriculum will be nurtured and developed. In 1569 the reformers began to set up parishes so that educated young people could understand what it meant to believe and so “be the citizens we want them to be”. CfE is in that tradition. That’s why it is so vital to get it right. That’s why the Church wants it to work, and that’s why the Church believes that RME is fundamental to its success.

The Church has been grateful to have been part of the CfE stakeholder and RME excellence groups and will continue to support them. They have, in themselves, been a journey in CfE, asking key and core questions about the meaning of what was being attempted by CfE. They are partnerships that should continue as we walk together on a new journey along an old path for Scottish Education.

Reverend Ewan Aitken
Church and Society Council, Church of Scotland

 

Reverend Ewan Aitken was a member of the Excellence Group which looked at the subject of Religious and Moral Education. More information on the Excellence Groups and their published reports are available on the Scottish Government website.