The new national framework for RE in England and Wales: a critique

The article sets out to discern the aims and objectives of the proposed National Framework for RE and finds them biased towards the study of other people's religious traditions. It observes the differences between religious studies and religious education and the consequences of confining the latter to the former, notably that moral and attitudinal dispositions are not implicit in religious studies. The article further notes that what the proposed Framework recommends is misleading and does not adhere strictly to the law. Many of the concepts and terms used by the Framework are confused and in some cases are disparaging towards religious life. Finally, it observes that the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) did not follow the process set out for agreeing RE syllabi in devising its Framework, to which many of its deficiencies might well be attributed.