‘I Am Nothing'‐‐Does It Matter? A Critique of Current Religious Education Policy and Practice in England on behalf of the Silent Majority

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Abstract
Drawn from research in England in the 1990s,1 this article revisits the recent history of RE, injustices caused by legislation to minority groups, and the shift in emphasis in RE from concepts of religion to concerns of religions. Recognising the need for moves to alleviate the injustices, and suggesting that the move towards the systematised study of religions is counter‐productive, it moves on to discuss wider forms of disparity of esteem experienced by the majority of participants in RE. These people are pupils and teachers who might be described as belonging to the ‘religions of the silent majority’, but who might also describe themselves as ‘nothing’. Using John Wolffe's categorisation of these religions, it then illustrates the concerns and experiences of these people by introducing the reader to a ‘fictional’ pupil and her teacher. Moves towards pedagogies for RE are indicated, based on mutual understanding and exchange in which the minority groups (including Christian communities) and the majority can formulate and experience a religious education for all.

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