· Professor Linda Woodhead Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion B Broadcast reach: 3,883,000 Print reach: 7,515,767 Total reach: 11,398,767 Professor Linda Woodhead (PPR) was interviewed extensively on 22nd July about the pamphlet she published with Charles Clarke calling for reform of religious education in schools. She appeared on the following radio stations: • BBC Radio Bristol - listen again here from 2:09:12 • BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire - listen again here from 2:24:58 • BBC Radio Gloucestershire - listen again here from 2:17:00 • BBC Radio Humberside - listen again here from 1:17:48 • BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester - listen again here from 57:25 • BBC Radio Lancashire - listen again here from 1:24:24 • BBC Radio Kent - listen again here from 1:30:51 • BBC Radio Northampton - listen again here from 2:53:18 • BBC Radio Sheffield - listen again here from 1:39:00 • BBC Radio Shropshire - listen again here from 39:44 • BBC Radio Stoke - listen again here from 1:44:42 • BBC Radio Surrey/Sussex - listen again here from 2:38:12 • BBC Radio Wiltshire - listen again here from 1:46:20 station reach: 75,000 station reach: 61,000 station reach: 68,000 station reach: 74,000 station reach: 54,000 station reach: 31,000 station reach: 51,000 station reach: 73,000 station reach: 24,000 station reach: 28,000 station reach: 32,000 station reach: 32,000 Professor Linda Woodhead (PPR) was interviewed for LBC on 9th June about a report co-authored with Charles Clarke about taking children out of RE classes. On 10th June, Charles Clarke appeared on BBC Radio 4's Sunday Programme to discuss the same topic, mentioning Professor Woodhead by name during the interview. station reach: 3,280,000 Web Client: University of Lancaster Yellow News Reach: 1916376 Source: BBC (Web) Size: 0 Date: 17/07/2018 Value: 51439.0000 Religious education ''vital for diversity'' Religious education is more vital than ever in an increasingly diverse society and needs a higher status, says former home secretary Charles Clarke. Mr Clarke is co-author of a report calling for better religious education in school and a widening of the subject to include "beliefs and values". The report argues that assemblies should no longer be expected to have a "broadly Christian" character. Mr Clarke says understanding other faiths builds more "tolerant" views. The report, co-authored by Prof Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University, says the place of religion in schools in England and Wales is still shaped by legislation from the 1940s, despite "enormous change in the religious and cultural landscape". 'Learning to talk' "Our society has become massively more diverse," says Mr Clarke, a former Labour education secretary, in a report supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. As well as those not identifying with any religious group, there are many more "different religions and ranges of belief within religion", he says. "We are becoming more diverse, more individual. That's a good thing, but children growing up need to understand that society and be able to interpret it," says Mr Clarke. The idea that religion would eventually be "discarded as irrelevant" has proved to be mistaken, he says. Prof Woodhead says understanding about religions such as Islam, Hinduism or Judaism should be part of everyday life. "These are children in your classroom or your neighbours, we're all part of the same society and we have to learn to talk to each other more intelligently," she says. But the report argues the place of religious education in school needs to be updated and strengthened to stop a decline which has seen it treated as a "second-class subject". It calls for a national syllabus that would be taught in all state schools and that it should be known as "religion, belief and values". Act of worship The report argues in favour of keeping a daily "act of collective worship" but that it should no longer be expected to be of a Christian character, but could reflect the "values and ethos" of the school. The study says faith schools should continue and that parents should be able to choose to send their children to Coverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the +44 (0)20 7264 4700 printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, [email protected] http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com Web Client: University of Lancaster Yellow News Reach: 1916376 Source: BBC (Web) Size: 0 Date: 17/07/2018 Value: 51439.0000 schools of their own religion. Mr Clarke argues that, rather than driving segregation, good quality religious education can protect against extreme interpretations of beliefs that can be "divisive and dangerous". "The best defence against that is to have children who are well-educated, well-informed and understanding about religions in our society," he says. "Teaching about religious education generally builds a more tolerant society, a stronger society, a more resilient society to deal with the pressures that can otherwise lead to segregation in communities up and down the country." 'Disappointment' But the proposed way of reforming the subject has been opposed by the Catholic Education Service. The Bishop of Leeds, Marcus Stock, said it would not be acceptable for the state to "dictate what the church is required to teach in Catholic schools". He said there needed to be a choice for schools in whether religion should be taught as a theological rather than "sociological" subject. The National Secular Society rejected the proposals as "a real disappointment". "The proposals represent baby steps in the right direction, but the report generally appears to be an admission that necessary reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies. "That is a worrying state of affairs for a modern education system," said the group which campaigns for a separation of religion and state. Unattributed [sourcelink]http://www.bbc.com/news/education-44859130 [/sourcelink Coverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the +44 (0)20 7264 4700 printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, [email protected] http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com 17th July 2018 | Reach: 1,136,292 Version: 1 Source URL: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/07/17/parents-should-not-allowed-opt-children-re-classes-former-education/ Education Parents should not be allowed to opt children out of RE classes, former Education Secretary says By Camilla Turner, Education Editor 17 Jul 2018 17:38:23 Parents should not be allowed to opt their children out of Religious Education (RE) classes, the former Education Secretary has said. In a new policy pamphlet, Mr Clarke, alongside Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead, calls for RE to be treated as a “normal academic subject” like History and English. Mr Clarke, who also served as Home Secretary under Tony Blair, argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date. “The current legal relationship between religion, belief and schools is outdated in such a way that the law itself has become a barrier to schools’ ability to help their children understand their own situation and the world in which they are growing up,” he said. “What’s urgently needed…is an urgent reform of the law that underpins the way religion is handled in schools.” Mr Clarke’s report, published by Westminster Faith Debates, said that the parental opt-out for RE lessons is “anachronistic” and harks back to a time when the classes were treated as confessional “Religious Instruction”. “The right of withdrawal should be removed altogether once a national syllabus is established which secures the proper place of RE as a professional subject on the same basis as all others,” the report said. The report also argues that RE should be renamed as “Religion, Belief and Values” to recognise the fact that the majority of people in England now say they have no religion. The National Secular society said the ideas represent “baby steps in the right direction” but added that the report “generally appears to be an admission that necessary reforms are not possible without the approval of religious bodies”. The Catholic Church said that while there is a need to improve RE in schools, the report's suggestions are "unacceptable". The Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and lead bishop for Religious Education, said: “Catholic schools are the most successful providers of Religious Education in the country. This is because we take it seriously as a rigorous, theological academic subject. "However, rather than look at the sector that does it the best they have opted for a reductionist approach which is exclusively sociological and has no consensus amongst RE professionals.” RELATED IMAGES Mr Clarke argues that the laws governing religion in schools are 75 years out of date PA Former Education Secretary Charles Clarke Publisher: Telegraph Media Group Limited Published Date: 17 Jul 2018 17:38:23 Article Id: 45704830 Version: 1 Word Count: 364 Character Count: 1820 ABCe Website Unique Browsers (monthly): 71077047 ABCe Website Page Impressions (monthly): 415258637 ABCe Date From: 01 Oct 2014 ABCe Date To: 31 Oct 2014 ABCe Certificate Reproduced by NLA media access with permission from the Publisher. May not be copied or otherwise reproduced without express permission.