State schools across the North of England have been sent guidance that discourages them from asking children to draw “Jesus” to avoid offending Muslims. The guidance also says prayers should be “as inclusive as possible”.
The guidance on sensitivity around faiths and beliefs was drafted by secondary religious education network Pennine Learning; and distributed to schools via local authorities, including Leeds City Council and Kirklees Council.
It says schools should understand that in Islamic culture, “three-dimensional figurative imagery of humans is considered idolatrous by some Muslims” and they should be “careful not to ask [their] students to reproduce images of Jesus, Prophet Mohammed or other figures considered to be prophets in Islam.”
The guidance acknowledges that under the Education Reform Act 1988, collective worship must be “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. However, it says prayers should be “as inclusive as possible … The word ‘God’ or ‘Almighty’ may be generally more inclusive than ‘Lord’ which can imply specifically Christological belief”.
Lizzie Harewood of the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) states: “Prayer is not easily made fully ‘inclusive’, as it inevitably involves placing faith in a knowable deity. Within the UK’s Christian heritage, this is rightly ‘Christological’, grounded in the person of Jesus Christ, which is something we should value and seek to preserve, as the opportunities to speak truth and offer real hope are great blessings.
“We must also remember collective worship and prayer in schools are intended to help pupils reflect on moral and spiritual issues and to ‘develop a shared ethos’. This becomes difficult where different religions offer contrasting understandings of how to relate to God, and differing moral frameworks.
“Christians should however remember that participation should never be coerced, but offered as a gentle invitation.”
She noted that the right of parents to withdraw from collective worship remains “an essential safeguard, ensuring that families retain ultimate responsibility in matters of belief”.
Writing on the ATC website in response to the guidance on pupil drawings, Lizzie said: “As Christians working in or engaging in schools work, it is an opportunity to show hospitality, compassion for those who may have fled danger, and love for neighbour – who may indeed be very different to ourselves.”
But she adds that “with the rapid changes to the cultural make up of our society, we must face some difficult questions”; respond with grace, “engage respectfully with other cultures and belief systems” – while making the most of every opportunity.
