The Future of Publicly Funded Faith Schools A Critical Perspective

The Future of Publicly Funded Faith Schools addresses and critically examines the arguments both for and against the continued maintenance of faith-based schools within a publicly funded state system. Addressing the issue systemically, first grounding the discussion in the practical world of education before raising the central philosophical issues stemming from faith-based education, it provides a balanced synthesis of the different arguments surrounding faith schools.

The book expounds upon the different threats facing faith-based schools, including their perceived potential to undermine social cohesion within a multi-cultural society, and the questioning of their right to receive public funding, and examines what these mean for their future. Examining these threats, it questions:

• What it means for a school to be ?faith-based?.
• The nature of religious education both within and without a faith-based school environment.
• The ethical, epistemological, and political issues arising from faith-based education.
• The concepts of the common good and social cohesion.
• Whether there is possible reconciliation between opposing parties.

The Future of Publicly Funded Faith Schools makes a unique contribution to the literature in this area and is crucial reading for anyone interested in what the future holds for publicly funded faith schools including academics, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of education, religious studies, policy, and politics of education, sociology, and philosophy.

Introduction Part 1: Context Chapter 1: Contemporary Political and Cultural Context Chapter 2: Historical Background and the Current Position Chapter 3: Making Sense of Facts and Figures Chapter 4: International Perspective Part 2: Religious Education Chapter 5: Three Traditions Chapter 6: Response to the Secular Age Chapter 7: Religious Education: An Extended Vision Chapter 8: Service to Society Part 3: Key Issues Emerging: The Need for Philosophy Chapter 9: Ethics: Education and its Aims Chapter 10: Espitemology: Knowledge, Truth and Reason in Religious Education Chapter 11: Civic Society: Common Good and Social Pluralism Part 4: Drawing Conclusions Chapter 12: For or against Faith Schools? Finding an answer

Richard Pring is Emeritus Professor of Education, and was formerly Director of Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK.