Religious studies

Do you remember the times when we had pictures of Buddha and gods like Saman, Vishnu and Ganesh together in one frame? There were also pictures of Buddha, Jesus and some Hindu gods together in one frame. They were mostly on buses, barber shops, hotels and grocery shops. I have not seen one of these for a long time.

When we were having Buddhism lessons at school, Christians either went to the library or sat at the back of the class playing book cricket. There was no method or opportunity for them to learn Buddhism nor did we ever have the chance to learn Christianity. We did not have any Muslim or Hindu pupils at our school. But we never had any religious or racial difference amongst us. I hope the Sri Lankan school curriculum has changed and all pupils learn and respect other faiths.

The United Kingdom has a different policy on religious education. They have a subject called Religious Education. RE, in short. All students have a chance to learn the major religions of the world unless their parents do not want them to.

In the UK, they consider Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Shikism and Buddhism as major religions and faiths. Every child has an opportunity to learn the basics of all six. Some extremist parents do not allow their children to learn any other faith. But that number is very little. The studies continue up to the Advanced Level class. There are religious study courses at graduate level too.

I think it is necessary to discuss the UK examination system at this point. Unlike in Sri Lanka, there are seven examination boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who conduct GCE O/L and Advanced Level examinations. They are university based systems. EDEXCEL and OCR(Oxford, Cambridge and RSA) are at the top of this table. Students select GCE subjects from these boards. They are allowed to select a mixture from these. A student can select five subjects from one board and the other five from another.

I have no idea why the UK has different boards. Maybe some boards are much more lenient when marking.

This multi-examination board system has been in operation since 1850s. Scotland has only one examination board. All these boards have formed an organisation called the Joint Council for Qualifications. It sets the rules and regulation for examination boards and acts as a common voice.

Religious studies start from the age of three. Religious celebrations, living in peace, respecting other faiths, care and equality are taught with the six major religions of the world. Teaching about religious festivals are done during the respective seasons. Christmas is explained in December during Christmas time and the Easter festival in April.

Vesak celebrations are explained in May. When Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, the reason for fasting is explained.

All other religious festivals are also celebrated at the appropriate times. The meaning of festivals, its history are also taught as a part of the subject.

Children learn the names of religious leaders and also their dates of births and deaths etc. Most of the times, parents and grandparents participate in religious festivals at their children's schools. If the festival is related to an ethnic minority group, people can taste their food as most parents prepare and bring them.

Children have the chance to experience different kinds of food from their childhood. They make greeting cards, posters advertising the festival, cook, learn a greeting, have a party and even do a play relating to the event.

The birth of Jesus - the Nativity Play is one such play.

It is not that the UK is free of racism and religious discrimination. Whatever it is, people have some reservations about faiths they are not a follower of. But learning other religions, faiths and beliefs surely makes everyone's lives happier, better and easier.