Dr. Wilkinson invited to participate in the Commission on Religion & Belief in British Public Life

By Dr. Matthew Wilkinson

On 30-31 January 2015, Dr. Wilkinson was invited to report to the Commission on Religion & Belief in British Public Life which has been convened by the Woolf Institute, Cambridge and is chaired by the Rt. Hon. the Baroness (Elizabeth) Butler-Sloss of Marsh Green GBE, formerly President of the Family Division of the High Court.

Matthew presented a paper called, ‘The Absent Debate: Are Faith Schools Good for Faith?’ This paper used original empirical data to suggest that Faith Schools are no substitute for well-conceived Religious Education and do not promote either the quality or quantity of young people’s religious faith in the absence of effective RE. It also suggested that, contrary to popular belief, Muslim Faith School pupils are as likely to value their British citizenship as much as pupils from Non-faith Schools.