Why Every Christian Should Care About Religious Studies in Schools

A concerning trend is quietly undermining Christian witness in classrooms across England and Wales. Despite Religious Studies being the seventh most popular GCSE subject with nearly 250,000 students enrolled, over half of RS teachers (51%) teach it as a secondary subject rather than their specialty.

This isn’t just an education issue—it’s a faith issue that every Christian should understand. The implications reach far beyond classroom walls, affecting how an entire generation perceives Christianity, understands biblical truth, and engages with faith questions that will shape their eternal destiny.

The Problem: Tokenistic Teaching Hurts Christianity

When Religious Studies is taught by non-specialists, the results are predictable and deeply troubling for the Christian community. As Sarah Lane Cawte, Chair of the Religious Education Council, warns: students receive “poor quality, tokenistic RE as an afterthought” that “threatens to undermine societal cohesion.”

The reality is stark: teachers without proper RS training often rely on outdated textbooks, superficial overviews, and cultural stereotypes. They may present Christianity as merely one option among many world religions, stripping away its unique claims about truth, salvation, and the person of Jesus Christ. Worse still, they might perpetuate common misconceptions—that Christianity is anti-science, that all Christians are fundamentalists, or that faith is purely emotional rather than intellectually robust.

For Christians, this educational crisis means:

• Misconceptions about Christianity go uncorrected, creating barriers to evangelism
• Biblical literacy continues to decline among young people, leaving them vulnerable to false teaching
• Christian worldview gets misrepresented or oversimplified, reducing the gospel to moral platitudes
• Apologetics opportunities are missed in crucial formative years when students are most open to big questions
• Cultural Christianity replaces authentic faith as students learn about traditions without understanding their theological foundations

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15

How can students give answers about their faith if they’re receiving inadequate religious education? How can they defend Christianity against intellectual attacks if they’ve never learned its philosophical foundations? The apostle Peter’s command assumes believers have been equipped with knowledge—something increasingly rare in our educational system.

Consider the long-term implications: students who receive poor RS education may carry misconceptions about Christianity for decades. They might reject faith based on caricatures rather than truth. Even Christian students can have their confidence shaken when their beliefs are poorly represented or inadequately defended in the classroom.

Why Quality Religious Studies Matters for Christians

1. Defending Faith Through Knowledge

Quality RS education doesn’t weaken faith—it strengthens it by providing intellectual foundations that can withstand scrutiny. Students learn to articulate Christian beliefs with precision, understand complex theological concepts, and engage thoughtfully with other worldviews without compromising their convictions.

Excellent RS teachers help students explore questions like: What makes Christianity unique among world religions? How do we reconcile faith and reason? What evidence supports Christian claims about Jesus’ resurrection? How do we respond to the problem of evil? These aren’t threats to faith—they’re opportunities to demonstrate Christianity’s intellectual rigor.

When students understand Christian theology, church history, and biblical interpretation, they develop what scholars call “cognitive immunity”—the ability to recognize and resist false teachings. They learn that Christianity has produced brilliant thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, C.S. Lewis, and countless others who engaged the deepest philosophical questions of their time.

Moreover, quality RS education teaches students to think critically about all worldviews, including secular ones. They learn to identify the assumptions underlying atheism, materialism, and relativism. This equips them to engage confidently in university settings where their faith will inevitably be challenged.

2. Cultural Engagement

In our increasingly secular society, many young people’s only exposure to Christianity comes through school RS lessons. This makes the classroom a crucial mission field where first impressions of Christianity are formed. Poor teaching creates lasting negative impressions that can close hearts to the gospel for years, while excellent teaching can plant seeds of faith that bloom later in life.

Consider the cultural moment we’re living in: traditional Christian influence in media, politics, and public discourse has waned significantly. For many teenagers, their RS teacher may be the only person who presents Christianity as intellectually credible and personally relevant. This is both a tremendous responsibility and an incredible opportunity.

Quality RS education also helps students understand how Christianity has shaped Western civilization—from art and literature to law and human rights. Students learn that concepts like human dignity, equality, and social justice have deep Christian roots. This counters the narrative that Christianity is backward or irrelevant to modern life.

Furthermore, excellent RS teaching prepares students to engage respectfully with people of other faiths. Rather than promoting relativism, it can demonstrate how Christians can be both confident in their beliefs and gracious in their interactions with others. This models the kind of cultural engagement our polarized society desperately needs.

3. Preparing Christian Witnesses

Christian students in quality RS classes become better equipped to share their faith with peers naturally and effectively. They learn to discuss complex theological questions without resorting to clichés or defensiveness. They understand how to find common ground with people of different backgrounds while maintaining their distinctive Christian convictions.

These students also learn to recognize and address the real questions their non-Christian friends are asking. Instead of offering simplistic answers to complex problems, they can engage in meaningful dialogue about suffering, meaning, morality, and hope. They become bridges between the church and their generation.

Quality RS education also helps Christian students understand their own tradition better. Many young Christians know they believe in Jesus but struggle to explain why. They may have emotional experiences of faith but lack the vocabulary to describe their beliefs to others. Excellent RS teaching fills these gaps, creating articulate, confident Christian witnesses.

Additionally, these students often become leaders in their youth groups and churches, bringing fresh insights and questions that strengthen the entire faith community. They challenge their pastors and parents to think more deeply, creating a positive cycle of spiritual growth.

The Broader Crisis: University Theology in Decline

The problem extends far beyond secondary schools, creating a pipeline crisis that threatens the future of religious education entirely. Only 21 universities now offer theology courses, compared to 90 teaching history and 101 offering sociology. This dramatic decline means fewer qualified RS teachers entering the profession each year, creating a vicious cycle of declining expertise.

This academic retreat has profound implications for Christian intellectual life. Universities have historically been places where Christian thought engaged with broader academic disciplines—where theologians contributed to discussions about ethics, philosophy, literature, and social policy. As theology departments close, this voice is being silenced in academic discourse.

The consequences ripple through society. Fewer theology graduates means fewer people equipped to serve as chaplains, religious advisors, or faith-based counselors. It means fewer scholars capable of defending Christian positions in academic journals and public debates. It means fewer people who can bridge the gap between academic theology and popular faith.

As the Theos think tank warns, this has “adverse effects for society” by reducing our culture’s ability to “engage thoughtfully with global cultures and traditions and to engage deeply with complex sacred texts.” In an increasingly globalized world, religious literacy isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential for understanding international conflicts, cultural differences, and human motivation.

The decline also affects the quality of public discourse about religion. Without trained theologians and religious studies scholars, media coverage of religious issues often lacks nuance and accuracy. Politicians make policy decisions affecting religious communities without understanding the theological principles at stake. This ignorance breeds suspicion and conflict rather than understanding and cooperation.

What Christians Can Do

1. Advocate for Quality

Christians must become vocal advocates for excellent religious education in their communities. This means more than just supporting “prayer in schools”—it means demanding qualified teachers, rigorous curricula, and fair representation of Christian perspectives.

Contact your local schools and ask specific questions: What qualifications do your RS teachers have? How is Christianity presented in the curriculum? Are Christian perspectives given equal time and respect? Request to review textbooks and materials used in RS classes. If you find problems, don’t just complain—offer solutions.

Write to your MPs about the importance of religious literacy for social cohesion. Support the Religious Education Council’s National Content Standard plan, which aims to ensure all RS education meets minimum quality standards. Join or support organizations working to improve religious education, such as the Association of Christian Teachers or local interfaith councils.

Consider attending school board meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and community forums where education policy is discussed. Bring data about the popularity of RS among students and its importance for cultural understanding. Make the case that quality religious education benefits everyone, not just religious families.

2. Consider Teaching

The government has restored RS teacher training bursaries, creating new opportunities for Christians to enter this crucial mission field. Could God be calling qualified Christians into education? Every classroom needs Christian voices who can present faith perspectives with intelligence, integrity, and grace.

Teaching RS offers unique opportunities for ministry. Unlike other subjects, RS explicitly deals with life’s biggest questions—meaning, purpose, morality, and transcendence. Christian teachers can model how faith and reason work together, how to engage respectfully with different viewpoints, and how to find hope in difficult circumstances.

The need is urgent. With over half of current RS teachers lacking proper specialization, there are opportunities for well-trained Christians to make significant impact. Imagine the difference one excellent Christian RS teacher could make in the lives of hundreds of students over a career.

For those already in education, consider pursuing additional qualifications in religious studies. Many universities offer part-time or distance learning options for working teachers. Your existing relationships with students and colleagues could open doors for deeper conversations about faith.

Even if you’re not called to full-time teaching, consider volunteering as a guest speaker, mentor, or classroom assistant. Many schools welcome community members who can share expertise about religious traditions and practices.

3. Supplement at Home

Don’t rely solely on school RS education to shape your children’s understanding of faith. Use school lessons as starting points for deeper conversations at home. Ask your children what they’re learning in RS class and help them think critically about different perspectives.

Create a home environment where big questions are welcomed and explored. Read books together that engage with Christian apologetics, church history, and theology at age-appropriate levels. Authors like C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel, and William Lane Craig have written accessible works that can supplement formal education.

Encourage your children to ask hard questions about faith and work together to find answers. This models intellectual honesty and shows that Christianity can withstand scrutiny. It also prepares them for challenges they’ll face in university and beyond.

Consider organizing study groups with other Christian families to explore topics covered in RS classes. This creates community around learning and shows children that faith is something worth studying seriously.

4. Support Christian Educators

Pray regularly for Christian teachers in your community. They face unique challenges in secular educational environments, often feeling isolated or pressured to compromise their convictions. Your prayers and encouragement can make a significant difference in their effectiveness and perseverance.

Offer practical support where appropriate. This might include volunteering in classrooms, providing resources for lessons, or simply listening when teachers need to process difficult situations. Remember that Christian educators are missionaries in one of the most important mission fields of our time.

Consider financial support for Christian teachers pursuing additional qualifications in religious studies. Scholarships, book allowances, or conference fees can help dedicated educators improve their skills and effectiveness.

Connect Christian teachers with each other for mutual support and resource sharing. Isolation is one of the biggest challenges facing Christian educators, especially those teaching in secular environments.

5. Engage Your Church

Bring this issue to your church leadership and congregation. Many Christians are unaware of the crisis in religious education and its implications for evangelism and discipleship. Education can motivate action and prayer.

Could your congregation partner with local schools to improve religious education? This might involve providing guest speakers, hosting field trips, or offering after-school programs that supplement classroom learning. Some churches have successfully developed relationships with schools that benefit both institutions.

Consider how your church’s educational ministries could better prepare young people for the religious studies they’ll encounter in school. Sunday school curricula that include apologetics, comparative religion, and church history can give Christian students confidence and knowledge they need to excel in RS classes.

Explore whether your church could offer adult education courses on topics related to religious studies. This would benefit parents trying to support their children’s learning and could attract community members interested in exploring faith questions.

A Strategic Opportunity

With 250,000 students taking RS annually, we have an unprecedented opportunity to influence young minds for Christ. This represents roughly one in four secondary school students—a massive audience hungry for answers to life’s biggest questions. But only if we ensure they receive excellent, not tokenistic, religious education.

Think about the multiplication effect: students who receive quality religious education become adults who value faith, support religious freedom, and engage thoughtfully with spiritual questions. They become parents who prioritize their children’s spiritual development and citizens who understand religion’s positive role in society.

The current crisis also represents an opportunity for Christian renewal. As secular institutions struggle to provide meaningful religious education, churches and Christian organizations can step into the gap. We can demonstrate that Christianity offers not just personal comfort but intellectual rigor and cultural wisdom.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

This ancient wisdom takes on new urgency in our educational context. The “way” children should go includes not just moral behavior but intellectual formation—learning to think Christianly about all of life. Religious studies education, done well, contributes to this formation in ways that purely devotional or evangelistic approaches cannot.

The question isn’t whether Religious Studies should exist in schools—it’s whether Christians will step up to ensure it’s done excellently. Will we seize this strategic opportunity or let it slip away through neglect and indifference?

The next generation’s understanding of Christianity may depend on what we do today. Their ability to engage confidently with secular culture, defend their faith against intellectual attacks, and share the gospel effectively with their peers hangs in the balance. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but neither could the potential impact of faithful Christian engagement with this crucial issue.