イギリス教育におおける宗教的伝統

抄録

Taken as a whole, English education is integrated through religion and religious education; secular and religious education are not carried on according to completely different principles. Stemming from the Middle Ages, this tradition of religious education, though weakened by the rise of churches in opposition to the established Church and by the rising strength of secularism, continued in its essentials until 1870. Against the background of this traditional development of education by the Church, we can see that the Education Act of 1870 was intended to provide, through the “dual system, ” a complement to non-sectarian religious teaching in the public schools and to the sectarian religious instruction in church-established schools. This it did by legalizing exemptions from religious instruction. Legally speaking, the Act of 1870 put an end to the educational unity which had been achieved through religious education. Thanks, however, to the cooperation of the churches, both established and non-established, religious education of a non-sectarian nature was given new life through the introduction and establishment of the “agreed syllabus.” Sectarian religious instruction was given improved status by reason of the abolition of the “time table conscience clause” for sectarian schools, by revival of a system of school inspection, by increased financial assistance, and by other measures. The rights of minority groups was thus provided for. The effect of the Education Act of 1944, from both a legal and a realistic point of view, was to strengthen both religious education and the integration of all educational activities in and through religion.