Humanism, religious education and the former Archbishop of Canterbury

Abstract

The aim of this article is to consider and assess the recent call by a number of prominent churchmen and religious leaders, including the former Archbishop, Lord Williams, for a study of Humanism to be incorporated into religious education, as recommended by the 2013 non-statutory Curriculum Framework for Religious Education. The signatories appeal to the concept of fairness and advocate the inclusion of Humanism on this basis. While misgivings about framing their advocacy of Humanism in terms of justice are expressed, an attempt is made, drawing on John Rawls’s conception of justice as fairness, to construct as positive an argument as possible within the terms of their appeal. It is concluded that the principles of justice enunciated by Rawls fail to make a case for the inclusion of Humanism in the religious education curriculum.