Christians First. The Politics of Inclusion, Interreligious Literacy, and Christian Privilege: Comparing Australian and English Education

Abstract

When Europe became the destination of millions of desperate refugees in 2015, Australia’s Government leader in the Senate urged preferential resettlement for Christians. Justification for Christian privilege is present in many areas of Australian social policy, including in education. This article examines the contentious nature of religion in relation to questions of interreligious literacy. It connects the concept of cultural tolerance to a particular interpretation of religious literacy in the education environment, and examines religion-related education governance structures. I draw on examples from state-funded Australian government schools, against a backdrop of social inclusion policy. Firstly, two different, ideologically based styles of “inclusion,” and their variant styles of governance, will be defined. These two styles can be described as “passive” (economically focused and inherently limited) inclusion, and “active” (socially focused, and critically, consciously broad) inclusion. The article explores the political basis of these two styles of inclusion and how they encourage or discourage minority voices within democratic processes. The article then analyzes how these styles of inclusion affect contributions from minority voices to policy development and practice in relation to religion in state schools. Inclusive policies in education in the past few decades have targeted socioeconomic (often racial and location based) and ability differentials. A lack of inclusion policies that specifically address cultural (particularly religious) barriers highlights the limitations of an economically focused social inclusion agenda.

This chapter is revised from a paper that first appeared in the Journal for the Academic Study of Religion , 27, 2 (2014), published by Equinox. I wish to thank Professor Robert Jackson for his generous review of sections related to RE in the UK , and Professor Marion Maddox, who provided guidance during development.