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The subject has an entirely Christian content and is delivered with seriousness and conviction as something relevant to our lives. There is no teaching of other religions.
However, there is no feeling of a religious view being overtly imposed. Rather it is simply accepted that the Christian view is a natural mindset for 'men of good will'.
Daily collective worship during school assembly is the law and is always Christian. The only way to get out of it is for parents to write to the headteacher stating that they do not want their children to attend. The children then have to remove themselves physically from the assembly.
In some church-based schools - Catholic and Church of England - RE is often a priority, with the school ethos informed and inspired by the best Christian ideals.
In secular schools, RE has been through difficult times with a large, unofficial debate as to whether it should be taught at all.
It remains the law that RE must be taught. However, it is establishing itself as a popular subject. Even the British Humanist Association supports its presence on the curriculum as part of cultural heritage. And good RE teaching - which now involves comparative religion and the examination of moral issues - is a valuable ingredient in multicultural understanding.
Although it is allotted only limited time within the National Curriculum, increasing numbers of students are opting for it as an exam subject: 'The less children go to church, the more of them take GCSE RE' (The Learning Curve, BBC Radio 4).
Collective worship during assembly is still a legal requirement and still generally Christian. However, if the majority of students practise another religion, the worship at assembly can be theirs, or the school can opt for multi-faith worship.