Association of Christian Teachers Responds to Archbishop of Canterbury's speech on 'Belief, unbelief and religious education'

Rupert Kaye, ACT Chief Executive, has gone on record as condemning Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy as blasphemous.

In the Archbishop of Canterbury's Downing Street address on 8 March 2004 about Belief, unbelief and religious education it was suggested that secondary school students aged 15+ ought to study what is often called 'protest atheism' by studying mythical themes of revolt against God in the literary works of Shelley, Blake and Pullman.

Rupert writes:

Stranger than Fiction
No doubt Philip Pullman is in rapturous disbelief that no less a figure than the Archbishop of Canterbury should have elevated him to the pantheon of literary greats, ranking him alongside Blake, Dostoevsky and Shelley. In fairness to Pullman, I believe he actually set out with the much more modest intention of discrediting Christianity, undermining the Church, attacking God and giving C S Lewis a bloody nose! But now he finds himself affirmed and his work publicly praised by the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Truth really is stranger than fiction!

But is the Archbishop's response a straightforward example of turning the other cheek? Or is it a cunning ploy to pour hot coals on his enemy's head, tormenting Pullman with the very kind of Christian love and acceptance he says the Church does not offer?

Philip Pullman and the Christian God
My key concern is that many young people (and adults) who read Philip Pullman's trilogy will be left with an extremely distorted understanding of what Christians actually believe and what the Bible really says about the person of God.

On the one hand, Pullman's fictional 'deity' is malevolent, deceitful and powerless – and is clearly (from a Christian perspective) NOT the eternally holy, just, loving, all-powerful God whom Christians worship. On the other hand, Pullman attributes to his fictional 'deity' a number of titles which are unambiguously Judaeo-Christian: Almighty, Ancient of Days, Creator, Father, King, Lord, Yahweh – leaving little doubt that these books are about the God whom Christians worship. Hence, although Philip Pullman borrows biblical names for his fictional god, Christians would not recognise him as the same God of power, justice and love that they worship.

Likewise, although the individuals and organisations featured in Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass are fictional, Pullman uses language (e.g. 'Church', 'priests', 'Pope') which points readers towards the historic Christian Church rather than towards a neutral, made-up religious structure. Pullman is NOT attacking religion in general - he is attacking the Body of Christ. He is NOT critiquing all communities of faith - he is singling out Christians for assault.

Personally, I wish that Philip Pullman had not written these books in this way; I wish they had not been marketed and sold as children's literature; I wish that they had not been an international best seller. But I have to face the fact that His Dark Materials has been nothing short of a modern publishing phenomenon; winning plaudits and prizes at every turn and proving to be a huge commercial success. But such popularity does not, of course, mean that Philip Pullman is right.

Religious Education and Authentic Christianity
Pullman's trilogy has already been read by tens of thousands of young people. They have heard Pullman's side of the story – and been faced with heresy (i.e. beliefs and ideas which are at odds with the long-established teachings of the Church) and blasphemy (i.e. an attack on the person of God and the Church as the Body of Christ).

In the first instance, it is incumbent upon schools to provide Religious Education (RE) which teaches all young people what Christians (within their diverse traditions) really believe and what the Bible really says about the person of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In the present post-9/11 era it is absolutely imperative that RE lessons enable young people to learn about the real beliefs and practices of people from a variety of faiths – Christianity included. To this end, I warmly welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury's most recent contribution to the debate and welcome current levels of heightened public (or, at least, media!) interest in the current discussions about the purpose and importance of RE.

In the Archbishop of Canterbury's Downing Street address on 8 March 2004 about Belief, unbelief and religious education it was suggested that secondary school students aged 15+ ought to study what is often called ‘protest atheism' by studying mythical themes of revolt against God in the literary works of Shelley, Blake and Pullman. With regard to the latter's His Dark Materials trilogy, the Archbishop sounded a cautious note: “I only hope that teachers are equipped to tease out what in Pullman's world is and is not reflective of Christian teaching as Christians understand it”.

Whilst the Archbishop's enthusiasm to include Pullman in RE lessons for 15 year-olds is well intentioned it naturally begs the question: to what extent are today's RE teachers properly equipped to ‘tease out' the subtleties and flaws of Pullman's attack on the Christian faith, the Church and the person of God? Clearly placing such expectations on RE teachers has massive implications for the future shape and content of programmes of initial teacher training and continuing professional development, and may well encourage the promotion of the explicitly literary, theological and philosophical skills required to tackle such a curriculum. Ultimately, any aspiration to study the ideas of Shelley, Blake and Pullman in RE lessons depends upon the ability of RE teachers to deal confidently with such material.

21st Century RE for 21st Century students
In the light of such expectations, we need to ask first whether it is actually credible, practical or desirable to expect even sixth formers (16+ rather than the 15+ age group suggested by the Archbishop) to wrestle with philosophical and theological themes that would probably struggle to make it onto a first year undergraduate literature programme. Nonetheless, I see no harm in indulging in a little 'blue-sky thinking' and discussing what such developments might eventually look like.

It is certainly an exciting prospect to imagine the day when the nation's sixth formers might be free to study and critique examples of historical and contemporary heresy and blasphemy – such as those found in His Dark Materials – whilst also scrutinising the official doctrines of the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Methodist Churches, etc. in their RE lessons. Such activities would undoubtedly sharpen pupils' awareness and understanding of what many Christians really believe and hold sacred. (Similar exercises would, likewise, compare and contrast false teachings with the orthodox doctrines of other world faiths.)

I would like to emphasise, however, that young people (aged 3-16) need to learn about the basic beliefs and practices of the different major faiths before they should be expected to enter the more sophisticated debates about atheism or agnosticism proposed recently by both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Institute of Public Policy Research. All such study should also be appropriate to the age and maturity of the students and respectful of home and community belief systems.

Ultimately, 21st Century students deserve a curriculum capable of addressing the 21st Century beliefs of 21st Century Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs. Good RE should meet the needs of students living in today's world – rather than reflecting the narrow interests of theologians, philosophers, writers and think-tanks.

Rupert Kaye was interviewed on this item by the following radio stations:
BBC Radio Bedfordshire (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Jersey (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Merseyside (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Norfolk (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Shropshire (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Stoke (14 March 2004)
BBC Radio Solent (14 March 2004)
BBC Three Counties Radio (25 March 2004)